Looking to get back into poker, but I live in Washington State.

Because of this, I was told to use bitcoin for withdrawing/depositing. but i have never used bitcoin, let alone use it for this purpose.

I am assuming i am not the first in this situation and there is a sticky post already made.

does anyone have any advice for me in order to play online? as well as a past sticky thread made?

Wasington thread in the Poker Legislation area of 2+2

It is a felony to play online poker in the state of Washington.

I've always wondered about this. Not the law, I knew about that. I wonder how that works in real life. Do Washington players go just across the border and grind online satellites to try to get a spot in a big live tournament? Are VPNs being used?

It would be really interesting to get some of the affected players on a 2+2 Pokercast.

We can't openly discuss the use of a VPN on 2+2.

I do not play as I have too much at stake (I am later in life than most here on 2+2 with business ownerships and other assets) and would make an excellent "test case" for the State. I do know of others that do play online in WA and do not use a VPN.

As far as satellites,, I do not know since my knowledge is only with online cash game players.

Global Poker should be legal in Washington state, no? Since it's technically a sweepstakes site not a poker site?

I don't understand how any of that works. I play on Americas Cardroom, which is based somewhere in Europe. A lot of us in Michigan play on it, but it's not legal in some US states.

Likelihood of getting into court in WA for playing online poker for money is remote imo. That said, if I get dragged in and asked THE question with regard to GP... I think there can be no good answer.

: Did you play poker online at Global Poker and if so, did you have an expectation of receiving payment based on playing? Is the payout in any way intertwined with the amount of poker you played and or success in playing the games? Would you win a sweepstakes prize of $100 every time you played 5,000 hands, no more no less....or was payment structured around your wins/losses in those specific 5,000 hands?

Interesting...I was unaware that it was illegal to play online poker in any state, but rather that it was illegal for a company to operate an online poker site located in the US ( Except NV, NJ, and DE). It is illegal to play even if the site is located overseas?

Is there any history of anyone being prosecuted for this?

I just recently started playing online again at Bovada then Ignition, and occasionally ACR. I'm not in Washington but am in the US. Is every state's law different? Or is it a federal law?

I would think that using a VPN and Bitcoin would make it nearly impossible to get "Caught", but I am pretty new to playing online after BF.

I certainly wouldn't want to get caught up in a legal issue for playing some online poker.

I don't have the answers to all your questions. I can tell you that if a poker site isn't welcome where you live the site will refuse to let you sign up, so you can't accidentally get in trouble.

This thread is a good starting point for searching where a US resident can play online

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I'm not a lawyer, but from what I understand, none of those questions are relevant. My interpretation is that what makes Global Poker a sweepstakes site is the fact that *no purchase is necessary to play*. If you are NOT required to put up any of your own money to win it does NOT legally qualify as gambling. They give you $2 of "real" money when you open your first account, and if you're willing to get out your pen, you can send them letters every 2 months and they'll give you $30 in "free money" per month. Once your balance is above $50 you can cash it out no questions asked.

Essentially, each individual hand played is a lottery drawing where you get to choose how much to contribute to the overall prize. The ONLY spot where they MIGHT "get in trouble" is the fact that they do rake the poker hands, but even then they could just say we're just controlling the "sweepstakes prize".

All of those questions you asked could apply to NLOP or PurePlay as well - those are both free sweepstakes sites, but people who know how to play poker tournaments are invariably going to outperform those who do not. Remember LiveAce poker? That was CLEARLY a sweepstakes site not a gambling site but its legality was never called into question.

Just making conversation. I think the bottom line is whether or not we trust PayPal. PayPal clearly states in their terms and conditions that they will not do business with gambling sites, and they clearly do business with Global Poker.

Yep, I get where the defense argument will come from. To me, poker is just a hobby. I don't need an online fix...... but I sure would like the ease of playing the game online again. It's just not worth the risk in my case, DalTX.