This is a very difficult question to answer at the moment. Currently, online gambling is in a legal limbo of sorts. The Internet Gaming Prohibition Act prevented casinos from opening up shop within the U.S, but never stopped players themselves from making online bets. There is another law however, The Wire Act of 1961 that was made to prevent sports wagering or betting over the “wire”. Whether or not this applies to other forms of online gambling (including poker) is very up in the air. So far, no player has yet been prosecuted for Internet casino gambling.

There is currently a bill in the works (Leach-LaFalce Bill) that has passed Congress but not the Senate yet, that will be attempting to solidify the issue by making any financial transaction with Internet gambling illegal. Based on the fact that the Senate is trying to pass this law, inductive logic would lead to believe that Internet gambling cannot be prosecuted in it’s current form (yet).

Some states however, have passed their own laws specifically outlawing Internet gambling, so this is something you should consider looking into, to see whether or not Internet gambling is considered illegal in your state. The only man who has been charged for gambling (sports betting) on the internet so far, ended up paying a $500 fine and then moved to Kentucky where Internet gambling was considered ‘legal’ by the state.

The following links will give you more insight on the inner workings of Internet gambling: