Can I Play Online Poker In Arizona
- Poker In Arizona
- Is Online Poker Legal In Arizona
- Can I Play Online Poker In Arizona
- Can I Play Online Poker In Arizona Right Now
Arizona has a love affair with poker. The state’sproximity to Las Vegas and all the poker riches that can be won there doesn’thurt, but residents can also partake in many big games in their own backyard. Thispage is going to look at poker in all forms in Arizona -from the land-basedcard rooms around the state to the current status of online poker, you willfind everything you need to be the most informed poker player in your group!
Online Poker in Arizona
Yes, online betting is legal in the United States of America. You can legally place a bet online in the U.S. While sports betting is legal in many American states, far fewer have realistically set up provisions or given out licenses to authorize sports betting online and mobile sportsbooks, but more are on the way.
- Poker is thriving in Arizona, both at the live tables and online, where Arizona online poker players are said to comprise a good sized portion of American players who partake in online poker these days. Arizona Gambling Law And Online Poker. Arizona’s Revised Statutes (1), in Title 13, “Criminal Code”, Chapter 33, deals with the legality.
- It’s nice to know you can play games, do good, and potentially earn money in the process as well. Slingo has free games to play where you can win cash prizes and earn points. It’s free to register and join as well. You can play games on your own or join tournaments to win cash prizes.
- More Arizona Poker Law. The law in the Grand Canyon State is very clear about the legality of poker games within state borders. For example, the law books say specifically that if the host of a poker game requires any sort of fees to play poker (meaning “buy-ins or re-buys”), the game is illegal.
- Can I play Poker Online from Arizona? Arizona has never specifically addressed the topic of online gambling in their law books, so it’s pretty ambiguous. Because you aren’t artificially profiting from the game, it’s probably okay. Also, there aren’t any controls in place, or measures taken for the government to crack down on online.
When online poker sites launched in the late 1990s, noone could have possibly imagined the way they would change the gamblinglandscape across the world. This is especially true in the United States, asplayers from Arizona and other states joined online poker sites at a feverpitch for years. Sadly, it was all a bit too good to be true, and the sitesthat hosted many of the games had to abandon the American market in two wavesin 2006 and again in 2011. Since that time, a handful of states have found away to bring back legal online poker for real money, but most have sat on thesidelines on the topic. Arizona is one of the states that hasn’t yet passedonline poker legislation, but given the state’s adoption of poker in general,it is hoped that the wait won’t be too long to join the likes of New Jersey andneighboring Nevada in the online poker world once again.
Land Based Poker in Arizona
Despite all the drama surrounding real money online pokerin the U.S., Arizona residents have always had land-based poker rooms to fallback upon. Casinos are very popular in the state, and many of the licensedfacilities dotted across Arizona offer players a chance to sit down in a cashgame or a tournament. The size of each of the rooms varies based on location,but you will find some serious players in every one of these poker rooms. Locationslike Talking Stick Resort feature almost 50 tables and host major pokerfestivals each year.
Here is a list of all the locations of poker rooms in Arizona:
Bucky’s Yavapai Casino (Prescott, AZ)
Casino Del Sol (Tucson, AZ)
Cliff Castle Poker Room (Camp Verde, AZ)
Desert Diamond Casino (Tucson, AZ)
Desert Diamond Casino West Valley (Glendale, AZ)
Fort McDowell Casino (Ft. Mcdowell, AZ)
Gila River Casino Vee Quiva (Laveen, AZ)
Gila River Casino Wild Horse Pass (Chandler, AZ)
Harrah’s Ak-Chin (Maricopa, AZ)
Hon-Dah Casino (Pinetop, AZ)
Mazatzal Casino (Payson, AZ)
Talking Stick Resort (Scottsdale, AZ)
Social Poker in Arizona
For those who have been living under a rock for the last decade,playing games on a social media platform like Facebook has become one of themost popular pastimes on the planet. Arizona residents contribute to amulti-billion dollar industry when they play social poker games like Big Fishor Zynga Poker. But are they real poker?
The games you find on social media sites are played bythe same rules as real money poker, but there are no cash prizes to be won, andthere is no need to purchase chips. However, as there is some incentive toreach the top of the social ladder and leaderboard, players do have the optionof purchasing chips to take to these play money tables. This is how these sitesmake money, and based on the fact that they have made billions off selling freechips to players who will never be able to cash them out, we think social pokerhas become a great way for players in Arizona to practice their skills whenthey are away from the land-based poker room.
Subscription Poker in Arizona
Subscription gaming models allow a company to offer theirgames under a sweepstakes model, as there is technically no entry fee to enterthe games themselves. This loophole in the law allowed for severalsubscription-based poker sites to emerge in the early 2010s. These sites, whichinvite players from Arizona and 35 other states to register and pay a monthlymembership fee, offer daily and weekly tournaments which award prizes but noactual cash. Some, like Club WPT, combine the land-based poker world with thesubscription model by giving players a chance to qualify for a WPT event viathe subscription site.
These sites are open and available to Arizona residentsand offer yet another way for players to enjoy real poker action even if theycan’t play online for cash at the present time.
Mobile Poker in Arizona
Both the types of poker listed above, along with manyplay money poker products, are available as native apps for iOS and Androiddevices. Playing from a phone or a tablet provides poker enthusiasts with anextra layer of convenience as the game moves along with you! Real money onlinepoker sites around the world and in many of the regulated states in the U.S.also offer native games for mobile devices, so when poker is finally legal inArizona, there will be even more selection to choose from. For now, aspiringpoker professionals in Arizona can head to the app store and look through allthe choices available.
