Is Online Poker Legal In Ct
- How To Play Online Poker In Connecticut
- Is Online Poker Legal In Ct Scans
- Is Online Gambling Legal In Ct
- Is Online Poker Legal In Ct Scan
Sweepstakes Legal Online Poker - Play Poker Free No Matter Which State You’re In As said before, Global Poker, a sweepstakes legal online poker site, can be accessed in all US states except for the state of Washington. This legal online poker platform was launched in 2106, and since then, many players use its services. The virtual currency. Poker is considered gambling. While law does not address online gambling specifically, state officials contend such gambling is illegal. Connecticut Poker: Poker specifically mentioned in statutory definition of gambling. No law dealing directly with Internet gambling or online poker. Home poker games legal if no rake is taken. Disentangling the online poker laws in Connecticut is an incredibly difficult task; one that even the chief analyst at the state’s Office of Legislative Research, Veronica Rose, could not answer with any assertive composure when asked in 2011 if online poker is legal in Connecticut. To gamble in Connecticut you must reach the age of 18 for bingo, lottery, racetracks, and online gambling. Connecticut residents that have reached the age of 21 are eligible to gamble in land-based casinos, online casinos, land-based and online poker rooms, and online sportsbooks.
Disentangling the online poker laws in Connecticut is an incredibly difficult task; one that even the chief analyst at the state’s Office of Legislative Research, Veronica Rose, could not answer with any assertive composure when asked in 2011 if online poker is legal in Connecticut. Her indeterminate answer, which basically stated “the issue is unresolved”, was delivered nearly one month after the ominous Black Friday of Online Poker, but before the US Department of Justice abruptly flipped its previous decision, declaring that individual states could decide their own fate in terms of online gambling legalization and regulation.
One might think that state law makers in Connecticut would be able to unravel the threads at that point, but such was not the case. American online poker players in The Nutmeg State have been waiting patiently (or not) for a definitive answer on the subject, but sitting by and watching other states like Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey pass online poker laws certainly hasn’t helped them achieve a more tolerant equanimity.
Legality of Online Poker Connecticut
When pursuing the government website of Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection, wherein lies the state’s comprised gambling laws, online poker enthusiasts are indeed immediately heartened to find a specific link entitled “FAQ – Internet Gambling”. Unfortunately, that inspirational moment, when one thinks – as I did – that the answers will be laid out right before their eyes in plain text, is nothing but a smoke cloud. The page in which that link leads speaks nothing whatsoever of online poker or gambling, much less the legalities of such. Ah, more confusion…
On the slightly brighter side, most of the other links do lead to their intended destinations. And with that in mind, we’ll detail the fundamental laws of gambling in Connecticut, what is and is not legal in general, and how those laws might be (mis)construed. We’ll also discuss briefly any legal documents in the works that might offer more decipherable online poker laws in Connecticut’s future.
Connecticut General Statutes – Gambling Laws
The following definitions are taken directly from the Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 946, Section 53-278a-g.
Gambling; Accepted Activities: [it is not prohibited to advertise, operate or participate in] a state lottery, pari-mutuel betting at race tracks licensed by the state, off-track betting conducted by the state or a licensee authorized to operate the off-track betting system or a promotional drawing for a prize or prizes, conducted for advertising purposes by any person, firm or corporation other than a retail grocer or retail grocery chain, wherein members of the general public may participate without making any purchase or otherwise paying or risking credit, money, or any other tangible thing of value.
Gambling: means risking any money, credit, deposit or other thing of value for gain contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance or the operation of a gambling device, including the playing of a casino gambling game such as blackjack, poker, craps, roulette or a slot machine, but does not include: Legal contests of skill, speed, strength or endurance in which awards are made only to entrants or the owners of entries… any lottery or contest conducted by or under the authority of any [possession, territory or] state of the United States…
Gain/Profit: “Gain” means the direct realization of winnings; “profit” means any other realized or unrealized benefit, direct or indirect, including without limitation benefits from proprietorship, management or unequal advantage in a series of transactions.
Transmission of Gambling Information: Any person who knowingly transmits or receives gambling information by telephone, telegraph, radio, semaphore or other means, or knowingly installs or maintains equipment for the transmission or receipt of gambling information, shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Professional Gambling: means accepting or offering to accept, for profit, money, credits, deposits or other things of value risked in gambling, or any claim thereon or interest therein. [i.e. to gain anything of value from helping to provide a gambling service in any way possible, such as conducting a poker game and collecting a fixed share of the stakes, or merely promoting its existence.]
