Poker Websites Legal In Georgia
- Poker Websites Legal In Georgia State
- Poker Websites Legal In Georgia Secretary Of State
- Poker Websites Legal In Georgia Government
- Poker Websites Legal In Georgia Counties
All forms of gambling, with two minor exceptions, are prohibited in Georgia,
and the state certainly does punish those severely who test this. The only forms
of gambling allowed in Georgia are state endorsed lotteries and raffles for
charities.
This means you won’t find any live Texas holdem poker action in Georgia at
all, at least not with money involved, and of course this also extends to online
play. Not all hope is lost though, so read on if you want to hear some of our
thoughts in respect to how you can still play poker while living in the Peach
State.
- Delaware online poker. Delaware is the smallest US state with legal online poker, though a liquidity-sharing agreement with Nevada does help the numbers. Thee state’s three casinos all operate their own branded skins on a shared 888 Poker network.
- All of the poker sites featured on our Mac page offer a native download, and some even include special bonuses available only to players that join from our legal poker site Linux Online Poker Linux poker players aren’t as lucky as Windows or Mac players as far as options for legal poker sites.
Georgia Legal Poker Sites Georgia is up there with Hawaii and Utah when it comes to being the least friendly State for poker fans. There is not a single legal casino in this State, with the best on offer cruises from the coast which allow gambling (against the house) type games in international waters.
Georgia Gambling
All casinos, sports betting, horse betting and any type of gambling where
money is wagered on an outcome is banned in Georgia. They certainly have the
same hard line stance as some other conservative states in the US.
Once again this simply results in lost tax revenue for the state as those who
wish to gamble will find other ways or head interstate, or even internationally,
to get their gaming fix. This is a real shame for the state as they seem to have
seen the light in relation to lottery which is now regulated and operated
resulting in hundreds and thousands of dollars for education infrastructure,
preschool tuition and college scholarships.
This is a direct reflection of the good that can come from running a
regulated industry, even with the negative social impacts that sometimes come
from increased gaming options in a localised area. The approach of allowing
those who wish to gamble to do so, while directing profit to important areas
such as education and health is a fantastic middle ground that usually satisfies
all parties.
Some states have found this middle ground though which is a good thing, but
given Georgia’s overall approach it doesn’t seem likely that this will be found
here anytime soon beyond the existing lottery games. Thankfully there are a lot
of easy options for you which we’ll go into more detail on below.
Texas Holdem Cruise
If you live near the east coast you can take a river cruise on the Emerald
Princess to get your gaming fill. This cruise ship heads out three miles from
the coastal city of Brunswick into international waters where state laws don’t
apply and gambling is legal.
Aboard this ship you can play slots, blackjack, video poker, blackjack,
craps, roulette, casino stud poker, bingo, triple time poker, and most important
Texas holdem poker. Mainly cash games are offered here across 6 tables and
you’ll find $2 / $2 no limit Texas holdem with a minimum buy in of $50 and a
maximum of $300.
Every so often they also run a tournament and your best bet is to call ahead
to check on this. The minimum age to gamble is 18 and if you want to drink
alcohol you’ll need to be 21. The ship sails on Tuesday and Thursday from 7pm
until 12am, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 4pm and 7pm to 1am, and on Sunday
from 1pm to 6pm. A ticket costs $10. These are winter hours with more trips
being run in the summer.
Atlanta Poker Club
If you want to play Texas holdem poker locally in and around Atlanta, you can
find some decent action through the Atlanta Poker Club. This club runs a series
of poker games at restaurants and bars around the greater Atlanta area.
All tournaments are free to enter with prizes being awarded in the form of
food and drink vouchers, trophies, memberships, and sometimes even cash. On top
of this, when you do well in a tournament you’re awarded points and are
competing against all players on the overall Atlanta Poker Club leader board.
From this you can win more prizes and gain entry into larger tournaments
where decent money is up for grabs. The important thing in relation to this club
is that no money changes hands. Bars and restaurants pay the club to run events,
while earning increased revenue from players who come to play poker and have
some drinks and food in their establishment at the same time. While this isn’t
real poker as you would find in a casino, it’s a good option if you’d like to
play Texas holdem poker legally and for fun in Atlanta.
Poker Websites Legal In Georgia State
Traveling out of State
Your final option in relation to playing poker in the state of Georgia is to
get in your car, or catch a plane, to another state. Obviously, your best bet
would be to drive south into Florida which has a huge Texas holdem poker scene
and a room that offers tournaments and cash games in pretty much every town.
