Nobody has even been arrested for playing real money online poker games in the US. This does not prevent the widespread belief that online poker is illegal. Federal laws exist which make financial transactions between banks and gambling sites illegal –though even these have never been properly tested. Bonus slot machine games play for fun. What the UIGEA in 2006 and ‘Black Friday’ have succeeded in doing is spreading the widespread misinformation that personally playing the game is illegal. This article gives you some history and an insight into both legal offshore poker sites and the newly regulated ‘in-state’ rooms.
Offshore poker sites where the base of operation is not in the United States are legal for American players. Furthermore, more states are forming legislation allowing legalized online poker to be regulated.
You’ll find the history first below. This will give some context to better understand that playing online poker is perfectly legal. Next you can find a run-down of the biggest and best offshore sites and how you can deposit on them in context of the current banking restrictions. After that you can find information on the regulated sites in New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware – followed by a look into the future.
Legal Poker Sites – 3 Dates Which Define the US Legal Poker Landscape
Read about legal online poker in the USA. We talk about legal USA poker sites as well as the legalities of online poker in the USA. Find links to legal poker articles and other resources for players living in the USA. Legal US online poker sites debuted on April 30, 2013. Ultimate Poker was the site that made history. Nevada was the first state to host fully legal online poker. Texas Hold ’em was the only game spread at Ultimate Poker during its first six months in business.Where To Play Online Poker For Real Money - Legal Online Poker Sites in the USA. The debate of legal online poker in the United States exists at both the federal and state levels. Laws currently governing the status of online poker sites ban them from operation at the federal level, though that has certainly been brought into serious question.
The first bill which still has effects for online poker rooms actually pre-dates the internet. The Wire-Act of 1959 was put in place to stop sports bets over state borders via telephone. It is the interpretation of what constitutes a ‘gambling transaction’ which has divided the pro and anti-poker lobbies ever since.
In 2006, online poker was booming and millions of Americans were enjoying the games – some as a hobby and others professionally. Then the ‘Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act’ (or UIGEA) was passed through the back-door via an attachment to a Port Security bill. The effect was immediate, with major sites at the time including Party Poker and MicroGaming pulling out of the US.
Poker bounced back, with new sites taking over. PokerStars and Full Tilt were two big beneficiaries – with Stars building much of the momentum which makes them the biggest poker site worldwide today.
2011 saw the landscape change once again, with a crackdown on the financial systems behind poker known as ‘Black Friday’. This effectively shut out PokerStars, Full Tilt, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker. With the last two going bankrupt and disappearing. Fear of being indicted on money laundering charges is a big deal to the executives of some sites, and reparations have been paid on a Federal level to amend for past transgressions (without liability being admitted).
Poker is now in the process of bounding back once again. A new breed of offshore sites still provides games for US players. These sites are perfectly legal in their own jurisdictions and are building enough momentum to be able to offer a big selection of games and tournaments. At the same time there are individual States starting to legalize online poker games within their borders. Those sites have a marketing interest in calling out others as ‘illegal’, spreading yet more confusion for non-informed poker fans on the true legal state of US online poker.
Legal Poker Sites – Biggest Offshore Sites
Here are the biggest offshore sites currently available to US players, I have listed these in order of size.
#1 Bovada: This site is part of the better known Bodog Brand and is the single biggest site offering poker from offshore. They accept players from all states, and focus on recreational games – even going as far as to put policies in place to make their site unfavorable for pro-grinders. You can deposit easily here and the promotions often involve live events and the infamous Bodog Parties.
#2 The Winning Poker Network: Also known as the ‘WPN’, this network of sites is growing fast and starting to offer bigger and better tournaments and promo as their player base grows. Sites include America’s Cardroom and True Poker. Players on this network can enjoy jackpots and progressive leader board promotions.
#3 The Merge Poker Network: This network is headed up by the cool Sportsbetting Poker, who run a lot online poker tournament events as well as hosting a huge selection of cash games. Daily cash-back and the biggest welcome bonus package of any site (including the worldwide giants) keep players coming through the door.
#4 The Chico Poker Network: This is a smaller network, though they have been growing recently. Sportsbooks use the back-end software at Chico and pool together their players to offer a great selection of poke games. Sites on this network include BetOnline and SportsBetting Poker.
There are some smaller networks coming through including the Equity Poker Network and the Revolution Network – which is currently rebuilding after a difficult 2013.
