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Poker Players Alliance Forums » Ask Skallagrim

1. j r
   Member
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   I'm a bit confused on the law in Illinois. It seems to me from my reading that it is only illegal to host online poker, but not to play it. Is this the case or am I completely off?

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. Skallagrim
   State Director & Moderator
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   Illinois is a bad state for online poker players.

   Illinois law states:
   "Sec. 28‑1. Gambling.
   (a) A person commits gambling when he:
   (1) Plays a game of chance OR SKILL for money or other thing of value, unless excepted in subsection (b) of this Section (emphasis added)."

   Subsection (b) contains the usual exclusions for business transactions since they would obviously fit under this hugely broad definition and exclusions for the gambling that is otherwise authorized by law (the lottery and charity events for example).

   Thus you cant even play chess for money in Illinois!

   There is also an exemption in subsection(b) for "(2) Offers of prizes, award or compensation to the actual contestants in any bona fide contest for the determination of skill, speed, strength or endurance or to the owners of animals or vehicles entered in such contest" so you could have a chess "contest" in Illinois. But the way most poker tournaments are designed, they do not meet the legal definition of a contest (because the prize(s) are not fixed in advance but are determined by the number of entrants). And even that assumes we can convince an Illinois court that poker is a game of skill (which I do think we can BTW).

   As to online law, there is some level of ambiguity, but my opinion is that but for the Commerce Clause argument (which holds that only Congress has the right to regulate or ban online gambling and is described more extensively elsewhere in this forum) this extensively broad law would be held to apply to internet play. I say this because a separate section of the Illinois statute (Section 21:8(a)(12)) clearly prohibits offering internet games of either chance or skill in Illinois. I therefore conclude that since the statute clearly references the internet, a court would conclude that the broad proscription on playing any game for money was intended to cover the internet too.

   The only consolation is that gambling in Illinois is (unlike in Washington State) only a misdemeanor (except for a second offense of offering an internet game). The other small consolation is that no one has ever been charged with such an offense.

   Sorry its all bad news, but thats why there is a PPA. Someday we may get these stupid laws changed (cant even play chess for money, what societal interest does that advance?)

   Skallagrim

   Posted 1 year ago #

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