Just over the border to the south in Jacksonville you’ll find a huge number
of rooms including the massive BestBet which boasts over 70 tables and a huge
number of games at all stake levels. Jacksonville is just a 1 hour flight from
Atlanta, or a five hour drive, and if you live in the southern part of Georgia
it may only be a short drive. Creek Entertainment in Gretna is also a good
option, just outside of Tallahassee.
Online Holdem
If you want to play poker online in Georgia, you also won’t be able to do so
in a legal poker room. The state has no specific laws in relation to online
play, except in respect to operating an online gambling business. This means you
simply cannot play online poker in Georgia, unless you breach terms and
conditions of certain sites and enter the legal grey area in respect to state
law.
If you wish to play slots, blackjack, roulette, craps, or other games at
online casinos you can do so at several sites that allow US players. This once
again is a legal grey area as technically you probably shouldn’t be doing so.
It’s highly unlikely that the state would come down on you though as they try to
go after the suppliers as opposed to the players. Proceed with caution if you
attempt to play at online casinos out of Georgia and we certainly aren’t
recommending it.
If poker is your passion and you want to become a professional or
semi-professional player, then you should probably leave Georgia and relocate to
Florida or California. That is, unless you think you could tough it out and live
in Las Vegas. If so, then Vegas is the best place to be to find the softest
possible tables and have access to the best tournaments.
If you don’t want to leave Georgia and are established there then you’ll need
to travel to Florida or Mississippi, or take a cruise ship out into
international waters. That’s the only way you’ll be able to play poker regularly
enough to make decent money, ride out the variance in the game, and classify
yourself as semi-professional. That will take a lot of effort and you’ll spend a
lot of time travelling, so you really need to decide whether it’s worth it or
not.
Future Laws
Laws in Georgia are unlikely to change soon and we all now know that at the
federal level online poker won’t be making a comeback for a long time. As such,
it’s just not a viable option to wait it out and see what happens in the state.
Once again, the law is rife with hypocrisy in respect to allowing lottery and
not any other gambling, but that’s just life. We can only hope that poker builds
in popularity in the state and some of the conservative draconian laws and
lawmakers begin to see the light.
Usually money wins out at the end of the day and if the lawmakers and
politicians can see a significant amount of revenue being lost to neighbouring
states then we may see changes in the future. But probably not for a few
generations.
In the meantime, check out BestBet in Jacksonville; it really is one of the
better poker rooms in the United States.
Conclusion
Unless you want to take the chance to play Texas holdem online in an
unlicensed poker room, your only options in Georgia are to travel out of state
or take a gambling boat trip off the coast. If playing poker is important to you
let your local and state politicians know how you feel.
Internet Cafes Forcing Georgia Lawmakers To Take Harder Stance On Online Gambling
Poker Websites Legal In Georgia Secretary Of State
While a handful of states are considering the benefits of revenue increases brought about by legalizing online gambling, the state of Georgia seems to be going in the opposite direction. The Peach State does offer its residents a state lottery, bingo and raffles, but the only other legal gambling options Georgians have are two casino boats operating out of Savannah and Brunswick, and they have to sail into international waters before the gambling can begin.
However, Georgia residents have been flocking to Internet cafes throughout the state to play online poker and other games, which caught both the eye and the ire of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal in August, 2011. With anywhere from 50-100 Internet cafes operating all over the state of Georgia, Gov. Deal promised a crackdown on the establishments catering to online gamblers who are using their terminals. “Our state law prohibits gambling.” Deal said. “The code is black and white on this issue.” The governor’s aggressive attitude toward thwarting illegal online gambling in the Internet cafes seemed to garner the support of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation as well as international gambling consultant George Joseph. The Internet cafes are attracting the gamblers in droves, but the players have no recourse if they can’t collect winnings from unregulated poker sites that are not on American soil. “Who are you going to go to?” Joseph asked. “Not law enforcement.”[1]
Georgia lawmakers also don’t seem in a hurry to allow pari-mutuel wagering, despite the state’s sizeable horse presence. Legislators had a chance to establish a nine-member commission that would oversee pari-mutuel betting and its regulation. But House Bill 467, which was a proposal to legalize horse-racing in the state, did not even come up for a House vote in time for the bill to be passed to the Senate, which leaves the issue on the state legislature’s back burner until next year. And at the earliest, if the bill passes the House and the Senate, Georgia residents would have to wait until at least the 2018 General Election to find out if pari-mutuel wagering receives formal approval from lawmakers.[2]
Despite the governor’s efforts to halt illegal online gambling in Internet cafes and the legislature’s non-committal stance on House Bill 467, the Georgia Lottery Corporation spent nearly $100,000 on a study it completed in October, 2011 that examined the potential profit the state would stand to gain if casinos were built in Atlanta, Savannah and Jekyll Island. The study estimated that Georgia could rake in as much as $1 billion by 2018 if the casinos got the green light. “Georgia, in particular the Atlanta metropolitan area, would be viewed by the gaming industry as one of the most prized opportunities in North America, largely because it has one of the largest, most affluent, untapped markets, with excellent air and highway access,” the study said.[3]
Floating Casinos And The Georgia State Lottery–Georgia’s Limited History Of Gambling
Residents of the Peach State do not have any kind of land-based legal gambling venues within state borders, but that doesn’t mean they’re cut off completely. Gamblers in Georgia can wager on two different casino ships, the Emerald Princess II Casino[4], and the Diamond Casino[5]. The Emerald Princess II is located off of Gisco Point. Because gambling is illegal in the state of Georgia, the ship is required to sail into international waters before opening its two casino levels where patrons can play blackjack, poker, roulette, or slot machines. The Diamond Casino, which operates out of Savannah, has two casino floors and offers slots, poker, roulette and mini-baccarat.