Legal Poker Sites – State Regulated Sites
Residents of Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have regulated legal poker sites to play on from within their State borders. You’ll be IP and address checked before you can play. At the moment these sites are smaller than most of the offshore sites listed above. Growth is expected as more people become aware of the opportunity to play in a safe and regulated environment.
Delaware Poker Sites – Delaware residents can play on a platform powered by the software of industry giant 888. With such a small population, you will only find a handful of tables at the regulated sites. These are branded by 3 different casino owners at this point in time, with Dover Downs Casino, Delaware Park and Harrington Raceway all sharing a common back end.
Nevada Poker Sites – Nevada were the second state to offer regulated real money poker games within their borders and have been a testing ground for early adopters keen to perfect their technology before moving on to States with bigger populations. You’ll need to be inside Nevada to access these sites, which include WSOP.com (powered by 888), Ultimate Poker and Real Gaming’s SouthPointPoker – which is in soft launch at the moment and will be open to all in the near future.
New Jersey Poker Sites – At the end of 2013, NJ joined the regulated States list. With 8 million residents, there has been a lot more interest from operators for this State than for Delaware or New Jersey. After a few months the tie-in between Party Poker and The Borgata Casino is emerging as the biggest site, this uses the new Party software – which has big ‘social elements’ in addition to the poker games. Other sites available include the 888-powered WSOP brand, who are leveraging their experience from being the debutant site in NV. 888 have also gone it alone in NJ, with 888Poker and WSOP both being powered by the 888 back-end. The remaining sites are Ultimate Poker (also in NV) and Betfair, who have yet to gain any significant traction.
With more sites preparing to launch, it will be interesting to see who emerges as the single biggest site 6 months from now.
Legal US Poker – The Future
There are at least 10 States who are considering legislation for poker sites, including the massive CA. This means we have a potentially exciting time for US poker over the next couple of years. For now you can play perfectly legally at the many offshore sites.
It is sometimes said that online poker is unsafe. There is a reason that some have this perception, but in most cases, this is simply not true. Online poker is not a dangerous game and there are plenty of trusted poker sites.
Of course, there are sites that players should avoid, and that is why sites like ours takes the time to recommend the safest sites for US players. Our experience in and knowledge of the industry is what sets us apart from other “online poker review” sites. We won’t steer you in the wrong direction.
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The perception of poker online as unsafe comes from a confusing history of US laws, created by legislators who usually did not have a complete grasp of poker as a skill game or the technology that can be used to make games online safe.
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Nevada, NJ, Delaware Leading Way for US Players
Nevada was the first state in America to officially legalize online poker. It was done to enable players within the physical borders of Nevada to play at sites that were licensed by the state, and geolocation technology was used to verify the location of those players. If they tried to access the site from outside the borders, they could only sign up for a site but not play real-money poker online. Once their IP address showed up inside Nevada, they were allowed to play. It worked, and there were no reports of people outside of Nevada playing on the sites. Delaware did the same thing, as did New Jersey. The latter did it on a more massive scale, with numerous different online poker and casino sites licensed for players only in New Jersey, and its geolocation technology worked, too. Pennsylvania joined the party in 2019. Michigan and West Virginia also passed online poker legislation in 2019.
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In addition, the states with legal online poker also have regulations in place requiring the licensed sites to keep player funds separate from operating monies, meaning player funds are always safe, even if an operator faces mismanagement or fraud. Many online poker sites – even ones offshore, like the ones we recommend here – do the same, but the US regulated market makes it a requirement. This is yet another example of how regulation protects consumers.
If the US government passed a federal law to regulate online poker, it would have the same effect but work for all of the sites available to US players. This would be the safest way to protect the millions of Americans who want to play online poker.
Until that happens, the options for US players are limited. The four states with legal US poker have more options for their players, but there are several offshore sites that are safe for American players. Their many years of experience have shown them to be trustworthy, and they do maintain industry standards set by the regulators that issue their licenses, though they are currently outside of the US. We list the top recommendations for you here.
Top 3 Safest Online Poker Sites for US Players
1. IgnitionPoker.eu (previously known as Bovada/Bodog) –Ignition Casino/Poker is operated by Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which essentially was built by Bodog. The company was owned by a large Canadian bookie, but it was sold to a larger operation – Morris Mohawk Gaming Group, which is based on the Kahnawake reservation in Quebec, Canada. While Bodog became a part of the Pai Wang Luo Poker Network, Ignition did as well, which means Ignition players pool with Bodog/Bovada players to create a larger player pool with more games and tournaments. The names involved here have been synonymous with reliability and safety, as players have never been defrauded, cheated, or scammed from any sites on this network. We have every confidence that this site will remain focused on serving its customers honorably. Withdraws are usually the fastest in the industry taking 2-10 days depending on the method, and there are several methods by which to deposit funds. Ignition’s customer service is also easy to deal with and very helpful.
