Online Poker Government Oversight Agencies

The links at the left take you to longer articles on the Gambling Commission of Great Britain, the Isle of Man Gambling Control Commission and the Kahnawake Gambling Commission. Aside from these three, several other governments currently offer some oversight of online poker operators and other types of remote gambling.

In terms of poker, the most important other home for poker operations is Gibraltar, which is the home of Party Poker, Pacific Poker, Bwin/PokerRoom and Ladbrokes, as well as Victor Chandler and the Carmen Media Group.

Gibraltar's key element value as a regulator is similar to Kahnawake in that there is a significant tax that requires a certain level of seriousness for an operator to locate there. Internet gambling casinos pay a 1% gaming tax with a minimum of $150,000 and a maximum of about $750,000 a year.

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua is not the home of any of the publicly traded major online poker sites, but the tiny Caribbean nation is notable for winning a judgment from the World Trade Organization in April 2005 that United States legislation criminalizing online betting violates global laws (a ruling the US has to date completely ignored).

The Times of London reported: "A landmark ruling from the World Trade Organization today may yet open the way for Americans to gamble online legally, paving the way for potentially massive growth among off-shore 'virtual' casinos around the globe... The Antiguans argued that it is inappropriate to treat businesses that conduct transactions online as if they are unequal to or somehow less credible than traditional brick-and-mortar operations. Additionally, it was underscored that it is inappropriate for the US government to assume an industry lacks integrity in the absence of objective evidence."

Additionally, some poker card rooms have offices in Costa Rica. However, any oversight there is anecdotal at best, since all that is required to operate is basically just a business license.

Online Poker Regulation

Government Agencies & Remote Gambling