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Online poker is an extremely popular past time, even though it is illegal in the U.S.

BOISE -- It is America’s hottest past time -- the digital age has put poker back on top of the world.

Long gone are the days of smoke-filled basement poker nights. These days all you need is a computer, Internet access and a credit card.

But it's illegal. So who is playing and who is watching? NewsChannel 7 investigates the online gambling craze.

Forget the poker face, this is about the mouse and the couch.

And it has caught fire on campus, at work and especially at home!

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Brian Lawley likes the convenience of playing poker online from the comfort of his couch.

"I heard about it from a friend when I went to school at Idaho State and the rest is history, it just took off from there,” said Brian Lawley, online gambler.

With a credit card number, online poker player, Brian Lawley, gambles anytime he wants.

"It’s just an icon on your desktop and you just click here and it brings up, your user name and password, just like an e-mail or anything else," said Lawley.

You give a middleman the number, much like you would to buy something on eBay.  The account is verified, and then you're free to put money in at any time, and any amount.

"Sometime a $100, $200, sometimes more. I have talked to people here and there that will start with $10,000 and try to go big with it," said Lawley.

At any given time, tens of thousands of people are playing, 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

"Four or five years ago I’d go into a casino, you would rarely talk to someone that played online poker. Now it’s very, very rare that you ever find someone who plays in a live game at a casino who doesn't regularly play online," said Lawley.

"Online gambling is a growing problem, I think the FBI estimates that it’s growing at a rate of $10 billion a year," said Patrick Kiernan, FBI special agent.

A multi-billion dollar industry that's illegal.

Recently, U.S. lawmakers banned online gambling in the U.S. with the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.

That act put an end to Internet casinos based in the U.S.  So those casinos took their business to foreign countries.

It's known as offshore gambling and it’s a way to get around the law, proving traditional borders don't exist when it comes to the worldwide Web.

And that allows Americans like Brian to continue playing.

"Ever other Sunday I will play a big tournament, a $300 buy," said Lawley.

It’s not just adults playing the games online, children are getting hooked too. 

"Do you know a lot of young people that play it?” asked NewsChannel 7.

“Oh yeah, my cousins and things in high school," said Lawley.

Signing up is based on honesty, and if you have the money, you're allowed to gamble online.

"We don't know who's actually doing it. It could be a young child, it could be someone who is addicted to gambling, yet they don't have the money to do it. And just because you check a box that says you are over 18 and you have a credit card, they are going to take it, because it's money," said Kiernan.

So what's being done about the problem?  In this investigation, NewsChannel 7 talked to a number of agencies about what they're doing to stop the illegal activity.

Idaho State Police, the Idaho attorney general, and U.S. attorney’s office had no comment on the issue.

The only agency that would comment, is the FBI in Salt Lake City.

"We have responsibility here for the state of Idaho, I’ve talked to the agents that work those area and it’s just not a big problem there," said Kiernan.

Kiernan says there's just too many other crimes to worry about.

"Most people don't realize that there is only a little over 12,500 agents in the FBI for the entire country, and we are responsible for protecting 300 million people. So there are not too many of us around, so we have to prioritize our cases," said Kiernan

Lawley says shows like ESPN's televised tournaments have helped make poker more popular than ever and he enjoys being able to play the game from comforts of his living room couch.

“Making money everyday?” asked NewsChannel 7.

“No honestly, it’s just like a casino, you have your ups and downs," said Lawley.

Internet gambling continues to grow at the rate of about $10 billlion a year.

The FBI says all sports betting combined is a $120 billion industry, and that’s just in the U.S.