Legality of Promoting Gambling

Any tax paying poker affiliates ever run into legal problems? I have been told that promoting gambling is illegal. This is to differentiate the legality of playing poker, which is murky but legal at the moment.

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Any tax paying poker affiliates ever run into legal problems? I have been told that promoting gambling is illegal. This is to differentiate the legality of playing poker, which is murky but legal at the moment.

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I don't believe playing poker is legal....I believe it is illegal-according to the Federal Wire Wager Act but no one has been prosecuted for it.

[jman220]

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Any tax paying poker affiliates ever run into legal problems? I have been told that promoting gambling is illegal. This is to differentiate the legality of playing poker, which is murky but legal at the moment.

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I don't believe playing poker is legal....I believe it is illegal-according to the Federal Wire Wager Act but no one has been prosecuted for it.

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I think Op is right though in that promoting gambling is a lot more dangerous (from a likelihood of you being prosecuted standpoint) then just gambling online.

[stu-unger]

from the litte research i have done on the topic, both are illegal. the difference is that you have no chance of being prosecuted for gambling online while there is a chance that you can run into legal issues for promoting illegal gaming.

ill search my computer for the biblography with my sources tonite, and post it if i find it...

My understanding of this Wire Act is that internet sports betting is illegal - and that lawmakers are trying to encompass all forms of internet gambling to this law, including poker, etc.

However, I am more interested in any information regarding gambling marketing / affiliate / rakeback legal issues.

(i have also heard that any form of rakeback is illegal, as you are sharing in some of the casino's profits.)

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from the litte research i have done on the topic, both are illegal. the difference is that you have no chance of being prosecuted for gambling online while there is a chance that you can run into legal issues for promoting illegal gaming.

ill search my computer for the biblography with my sources tonite, and post it if i find it...

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Thanks Stu. I would be curious to see some of that. I would guess some of the biggest affiliates are US companies, but I could be wrong. Cardplayer.com etc

I know the Mods have mentioned getting a good lawyer so mabye they can shed some light on the subject.

[goodguy_1]

www.gambling-law-us.com (http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Articles-Notes/advertising-online-casinos.htm)

[StellarWind]

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(i have also heard that any form of rakeback is illegal, as you are sharing in some of the casino's profits.)

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Sounds like a huge stretch. Am I sharing in GM's profits when I receive a rebate check after buying a car? Does it matter whether the check came directly from GM or indirectly by way of the dealer?

Seems to me that the player is a customer and any share of the rake he receives is a rebate, discount, or bonus/comp.

Receiving a share of another person's rake seems much more problematic.

Of course there is about zero case law on any of this. But the sheer ambiguity of the situation is likely to protect a criminal defendent.

[Megenoita]

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(i have also heard that any form of rakeback is illegal, as you are sharing in some of the casino's profits.)

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Sounds like a huge stretch. Am I sharing in GM's profits when I receive a rebate check after buying a car? Does it matter whether the check came directly from GM or indirectly by way of the dealer?

Seems to me that the player is a customer and any share of the rake he receives is a rebate, discount, or bonus/comp.

Receiving a share of another person's rake seems much more problematic.

Of course there is about zero case law on any of this. But the sheer ambiguity of the situation is likely to protect a criminal defendent.

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Steller's post was the most helpful. I've written the author of that site linked above, and he responded that online gambling is illegal (and therefore someone promoting something illegal is a crime). However, although the Justice Department views online poker as illegal, there is zero case law, and therefore it is a matter of interpretation of the law. So from my point of view, it's fine for me to interpret the law differently than the Justice Department until proven otherwise. For instance, in 2002 Virginia attempted to pass an anti-online gambling law so that they could actually prosecute people for it, and it failed to pass.