In the UK, online poker is legal and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. Other countries in the EU with regulated online poker markets include France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. In other countries, such as Germany, online poker is legal but not regulated.

More than half of the states allow live poker, whether in card rooms, casinos, or on Indigenous lands. However, there are some states, like Texas and Georgia, with such ambiguous laws that poker enthusiasts have found ways to open membership-based card clubs without explicit licenses to do so.