[dmcginty]

I'm in the United States. To my knowledge online gambling is not strictly illegal, but it's illegal for online casinos to send or receive money to or from any banking or crediting organization, therefore preventing users from transferring money into casino accounts. Bitcoin is still in a weird realm where it's considered property rather than a currency, which I imagine would make it similar to gambling with gold. (My knowledge is outdated by a couple years, so please correct me if I'm wrong.)

[merlincorey]

This is my understanding, as well.

The anti-gambling/anti-poker laws from "Black Friday" in 2011 actually have to do with banking and USD.

This is why there are actually several US-facing card rooms operating out of country semi-legally - they do not do banking in the US, so they are not afoul of laws in most states. I believe New York is a notable exception along with a few other states which sites like Bovada will not accept US users from.

[dec0dedab0de]

it has been cleared up, and completely legal now federally. That is why NJ, and NV, and DE have their own online gambling laws. The problem is that they all are designed to help the local business owners, and not promote the freedom of their residents.

[nqzero]

i'm mildly terrible at poker, but trying to improve. unfortunately, it's hard to practice unless money is on the line. i'd like to be able to play online (with smaller blinds and rake than a brick and mortar casino). i'm not interested in being able to "cash out" ... it's a purely money losing proposition because of my lack of skill

any idea if there's a way i could play on any of these sites in this manner ?

[merlincorey]

The crypto currency sites I'm aware of such as seals (swcpoker.eu), shibes (pokershibes.eu), and betcoin (betcoin.ag) all have "microstakes" levels.

On the other hand, all of them have low volume of users, so you may not find a game immediately on any of them.

[dragonwriter]

> therefore preventing users from transferring money into casino accounts. Bitcoin is still in a weird realm where it's considered property rather than a currency

...for tax purposes by the IRS. That's completely separate from its treatment in regard to other things, like financial services (e.g., money transmitter) regulation, and potentially gambling regulation.