Online gambling can be traced back to the mid-90’s when the net first provided online sportsbooks and online casinos to gamblers in the United States. However, the first online poker room was not established until 1998, Planet Poker, which existed as the only online casino for a very short time. Since then, Planet Poker has fallen to the shadows of mega-poker sites such as PartyPoker.com and bodog.com.Perhaps the one and only problem that online poker ever saw was in May of 2000 when the one time glitch in funds transfers occurred with Poker Spot. They were unable to take in players deposits or payout winnings and inevitably went under. Funds transfers capabilities were then sharpened and e-cash transfer services became stable vehicles for transferring money online.
As online poker gained popularity quickly, so did the televised tournaments that brought thousands of new poker players to the table. These two poker elements worked hand in hand to market each other, not to mention the poker legends that were born online and found their way to the final table at the World Series of Poker. One such player is Chris Moneymaker, who bought in on Party Poker for $40, won a spot at a live tournament, and ended up winning the World Series of Poker.
Perhaps the latest fate for online gambling is the most depressing. In September 2006, Congress passed a law to restrict online gambling in the United States. According to SFGate.com, “shares of the three companies, which all make most of their money from U.S. gamblers, tumbled, losing $7 billion in market value” the very week after the law was passed.
Some are still hopeful that the litigation is not final and there may be another chapter in the future of online gambling and online poker, but for now, pull out the old green felt table cause it’s back to the basement for passionate poker players in the United States.
