If you have been keeping up with the United States’ online poker industry you will definitely be aware that it is the 9th anniversary of Black Friday which was arguably the worst day in the history of online poker in the country. Prior to that, the poker industry was on a roll with the likes of PokerStars, Ultimate Bet and Full Tilt Poker making a killing from the activity. That said, it was pretty obvious that Black Friday would leave the industry forever changed.
Now, it has been 9 years since Black Friday and the regulated online poker industry is still struggling to pick up from where it left. As it stands only Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania are the only states where online poker has been legalized. There are however still quite a number of restrictions. For instance, shared liquidity is still not allowed which means that players in each of the four individual states can only compete against other players in that state.
Unregulated Poker Is Still A Thing
While Black Friday dealt a huge blow to the United States’ real money online poker industry, many people were more than willing to take their chances with the riskier unregulated online poker options. Sites such as Americas Cardroom and Bovada are not regulated in the United States but they are still considered to be great options especially in states where online poker is yet to make a comeback.
A great example of how the ban of real money of online poker in the United States is not being taken too seriously is a recent charity tournament that was played on America’s Cardroom a site that is not licensed anywhere in the United States.
Graced by A-list celebrities such as Adam Sandler, Ben Affleck, and Adam Sandler, the tournament was all for a good cause which was to fund Feeding America, a charity organization. This is, of course, a commendable endeavor especially because it comes at a time where these charities will need all the help they can get. Even so, it does a few questions with regard to the state of online poker outside the states where the activity has been legalized.
What Next?
Now, for many states, the most logical step forward is pursuing the introduction of online poker-friendly legislation. This way, they will be able to tap into the revenue that comes from the very lucrative sector. There have been quite a number of delays in this regard but it is great to see that there are states that are making a bit of progress.