2. Betonline.ag –Since BetOnline operates out of Panama they can legally accept players from almost every state in the United States, unlike Ignition Poker. Because of ambiguous US laws, the owner has remained anonymous so far, but the site has a long history of paying players on time and offering games that are free of bots and cheaters. It is one of the most trusted US poker sites on the internet today, and it continues to become more popular as players discover its soft games and ever-growing available poker options. The site also caters to a variety of players and offers multiple deposit and withdrawal options, with some like Bitcoin being the fastest and others like eChecks taking up to two weeks. It is a great alternative to Bovada.
3. PokerStars.com – PokerStars has long been known as the most trusted (and largest) online poker site in the world. While it was ousted from the US market on Black Friday in April 2011, it made reparations and peace with the US government since that time. Not long after the New Jersey poker market opened up, PokerStars underwent a thorough investigation by the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement and obtained a license there. It has also applied for a license in Pennsylvania. PokerStars is making its slow but certain comeback to the US market, which is great for players because of its stellar reputation for safety and security. The site is even more careful than ever before because it wants to obtain entry into many more regulated markets, so PokerStars adheres to the letter of every law. For players who can access PokerStars, it is highly recommended. For those yet unable to play on PokerStars, be patient, as it will be an option when the US market opens up even further.
Who to Avoid?
There are several online poker networks and sites that have gone out of business, but any sites claiming any type of association with them should be avoided at all costs. Lock Poker was on the Revolution Gaming Network, and while they seem to have disappeared (with all of the players’ money), any sign of them returning should send players running in the other direction. Full Flush Poker was another that shut down in 2016. It was part of the Equity Poker Network, another name that should be avoided.
Any sites on the Merge Gaming Network are not recommended. Carbon Poker is the most popular of the three major poker sites connected to Merge, but Players Only and Sportsbook.ag are also on the network. Not only have the sites increased their fees for transactions in the past year, payout times have increased to anywhere from two weeks to several months, with some players complaining that they have been refused payments. In addition, Carbon Poker has been shown to ban winning players. Finally, there are not even any bonus incentives to bring new players to the sites. Most players have left these sites or are in the process of doing so.
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If there are sites that you find appealing but don’t see them recommended here, feel free to contact us for information. Another place to look for information is the popular online poker forums, where players tend to take their complaints about sites and post their bad experiences.
Why You Need Trusted Online Poker Sites
Safety and security are absolutely paramount when it comes to picking an online poker site.
Most poker players prefer real-money poker, which means you’ll be trusting an organization with your deposit so you don’t want to risk your hard-earned cash on a fly-by-night operation. Generally poker players are depositing using credit cards or wire transfers so it’s extra important to make sure you trust the operator where you’re sending your money.
Legal Usa Online Poker Sites
Fortunately online security has vastly improved since the early days of the 2000s when the online gambling industry was still in its infancy. These days online poker sites are forced to segregate player funds away from their operating income so that your deposits are always held safely.
There are also plenty of options for online poker players in the USA these days as sports betting and online casino sites have been flourishing. The Poker Alliance is also fighting to legalize online poker in more of the USA. The important thing to remember for most of these sites is that it’s in their best interest to keep their players happy. That’s why you don’t see shady sites operating for long. They sacrifice any chance at long-term success for a short-term gain.
You want your deposit to be handled with care but you also want the software to reliable. These days poker sites pride themselves on having certified random number generators (RNGs), which are able to replicate the exact odds of a 52-card deck of cards just like real-life poker.
Are US Poker Sites Safe to Play at?
If you’re talking about sites licensed in American states? Absolutely. Those sites include PokerStars, 888poker, PartyPoker, Pala Poker, and WSOP run by Caesars.
If you’re referring to offshore sites, it depends. The ones we recommended above and in other places on our site are not only safe, but licensed, experienced, and proven to be trustworthy. The two that have always been at the top of our list are Ignition Poker and BetOnline.ag.
Legal Usa Online Poker Sites
Of course safety should be the bare minimum for picking an online poker sites. There are plenty of other factors to consider when deciding on where to play online poker including the software, player pool, sign-up bonuses, available poker games and even the level of skill on the site. Fortunately we take all those factors into consideration in our comprehensive poker site reviews section where we take a look at all the major operators in the USA>
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