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South Dakota Online Poker
Four of America’s most famous faces stare down at you from the towering peaks of South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore. It’s fun to stare up and wonder what each would have thought about modern developments like the Internet, and to ponder what position these titans of history would have taken on the issue of online poker.
The rest of South Dakota has certainly voted, with thousands from the state logging on to Internet poker sites every month, and thousands more visiting pages like ours to find out How to Play Online Poker From South Dakota.
Online Poker in South Dakota
We employ a very simple formula to create our list of recommended real poker online rooms for South Dakota players. Valid, legal license to operate plus high-value rewards programs plus simple and fast banking equals an ideal room for a new online poker player. We followed that formula to the letter when putting together this list of poker sites.
Top Sites for Online Poker in Your State
Can Poker Players From South Dakota Play Internet Poker?
Anyone can play poker online, so what most people generally mean when they ask this question is whether or not it’s possible to play real-money games of poker from South Dakota. Good news: all of the US-facing poker sites you’ll find online accept players from South Dakota. The next question we hear quite often involves how you deposit at and withdraw from online poker rooms. While each poker site has different options, the most popular choices for poker transactions among South Dakota poker player.
South Dakota Gambling & Poker Laws Summarized
| Type/Code | Summary |
|---|---|
| State Code Section(s) | 22.25; 42.7 |
| Definition of Gambling | Any person who engages in gambling in any form with cards, dice, or other implements or devices of any kind wherein anything valuable is wagered upon the outcome, or who keeps any establishment, place, equipment, or apparatus for such gambling or any agents or employees for such purpose, or any person who knowingly lets any establishment, structure, place, equipment, or apparatus for such gambling. |
| Definition of Gambling Business | One that is conducted at a gambling establishment or involves the placing, receiving, or making of bets or wagers or offers to engage in the placing, receiving, or making of bets or wagers. |
| Definition of Bet or Wager | To directly or indirectly take, receive, or accept money or any valuable thing with the understanding or agreement that the money or valuable thing will be paid or delivered to a person if the payment or delivery is contingent upon the result of a race, contest, or game or upon the happening of an event not known to be certain. |
| Definition of Internet Computer Service | A service, system, or network or access software provider that uses public communication infrastructure or operates to provide or enable computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including a service or system that provides access to the internet. |
| Definition of Illegal Internet Gambling | No person engaged in a gambling business may use the internet or an interactive computer service to bet or wager, or establish a location or site in this state from which to conduct a gambling business on or over the internet or an interactive computer service. |
| Online Poker/Gambling | The state of South Dakota has not considered legalizing online poker or internet gambling of any kind. |
| Live Poker | There is a great deal of live poker in the card rooms of Deadwood, as well as many of the Native American casinos throughout the state, where cash games and tournaments are offered. |
| Casinos | Numerous tribes in South Dakota entered into compacts with South Dakota to offer gambling on their reservations, and there are approximately 10 casinos in the state now, complete with slot machines and table games like poker. In Deadwood, card rooms are also legal, and dozens of them operate for poker and blackjack customers. |
| Sports Betting | No bill has been introduced to legalize sports betting. |
| DFS | South Dakota lawmakers have not considered legalizing daily fantasy sports. |
| Other Forms of Gambling | Horse and dog racing, off-track pari-mutuel betting, lottery. |
Is It Legal to Gamble in South Dakota?
That’s a tougher question to answer than most people think. Gambling law in the U.S. at the state level is notoriously obtuse, so clear answers are often in short supply.
All online poker players should aim to understand the basics of South Dakota’s poker laws as a minimum requirement. Below we’ve assembled the key aspects of the law and broken them down in simple terms.
The initial issue in South Dakota’s gambling law is its self-referential definition of gambling, causing ambiguity. From “Gambling defined, “Section 22-25-1:
“Any person who engages in gambling in any form with cards, dice, or other implements or devices of any kind wherein anything valuable is wagered upon the outcome […] is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.”
As you’ve no doubt noted, that doesn’t really define gambling so much as just repeat the term.
The rest of the definition offers no assistance, solely addressing individuals who operate or allow gambling establishments.
Section 22-25-1 also contains the sole charge for players engaged in illegal gambling (to the best of our understanding) – a misdemeanor.
South Dakota is one of the few states in America that has passed laws specifically built to address online gambling. The law (Chapter 22-25A) aims at operators, not players, and prescribes felony charges for those who accept bets that begin. Or, terminate in South Dakota or establish internet gaming businesses in the state.
No criminal charges have been brought under South Dakota’s Internet gambling laws up to this point, as far as we know.
South Dakota gambling law does not contain any provision allowing social or private gambling.
Now that you’re done with our list you can review the full text of South Dakota gambling law for yourself.
Will South Dakota Regulate Online Poker?
Despite the prevalence of land-based gambling, there hasn’t been widespread discussion in South Dakota about moving poker or casinos online. South Dakota would be a minor poker market, so that could explain the lack of interest. It could also be that the state’s disparate gambling industry has been unable to get on the same page when it comes to online gambling. Whatever the reason, the conclusion remains the same: Regulated online poker sites isn’t likely to ride into South Dakota at any point in the near future.
South Dakota Gambling Facts
There’s quite a good bit of regulated gambling in South Dakota. Especially when you consider the relatively sparse full-time population of the state. Just like the majority of American states, South Dakota has a state lottery. In addition to the various games of chances available via the lottery, you can choose from hundreds – if not thousands – of unique games at the state’s various commercial and tribal gambling facilities. Regulated gambling in South Dakota encompasses pari-mutuel bets on live racing and charitable gaming such as lotteries and bingo.
Social gambling is not explicitly exempt from the gambling laws of South Dakota. Authorities may not prioritize pursuit of such activity, but it remains against the letter of South Dakota law.
The state of South Dakota doesn’t regulate or license any online gambling activity.
South Dakota Gambling Resources
CGR: South Dakota. Get an immediate and thorough overview of South Dakota’s gambling industry with this capsule report from the UNLV Center for Gaming Research.
South Dakota Commission on Gaming. Regulator for most of the state’s gambling activity, the SDCG homepage contains complete licensee information, links to forms, statutes and applications and a variety of statistics related to regulated gambling in South Dakota.
South Dakota Lottery. The online hub for the South Dakota lottery displays current jackpot details, winners’ info, laws, regulations, and historical resources.
South Dakota’s Contributions to Poker History
Digging into the South Dakota-poker connection reveals one recurring name: Deadwood. It’s that not-so-sleepy frontier town that provided the backdrop for such mythic gamblers as “Poker” Alice Ivers. And, famously, the legendary Wild Bill Hickok, reportedly shot during a poker game in a Deadwood tavern while holding aces and eights.
The games in modern Deadwood are probably not quite as lively as in the days of yore. But, the town continues to play an outsized role when it comes to gambling in South Dakota. This provides more modern gamblers with a backdrop for their leisure that still strongly echoes those bygone times.
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