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The UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed in November of 2006, as part of the SAFE Port Act [0], which placed online poker into a legal grey area for most U.S. citizens. A lot of major poker sites withdrew from the U.S. market as a result.

The legality of both in-person and online poker varies from state to state.

[0]: https://www.beatthefish.com/us-poker-sites/uigea-unlawful-in...

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> A lot of major poker sites withdrew from the U.S. market as a result.

That's a nice way to put it.

In reality, they all flaunted the (bullshit) law, and set up all kinds of phony businesses and things to process all the payouts, because banks wouldn't do gambling stuff. I got a check from a golf shop once. Then the feds went after them on fraud and similar charges, and shut down Full Tilt, Poker Stars, and Absolute. Seized domains and funds and stuff.

That's when they "withdrew from the U.S. market."

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