gambling
Poker considered as gambling?
<p>I heard a lot of people say that Poker is a game of skill, not a game of luck. And often, you see the same winners in the finals of poker tournaments.</p>

<p>Does that mean online poker sites do NOT require a gambling license to operate?</p>

<p>Game of skill? Nonsense. There <em>are</em> skills that can help you out / prevent you from making bad decisions, but it's still gambling nonetheless.</p>

<p>There is no gambling license you can obtain to operate an online poker site, or really any other online site that allows gambling, in the United States. <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2007/june/gambling_060607" rel="noreferrer">It is completely against the law.</a> In fact, the FBI shut down a few of these poker sites back in 2011 for fraud. Read up on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg" rel="noreferrer">United States v. Scheinberg</a>.</p>

<p>Poker has a gambling element. Although it is also a game of skill in which better players tend to win, they also do so "randomly." Unlike a game of total skill such as chess, in which a better player can avoid losing, that's not true in poker; even the best players sometimes have "bad luck." For this reason, poker is regulated as a "gambling" game, that's legal mainly in licensed casinos.</p>