Online Poker in Arizona FAQ
Can I play online poker if I travel across the borderto Nevada?
Absolutely! You can play legal online poker in any U.S.state that has regulated the market. All you have to do when you travel insidethe state’s border is look for the available sites (our pages can help you navigatewhat sites are available in each state), then register for an account and startplaying! One thing to keep in mind is that these sites can only be accessedwhen you are physically inside the borders of the licensing state, so if youtravel to Nevada and play, be prepared to lose access to your account as youcross back into Arizona. Your balance will still be active, but you are boundto the Terms and Conditions of the site regarding inactivity, so please do theresearch before you make a decision to play.
What about offshore poker sites? Are those legal toplay from Arizona?
Poker In Arizona
All the sites that were incredibly popular in Arizona inthe 2000s were based outside the country, and today there are still a handfulof rogue operators that thumb their noses to the U.S. government and acceptplay from residents of Arizona and elsewhere. These sites are very difficult todeal with and with no regulations to adhere to, can simply close their doors oryour account with no legal ramifications. We think you should stay away andstick to the online and land-based options that are legal and available inArizona.
Chapter 33, section 13-3301 of Arizona state law defines the word gambling as “ . . . risking something of value in a contest of chance or skill.” That covers poker, and basically any other form of gambling as well. The effect of the state laws of Arizona are that all gambling is illegal in Arizona unless it falls under the umbrella of 'social gambling.” Allowances for social and at-home gambling are common across the United States, Arizona included.
What Does Arizona Consider Social Gambling? Does That Make Online Poker Legal in Arizona?
By Arizona law, social gambling means any form of gambling that is not being run for profit or as part of a business. It also means that all the players in the game are competing against each other on totally equal terms and only against each other. That leaves the door open for home poker games, as long as (and this is spelled out in the state’s laws) the benefit of the gambling taking place is just the amount of money being wagered and nothing else (meaning no rake), as long as all of the players in your home game are 18 years or older, and as long as all the players of the game have an equal risk and potential gain.
The Law Related to Online Poker in Arizona
Mixed news for poker players in Arizona who are hoping to participate in legal real-money poker games. Arizona state law allows for some legal forms of real-money poker, but also outlaws games that aren't specifically permitted by the law.
Let's start with the games that you can clearly play in Arizona while remaining in compliance with the law. There's a fair amount of regulated gambling in the state, which results in a decent number of options for poker players at state-approved locations like Talking Stick Resort and Casino Del Sol.
The law in Arizona also carves out an exception for so-called 'social' poker games in Section 13-3304(B). There are a few caveats attached to the exception - see Section 13-3301(7) for the complete definition of social gambling. The short version: No one can make any money from the game as a business, you have to be 21 or over and there can be no 'house' player.
So, what does that leave as prohibited poker in the state of Arizona? Pretty much everything else. While online gambling involves legal questions that haven't completely been ironed out, state law in Arizona is written in a way that
- Definitively defines poker as a form of gambling (see Section 13-3301(4) for the definition of gambling)
- Explicitly criminalizes all gambling that isn't exempted in Section 13-3302 (including amusement, social, regulated and certain types of gambling at state fairs.
Remember, to be considered gambling poker must involve something of value. Free-play games are not illegal even if unapproved, as they are not considered gambling once the risk is removed.
Like the majority of states in America with regulated gambling, Arizona makes all gambling illegal as the default. This places poker players participating in unapproved games in a dicey position legally - at least in a theoretical sense.
Learn About Other State Laws
More Arizona Poker Law
The law in the Grand Canyon State is very clear about the legality of poker games within state borders. For example, the law books say specifically that if the host of a poker game requires any sort of fees to play poker (meaning “buy-ins or re-buys”), the game is illegal. Other conditions for poker games that make them illicit:
Is Online Poker Legal In Arizona
- If a game’s host requires any kind of cover charge, including those that are called “donations” by the host. In other words, if any players have to pay to play, the game isn’t legal.
- If a game’s host takes any kind of rake or percentage of the money wagered or won during the game.
- If a game’s host requires any sort of minimum purchase; apparently some home games in the past charged for food or drinks as a way of earning profit from the game. This makes the game illegal.
- If the host provides any sort of gaming equipment for which a fee is charged, the game is illegal. This became part of gambling law when some home games charged so-called rental fees for chairs, gambling chips, poker tables, or any other game accessory.
The Arizona Department of Gaming goes so far as to mention illegal forms of poker in the state, saying that poker tournaments, poker games, and Texas Hold’em games are “ . . . some of the most common forms of illegal or potentially illegal gambling in Arizona.”
Can I Play Online Poker In Arizona
Arizona Casino Poker
Arizona has a thriving tribal casino industry. Unfortunately for poker players, no casino in Arizona is allowed to host live poker, only casino-style “three-card poker” and video poker machines. Basically, if you want to play poker in Arizona, it needs to be at a home game that follows the strict guidelines set down by state law. Since state law regarding games of poker in tribal casinos is still murky, you may find live poker games at some casinos and not others. Harrah’s casinos in Arizona, for example, only offer three-card or video poker as of this writing. But news of poker rooms, both legal and illegal, is easy to find through Google searches.
Can I Play Online Poker In Arizona Right Now
Poker law in Arizona is strict in some instances and vague in others. If you want to play at a home game, make sure that the game is following all of the above laws. If you find a poker room in Arizona offering No-Limit poker, that appears to be specifically illegal, though limit games are sometimes considered legal and sometimes not. If you want more information on the legality of playing poker in Arizona, either in home games or casinos, contact a lawyer or professional familiar with the complexities of Arizona gaming law.