Online gambling can be traced back to the mid 90’s when the internet first provided online sportsbooks and online casinos to gamblers in the United States. However, the first online poker room was not founded until 1998, Planet Poker, which existed as the only online casino for a very short time. Since then, Planet Poker has fallen into the shadow of mega-poker sites like PartyPoker.com and bodog.com.
Perhaps the only problem online poker has ever seen was in May 2000 when a one-time error in the transfer of funds occurred with Poker Spot . They cannot accept player deposits or payout winnings and inevitably fail. Fund transfer capabilities were then sharpened and the e-cash transfer service became a stable means of transferring money online.
As online poker quickly gained popularity, so did television tournaments which brought thousands of new poker players to the table. These two elements of poker work together to market one another, not to mention the poker legends who were born online and found their way to the final table in the World Series of Poker. One such player was Chris Moneymaker, who bought Party Poker for $40, won a place in a live tournament, and ultimately won the World Series of Poker.
Perhaps the latest destiny of online gambling is the saddest. In September 2006, Congress passed legislation to restrict online gambling in the United States. According to SFGate.com, “stocks of the three companies, all of which make most of their money from US gamblers, plunged, losing $7 billion in market value” exactly a week after the law was passed.
Some still hope that the litigation isn’t final and there may be another chapter in the future of online gambling and online poker, but for now, pull out the dark green flannel table because it’s back in the basement for passionate poker players at United. Union.