Legal US Online Poker Sites
URGENT UPDATE:
Several online poker rooms have suspended
US operations. Until the status of player balances and available games
becomes clearer we are redirecting their links to other operational
poker rooms. We will update this page as soon as more information
becomes available.
In the meantime we recommend that players
visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all sites still available
to US players, including our top-rated site
BetOnline.
More US poker information:
•
Why
Online Poker Isn't Illegal
•
US
Poker Reviews
•
Poker's Black Friday
•
USA Online Poker
•
Party Poker for US Players?
•
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"I want to find
legal poker sites to play online for real money. Where can I
go?"
First of all, let me preface this
response by assuring you that I am not an attorney and do not
pretend to provide any sort of legal advice. However, the simple
truth is that online gambling is, and always has been, in a gray
legal area. More specifically, the laws surrounding strictly online
poker site operators have never been clarified.
Despite the fact that the US government
occasionally decides to pursue legal action against offshore
sportsbetting sites, there has never been a single documented case
of a US resident being prosecuted for playing online poker.
Even if some antiquated law against betting exists in random cities
and states, it has never been enforced. As long as players pay taxes
on all of their income, both gambling and otherwise, the government
has little concern with what you do with your own money online.
So, what was all the fuss about when the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed into law? The
most important conclusion is that it had nothing to do with whether
or not legal poker sites for US players still existed. The UIGEA
tries to enforce restrictions on the way banks do business with
online gambling sites.
The corrupt 11th hour passing of this
bill makes it more difficult for poker players to fund their
accounts but, fortunately, numerous easy methods still exist for
hard-working tax-paying citizens to spend their money how they see
fit. There are plenty of poker sites legal in their respective jurisdiction to
choose from.
What Makes a "Legal Poker
Site"?
Unfortunately, until the hypocritical
domestic laws are changed in the US, no online gambling site (poker
or otherwise) is going to be stamped with a seal of approval from
the DOJ. However, as I've tried to cover above, simply playing at
these sites isn't illegal. What I consider to be a legal poker site
is one that complies with independent random number generator
testing agencies and is certified by its relevant home government.
All of the poker sites we link to fall under that category.
Another positive is that the countries
hosting our listed online poker sites aren't third-world tax havens
handing out certifications to any shady outfit with a big wallet.
Many legal poker sites are owned and operated out of Canada, Great
Britain, the Netherlands, or one of their territories. Those certainly aren't
governments with lax rules about who they do business with. The US
is way behind the times when it comes to the optimal way to handle
online gambling: regulate the games to ensure they're honest,
implement safeguards for underage and problem gambling, and tax the
revenues to go towards other civil services.
Where Can You Play Online
Poker Easily and Safely from the US?
Below, I've listed my top suggestions
for US players looking to safely play online poker for real money.
Besides the regulations that these sites abide by, one of the most
important issues US players face is easily depositing and
withdrawing from their accounts. The following sites all have viable
banking methods. Finally, keep in mind that these are only legal poker
sites in their own jurisdictions so you should check with your
local laws prior to playing for real money.
BETONLINE - Initially licensed in Costa Rica back in
2001 under a different brand name
BetOnline
moved to Panama in 2004, where it has since maintained its
license and headquarters as a legal poker site.
BetOnline
claims to have had an industry presence as a sportsbook
since 1991. They are based out of one of the largest and
most up-to-date facilities in the industry with several
hundred employees subject to annual inspection.
BetOnline
recently expanded their offerings to include an independent
poker platform, which accepts all US players.
BetOnline
has mostly built a rock-solid reputation over the years due
to quick payouts, reliable deposit methods, and personalized
customer service.
As a new legal poker site
licensed in Panama
BetOnline
has always accepted all US players and is the only remaining
US poker room to offer both e-check and block-free credit
card deposits. Making an e-check deposit is essentially like
writing a check online and doesn't require signing up with a
third-party e-wallet. While credit card deposits are offered
at every US poker room
BetOnline
is the only one to process them at a near-100% success rate.
Besides the easy deposits the other main draw of
BetOnline
is the extremely loose player base with flop percentages
often exceeding 40% for full 10-handed games. As the
BetOnline
poker section is quite new the player traffic is still
modest but the other aspects make up for it.