What does it all mean? Is online poker illegal in Connecticut?
That’s a very good question, because it doesn’t all add up too well. I’ve only listed those laws that have the most direct influence on the legalities of online poker. By these laws – and there are many, many more specifics relating to the verbose gambling laws of Connecticut, if anyone cares to read it all for themselves – we know that Connecticut permits certain forms of land-based gambling, including tribal casinos, pari-mutuel wagering, off-track betting, raffles, charitable games and the Connecticut State Lottery. According to the simple definition of what is accepted activity, for all intents and purpose, we must assume all else, as defined as Gambling, is illegal.
The definition of gambling clearly states the term “poker” among its categorically banned amusements, but then goes on to say that “legal games of skill” are permitted, adding even more confusion to the mix. Connecticut has labeled poker as an illegal activity, but by failing to define a game of skill as including or excluding poker, it must be interpreted as one of the illegal forms of gambling. Toss in the fact that a “gambling device” could easily be construed as any device that is used to access an internet gaming website (it doesn’t specifically say it, but then again, it doesn’t have to), and those two facts alone are enough to effectively criminalize online poker in Connecticut.
How To Play Online Poker In Connecticut
Is Connecticut working to regulate online poker?
Yet another mysterious fog overlays lawmaker’s plausible intentions to regulate online poker in Connecticut. It’s been a bit of a slow-motion tennis match in that regard. Barney Frank’s original bill, HR 2267, introduced in 2009 to support federal regulation of online gambling was co-sponsored by Connecticut’s own Joe Courtney (D), John Larson (D), Christopher Murphy (D).
Then in 2012, it was made known that officials in The Nutmeg State had no interesting in the regulation of online poker and other forms of internet gambling. But while officials may have shown little enthusiasm, the tribal casino agencies that operate in the state were all too keen on giving their support. In a discussion regarding the fact that, legal/regulated or not, citizens of Connecticut were in fact able to log on and place wagers at online poker sites, the Mohegans chief of staff for external and governmental affairs, Charles Bunnell, stated, “we strongly support the regulation of internet gaming in Connecticut and the United States.” That was in February of 2012, and nothing noteworthy has surfaced in the headlines since.
Last December, a Connecticut lawmaker said that “You can bet on” sports betting becoming a legal activity in 2021. On Wednesday, the state’s governor echoed those sentiments and made it seem like all forms of online gambling would be legal as well.
Gov. Ned Lamont released his two-year state budget Wednesday and he allotted $47.3 million in tax revenue from the second year of expanded gambling, according to a report from the Hartford Courant.
Based on comments made by Lamont at the time of the release of his budget proposal, it appears expanded gambling includes both retail and online sports betting, as well as online casino gaming.
“Our neighboring states are moving forward with sports betting and iGaming, and Connecticut should not leave these opportunities for other states to benefit from our inaction,” said Lamont. “My administration has been in active negotiations with our tribal partners to bring the state’s gaming economy into the digital age. And I am submitting legislation which reflects what I believe to be the best bet in ending this stalemate of inaction in a way which is in the best interest of the entire state.”
Both Rhode Island and New Hampshire already offer online and brick-and-mortar sports betting, and New York seems set to expand its sports betting market after recent comments made by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Pennsylvania has also seen increased revenues after legalizing all forms of online gambling.
The tribal partners Lamont was referring to is the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which runs Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Tribe, which is in charge of Mohegan Sun. Currently, nearly all forms of gambling, outside of the lottery and off-track betting, runs through those two tribes.
The pandemic has hurt the brick-and-mortar revenue of those two tribes’ casinos, which in turn has put a dent in the state coffers. Connecticut is facing a $1 billion deficit at the time of Lamont’s budget proposal.
Lamont made comments in December that seemed like he was ready for Connecticut to mirror the models in place in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Is Online Poker Legal In Ct Scans
“If we found out anything in the course of this horrible COVID cycle, more and more of the world is going virtual,” said Lamont at the end of last year. “More and more of the world is going online. That’s tele-health and tele-learning, but it’s also iGaming and sports betting. And I don’t think you want Connecticut left behind.”
Is Online Gambling Legal In Ct
With any proposed gambling expansion, those two entities will be at the center of the negotiations. The Courant’s report says that the governor and the tribes have been in “long-running talks” about whether the tribes will have exclusive rights, like they currently do, for any form of gambling expansion.
Foxwoods announced a partnership with daily fantasy sports giant DraftKings at the end of 2020, which gives the Boston-based online sportsbook a track to the Connecticut market regardless of any pending agreements.