Online gaming operators facing tough questions for the future

Active members of the gambling community both online and land based have always opposed the UIGEA as they saw it as a violation of people's right to gamble from the privacy of their own homes.

Initially representatives of the online gambling industry such as the Interactive Gaming Council and the Pokers Players Alliance brought court action against the UIGEA. However, the case was never clear cut and it wasn't long before online operators were suggesting regulation and taxation as a better solution.

Very soon the online poker industry was bringing a different argument claiming that poker was a game of skill rather than a gambling game and therefore laws applying to online gambling are not relevant to poker. The poker industry is seeking legislation that declares poker as a game of skill. They argue that whilst there is an element of luck, over a long period of time a player's skill will determine their success, there have been many academic studies which support this hypothesis.

Poker is fairly unique in this respect as most other online gambling games such as slot machines and roulette are purely reliant upon luck, only a few games such as blackjack and video poker have a skill element.
The main issue is that the online casino industry does not wish to split itself which is what would happen should poker be declared as a game of skill and therefore no longer regulated by the UIGEA. Then all cases against the UIGEA would be dissolved and they would have access to the power of the industry with money. As online poker is far more popular than online casino games operators would be likely to give up the small share of profits that online casinos provide. A case against the UIGEA would be too expensive without the help of online poker operators and therefore would be dropped altogether. However, for now this is only a hypothetical situation as it is unlikely that the law or government will accept poker as a game of skill in the foreseeable future.