Georgia’s Thunderbolt Casino near Savannah circa. 1908
The Georgia State Lottery, by far the state’s most consistent gambling revenue generator, was created in 1993 and sold its first ticket in June, 1994. Since its creation, the lottery has earned $39 billion in ticket sales, with $13.4 billion going directly to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education Account.
In 2011, the lottery grossed $3.597 billion in ticket sales. Winners alone took home $2.1 billion. Not only does the lottery benefit the people lucky enough to buy the winning ticket or select the lucky numbers, but 2010 figures show that the Georgia State Lottery brought in $15.1 million in tax revenue, as well as an additional $356,000 in back taxes.
The lottery also boosts major retailers and small businesses, with 2011 numbers showing an average of $27,000 in earnings per retailer that sell lottery tickets. Of course, educational funding has also received a major boost since the lottery’s creation. Georgia’s pre-Kindergarten program received $355 million to help more than 4,000 pre-K classrooms statewide to give children a successful start to their education. The HOPE Scholarship’s $748.2 million allowed 256,000 high school graduates to attend college, which in turn creates a better educated workforce for the state. The Georgia State Lottery directly employs 280 workers statewide, and another 50,000 people are employed where lottery tickets are sold.[6]
The success the state lottery would enjoy was evident from the very start. Georgia residents purchased 52 million tickets in the first week of operation. Five months later, the lottery exceeded its first-year sales goal, earning $463 million in sales. By the end of its first year, $1.1 billion in lottery revenue had been earned, $164.81 per capita, making it the most successful state lottery startup in history since Florida began its lottery in 1988.[7]
Outlook For Gambling Legislation In Any Form In Georgia Not A Safe Bet
Despite the huge success of the Georgia State Lottery, the actions of Georgia legislators and the attitude of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal leaves the impression that gamblers in Georgia shouldn’t bet the farm on a change in gambling laws any time soon.
Poker Websites Legal In Georgia Government
Residents who gamble and play the lottery may find it difficult to understand why Georgia lawmakers aren’t taking a harder look at the potential revenue boost online gambling regulations could bring to the state. With Gov. Deal’s crackdown last year on Internet cafes that may or may not be fronts for online poker rooms, residents who gamble online may be more timid about going all-in as well. And after another failed attempt to bring pari-mutuel wagering to a state with many horse stables and a huge horse population, it is becoming clear that the Georgia legislature isn’t willing to place any kind of bet on the potential positive effect gambling legislation could bring to the state–online or otherwise.
Time will tell, but Georgia legislators will no doubt feel some pressure if other states such as New Jersey and Nevada manage to push online gambling bills through the legislative process and create untold amounts of additional revenue by succeeding in offering online gambling.
Citations and References
Poker Websites Legal In Georgia Counties
[1]State leaders vow to crack down on illegal internet gambling cafes – Atlanta Journal Constitution
[2]Georgians to wait until at least 2018 for regulated horse betting in the state – Throughbred Times
[3]Study finds massive earning potential for land based casinos in Georgia by Jim Galloway
[4]Emerald Princess Casino in Georgia – Casino Website
[5]Diamond Casino in Georgia – Casino Website
[6]Benefits of the state lottery in Georgia – Galottery.com Analysis
[7]About the Georgia State lottery – Galottery.com