Positives: fully licensed in Panama, accepts all US players, loose
tables, e-check deposits.
Read full review.
Direct checking account and credit card deposits are accepted from
US players.
Visit
BetOnline
LOCK POKER
- Hosted on a network once relying on gimmicky freerolls as its main promotion
Lock Poker
has grown to become one of the few remaining powerhouses in
the US market. Its legal poker site status is provided by
the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. The KGC is located in
Quebec, Canada, and is one of the largest and most trusted
online gaming commissions in the world.
Lock Poker
is also one of the pioneers of the Merge network, which now
hosts tens of skins and a respectable number of active
games.
Lock Poker has also always accepted all US players.
Besides being a legal poker site
in its territory the biggest draws of
Lock Poker
for US players include the extremely soft tables, a sizable
cashier, and a strong rewards system. Typical flop
percentages often exceed 25-30%, which is largely unheard of
in the current online poker climate and signifies that a
larger percentage of the table regularly sees flops. The
Lock Poker
cashier also accepts credit cards at an above-average. The bonus for our players
is 150%, good up to $750, in addition to a free $11
tournament coupon by using bonus code BTF.
Cash games are also busy up to the $1/2 level with a few
active games at larger stakes.
Positives:
fully licensed in Canada, soft games, large bonus.
Read full review.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
150% up to
$750
Visit Lock
Poker
BODOG
- One of the more popular mainstays in the US market has
been
Bodog. Once
considered a new and niche poker site,
Bodog is now
one of the most popular US poker rooms and our current
top-rated site.
Bodog also has
one of the more unique histories in terms of licensing and
regulation. Originally based in Antigua,
Bodog has
maintained that license for international gaming but has
secured an additional license with the Kahnawake Gaming
Commission in Canada. This allows
Bodog to
offer gaming to North Americans and be accepted as a legal
poker site by the Quebec government.
Ultimately, as a combination sportsbook/casino/poker
room
Bodog is as close to a mainstream legal poker site as you can get
with sections of their enterprise dealing with everything
from music publishing to martial arts fighting. In terms of
the poker room,
Bodog
has one of the most user-friendly software packages, a
historically young and aggressive (read maniacal and ready
to gamble) player base, and caters to the US market with
an exclusive deposit system using existing credit cards. Our
new
Bodog players
also receive an increased 110% bonus with 10% awarded
immediately as instant cash.
Positives:
loose player base, instant cash bonus, licensed in Canada and
Antigua.
Read full review...
Our Exclusive Bonus:
100% up
to $1,100 + 10% instantly
Visit
Bodog Poker
CAKE POKER
- Another independent US poker room operating its own
network is
Cake Poker, which formally opened to new players in
2006. It is deemed a legal poker site by the government of
Curacao, where it is fully licensed and regulated under
local laws. Curacao's e-gaming licensing commission has been
around since 1996 and actually hosts the servers for
Cake Poker.
All US players are accepted and
Cake Poker
is actually one of the only US poker rooms offering a
checking account deposit service.
The better aspects of
Cake Poker
include an easy-to-cashout bonus, soft competition, and
streamlined software. This total bonus from this legal poker
site is 110% for our new players, which is competitive with
other top offers online. More important than the actual
bonus amount, however, is the fact that it is easily cashed
out through minimal gameplay. The
Cake Poker
rewards system is fairly generous with $5-10 of bonus
released per hour being realistic at the $1/2 NL level. The
overall
Cake Poker cash game traffic has also made a comeback
with about 10 active NL tables per limit up to the $1/2
level.
Positives:
licensed in Curacao, bonus is easily cashed out, loose tables.
Read full review.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
110% up to
$600
Visit Cake
Poker
POKER ROOMS BELOW HAVE CLOSED
TO US PLAYERS
SPORTSBOOK POKER - Overall, I've been very pleased with the
revamped
Sportsbook Poker package. Interestingly, they once only offered
real money games to US players but have since opened up to
virtually every other country. In terms of easy deposits,
this is one of the only legal poker sites to accept US
credit cards block-free. At
Sportsbook Poker, even mainstream bank cards that have been
rejected at other poker rooms are processed successfully
using the built-in cashier system. It simply feels like a
smoother, more stable process when a third-party e-wallet is
not required.
