Fantasy Football Ruled Skill, Poker Still a Game of Chance

To some, the rulings decided on by the Federal Reserve and Treasury in the United States has been surprising. There has been a rush to finalize regulations that will carry out the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. In the regulations poker has been included as a game of chance while fantasy football is included as a game of skill.

Congress used the term ‘game of chance’ to define illegal gambling and then later it refers to ‘predominantly games of chance’ that includes games that may be mostly skill but do contain luck. This was devised to include online poker sites in the category of illegal internet gambling.

Fantasy football has been ruled legal and the area of chance was discarded. Yet any player of fantasy football knows that ‘chance’ is a factor as players can get hurt or a ref’s call can determine the outcome of a game.

If it was not so frustrating, it would almost seem laughable to a poker player that fantasy football is considered a game of skill and poker is not. It seems it may be some time still before poker players are able to play online and gamble in the United States without worrying about the UIGEA or other legislation.