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American Online Poker Still Gaining Popularity

Over the last decade, the popularity of Texas Holdem and poker in general has grown exponentially in the US. Much of this is due to the availability of online poker rooms and television channels such as ESPN broadcasting the annual World Series of Poker. Millions of Americans began playing poker online.

The legal status of internet poker in the US was unclear. But on September 29, 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was passed. This law made it illegal for online poker rooms to transact with US banks. Back then, PartyPoker.com was far and away the most popular poker room in the world. However, on October 2, 2006, PartyPoker announced that it would no longer accept US players.

This caused ripples of concern to cascade through the poker community. Would this be the end of online poker? Would everyone have to travel to a brick and mortar casino just to play a game of Texas Holdem? Many other well-known poker sites also announced that they would suspend American operations. Pacific Poker, and all the Playtech brands would no longer be available to US online poker players.

Not every online Poker Site decided to shut down. Two emerging sites were PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker. Soon after the UIGEA was passed, PokerStars.com released a statement to their registered users. In it, they said that they didn’t believe that the law affected them, and that they are committed to their players. below is a quote from that statement:

“PokerStars believes that poker is a game of skill enjoyed by millions of players and we remain committed to providing you a safe and fun environment in which to play.”

There has been a long argument in the poker community about whether poker is game of skill or a gambling game. Party Poker apparently decided it was a game of chance and so closed their doors to the American market. PokerStars felt that poker is a skill game, and that the law does not apply to them.

With the exit of the largest online poker room, the field was now wide open. Poker was still very popular, and people decided to simply move to PokerStars. The result is that PokerStars is now the top online poker room in the world. At any given time, about a quarter million (250,000) people can be found playing poker on their site. This is far more than even PartyPoker enjoyed when they were at their peak. FullTiltPoker.com is also doing very well, and average about 100,000 people online at a time. It appears that even with the passage of the UIGEA, the online poker industry continues to grow. Commercials for both FullTiltPoker.com and PokerStars.com can still be seen on TV.

Anyone who wants to try to make some money playing online poker should give PokerStars.com, Full Tilt, or one of the many other popular American poker online sites a shot.