Sportsbook Poker is regulated by
the Maltese government and has won numerous "Best of" US
gaming site awards. Malta is also accepted by the UK as a
white listed online gaming territory. Another significant
positive of this site is the extremely loose player base,
which is certainly one of the most inexperienced online.
With online poker's largest sites seemingly tightening up
more and more each day, it's refreshing to find a legal
poker site in
Sportsbook Poker that still serves up the good
old-fashioned online fish. Our new
Sportsbook Poker players also receive a
no-strings-attached 10% instant cash bonus on their first
deposit in addition to another 100% earned through play.
Best aspects: strong traffic, awful players, licensed and regulated
in Malta, instant cash bonus, US credit
cards accepted.
Read full review...
US credit cards are not blocked by any issuing bank.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
100%
up to $1,000 + 10% instantly
Visit Sportsbook Poker
Sportsbook Poker is not currently
accepting new US players. Please visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all US poker rooms still
available.
PLAYERS ONLY POKER - One of the strongest new legal poker
sites in terms of promotions is
Players
Only Poker, which is open to all US players. This network has
been active since 1996 making it one of the oldest gaming
networks online.
Players
Only Poker is also licensed and regulated by the Netherlands
Antilles government, specifically located on the island of
Curacao. It is always especially encouraging to see such a
large government, in this case the Netherlands, sanction
online poker.
New players will also have little trouble funding
their accounts as
Players
Only Poker processed US credit and debit cards with a
near-100% acceptance rate. It is certainly a positive that
even large US banks don't classify the payment processors as
unacceptable transactions. Finally, one of the biggest
positives is the poor player base that dwarfs typical
average pot sizes and flop percentages. While
Players
Only Poker doesn't have the name recognition of the
larger legal poker sites it is still a well-rounded choice
for US players.
Best aspects: licensed and regulated by the Netherlands, large bonus,
instant cash bonus, all US credit cards
accepted. Read full review...
US Visa and
Mastercard Deposits are accepted at a near-100% rate.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
100% up
to $1,000 + 10% instantly
Visit
Players Only Poker
Players Only is not currently
accepting new US players. Please visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all US poker rooms still
available.
FULL TILT POKER - One of the best-known legal poker sites
still open to US players is
Full Tilt
Poker. They have the largest and most respected number of
professionals and are a poker-only operation, which
shouldn't be overlooked. This site has
an enormous player base thanks to its aggressive marketing
approach, one of the best software packages online, and a
general feeling of professionalism. With the enormous
traffic boost
Full Tilt
Poker experienced from continuing to service US players you'll find
at least 10-20 tournaments per hour and dozens of ring games
active at every level.
Earning its place on our poker
sites page,
Full Tilt
Poker is fully licensed and regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming
Commission. The KGC is a sovereign nation within the borders
of Quebec, Canada and shares a positive relationship with
the provincial government. The KGC is the only body to
officially license online gaming in North America and has
grown to host over half of all gaming sites online. Another
big positive is that all US
Full Tilt
Poker players can deposit directly via their checking accounts.
The fact that they are able to offer this service alone
speaks to their excellent reputation and legal history.
Positives:
most professionals, eCheck deposits, licensed and regulated in
Canada, large bonus. Read full review...
US checking account deposits are accepted directly through the
cashier.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
100% up to
$600
Visit Full
Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is currently
unavailable. Please visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all US poker rooms still
available.
POKERSTARS
-
PokerStars has now become the largest online poker room in the world thanks
to its continued support of the US market.
PokerStars could also be considered a legal poker site because
of its poker-only stance. Poker has repeatedly been ruled a
skill game by US courts and I believe
PokerStars has avoided US government attention largely because
of its lack of casino games. Players should also be
comforted by the fact that
PokerStars is regulated by the Isle of Man, a British Crown
dependency. Another massive draw is the ability to accept
deposits directly from any US checking account.
PokerStars has always been revered for its consistent games, sharp
software, and massive tournaments. Players would most likely
be completely satisfied if this was the only legal poker
site available. It's one thing to simply attract the most
players through advertising and another thing to keep that
player base loyal. The excellent payout times, enormous
amount of active games, and the general smooth operation
have made
PokerStars the go-to site for new players. If poker sites are able to
obtain a legal license from the US in the future, I imagine
PokerStars would probably be one of the first to obtain one.
