- Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is in support of online poker legislation
- Wants to keep players safe and stop them from playing at offshore sites
- Poker pros respond positively to Yang’s comments
Andrew Yang, a democratic presidential candidate, has expressed his support of online poker legislation on Twitter.
Presidential Candidate Supports Legal Online Poker
Legislation regarding the legalization of online poker has been quite a complicated issue. Every state has a different stance on whether the activity should be legalised, but that could all change if Andrew Yang is elected President of the United States.
Yang, who is a Democratic presidential candidate, has taken to Twitter to let the world know how he feels about the legalization of online poker:
His sentiments echo the thoughts of online poker players and operators across America. With many states prohibiting online poker rooms from opening up shop, players simply take their business to offshore sites. The result is the state losing out on valuable tax revenue and players spending money at sites that aren’t regulated by local gaming authorities and could therefore put themselves in danger.
It wasn’t long before poker players caught wind of his stance. A day after he made his tweet, the post attracted 34,900 likes and was retweeted 5,400 times. Some of the biggest names in the poker world have responded:
Now, Yang surely has secure the vote of all poker players across America, and the poker community wants to spread the word. In fact, Joey Ingram even invited Yang on his show to discuss the issue further.
A History of Online Poker in America
Online poker originally came to the United States in 1998, when Planet Poker launched. It became a hugely popular site and led the way for other operators like PokerStars, partypoker and Sportingbet to offer their services to players across the country.
For over 10 years, everything ran smoothly, and there were nearly 550 online poker sites running in the United States – but Black Friday changed everything. In 2011, the American department of justice seized the domains of PokerStars, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker. This prompted most online poker operators to exit the American market.
In 2012, Delaware became the first state to legalize online poker and casino games. Nevada and New Jersey also followed suit in 2013, and Pennsylvania did the same in 2018.
While that’s some progress, most states have yet to legalize online poker activities. Yang could pass online poker legislation on a federal level, providing players across the country with access to safe and secure poker sites. Even if he isn’t elected, he’s started an important conversation for lawmakers in America to discuss.