A Brief History of Online Poker
Poker has been the most successful game in the online gambling industry. The first Internet poker room, Planet Poker, debuted in 1998, setting the rake structure standard of 5% up to a $3 max rake. Planet Poker was followed by Paradise Poker in 1999, and PartyPoker and other sites in 2001.
In 2003, online poker experienced a boom in popularity when U.S. television stations began airing poker tournaments. After its debut in March of that year, The Travel Channel’s World Poker Tour became the most highly rated show in the channel’s history. Due to ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker, more and more players wanted to join the action. Turnout records for the WSOP have been broken each year since 2003. In years past, nearly half of the participants qualified for the tournament through an online poker satellite tournament. Because the winners of the 2003 and 2004 tournaments (Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer, respectively) often played in online rooms, poker enthusiasts worldwide began taking online poker more seriously.
Celebrities’ interest in poker certainly helped fuel the poker explosion. Celebrity Poker Showdown debuted on Bravo in 2003, featuring players such as Paul Rudd, David Cross, Rosario Dawson, Jason Alexander, and Jennifer Tilly. On the show, five celebrities compete for up to $100,000 (donated to their charity of choice) in a no-limit Texas Holdem tournament. The shows Late Night Poker Ace and Poker SuperStars Invitational Tournament, as well as many other poker programs, hit the airwaves in 2004 and 2005.
Top professional players continued to play in and endorse online poker rooms, but this was stifled by Congress’s passing of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) in 2006. This law prohibits U.S. residents from placing bets with real money when visiting an online casino or engaging in anything deemed “online gambling.” Most poker players believe poker’s classification as “gambling” is ridiculous, since poker is not a mere roll of the dice, but a game of skill. Many are hopeful that if elected, Barack Obama will work to lessen restrictions on online poker.
Many a U.S. resident still visits his or her favorite casino or poker room online thanks to bonuses, “free money,” or “play money,” which allow the visitor to play without making a deposit. And because of the spreading popularity of poker worldwide, millions of people still play online poker with real money. But the irony remains: the country that cultivated the game was one of the first to harshly restrict its online version.
U.S. Congressman Barney Frank has been fighting the good fight against the UIGEA, saying, “The existing legislation is an inappropriate interference on the personal freedom of Americans and this interference should be undone.” Most recently, in April 2008, Frank and others introduced the following legislation. Come 2009, U.S. residents just might have both universal healthcare and the freedom to place real bets online.