Positives: highest poker traffic, licensed and regulated by Isle of
Man, tons of tournaments. Read full review...
US checking account deposits are accepted directly through the
cashier.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
100% up to $50
Visit PokerStars
PokerStars is currently
unavailable. Please visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all US poker rooms still
available.
ULTIMATE BET - Now more than a decade old,
Ultimate Bet
has been one of the most popular legal poker sites since the beginning.
Despite the recent insider scandals players seem to be
returning back in droves now that they've merged with
Absolute Poker
to create the CEREUS network. Interestingly, the
Ultimate Bet
scandal actually helped to prove that licensing is a
powerful necessity in the online poker world. The
Canada-based Kahnawake Gaming Commission, who provides the
Ultimate Bet
license, quickly threatened to withdraw their hosting if
Ultimate Bet
didn't follow specific steps to remedy their security
faults. Players can at least be assured that this poker room
is under scrutiny from the KGC.
Scandals aside,
Ultimate Bet
shows no signs of abandoning the US market and has still
thrived as a legal poker site. Many regular players here
have remained loyal for years due to the clean software, VIP
system, and the general quality of the games hosted. While
the Ultimate Bet
player base tends to be a bit tighter than average this can
benefit aggressive players and those wishing for gameplay
that resembles actual cardroom play. The cashier is also one
of the more robust online with the big highlight being
eCheck deposits that allows direct checking account
deposits.
Positives:
licensed and regulated in Canada, excellent tournament schedule, large bonus.
Read full review...
US checking account deposits are accepted directly through the
cashier.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
111% up
to $1,000
Visit
Ultimate Bet
Ultimate Bet is currently
unavailable. Please visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all US poker rooms still
available.
ABSOLUTE POKER -
Absolute Poker
is now essentially an online poker cousin of
Ultimate Bet
as they share the same tables and tournaments under the
CEREUS network name. While they were previously implied in
the recent security scandal with UB,
Absolute Poker
seems to be making an effort to clean up behind-the-scenes.
As a legal poker site,
Absolute Poker
falls under the watchful eyes of the Kahnawake Gaming
Commission. As a tribal territory in Quebec, they have the
support of the Canadian government and are responsible for
licensing and testing hundreds of online gaming operation.
Fortunately for players looking for legal reassurance,
Absolute Poker
has been forced to meet even more stringent requirements to
stay online.
As for the poker part of this
legal poker site,
Absolute Poker
offers a well-rounded package, largely as a result of its
tournament schedule. This has always been one of the top
sites for tournaments with 5-10 events per hour ranging from
Bounty events, guarantees, and easy-to-earn satellites to
their Sunday $200,000 event. The bonus is also above average
at 150% and can be worked off quickly by larger players.
These days, easy deposit options are almost as important as
the games themselves.
Absolute Poker
does have one of the best cashier systems with checking
account deposits accepted for all US players.
Positives:
endless promotions, licensed and regulated in Canada, reload bonuses.
Read full review...
US checking account deposits are accepted directly through the
cashier.
Our Exclusive Bonus:
150%
up to $500
Visit Absolute
Poker
Absolute Poker is currently
unavailable. Please visit our
US
poker room reviews page for a list of all US poker rooms still
available.
TRUE POKER
- True
Poker is an interesting case as they've been a legal
poker site in Canada for over a decade now but are still
relatively unknown in the online poker world. Beginning with
the legal side
True Poker
is licensed and regulated by the venerable Kahnawake Gaming
Commissions, which handles the bulk of gaming sites
worldwide. The Mohawk North American Indians govern the
Kahnawake territory, which is near Montreal, Quebec. Their
gaming commission has deemed
True Poker
a legal poker site in their territory and the KGC has
historically been one of the more vigilant e-gaming
authorities in terms of holding licensees to strict
standards.
As for the poker room,
True Poker
has always drawn attention because of their pseudo-3D
software. Even though it's a dated novelty at this point
it's still the only US poker room that allows you to look
through your avatar's eyes at the table.
True Poker
also offers a more contemporary 2D mode, which will probably
be your preference after a few hands.
True Poker
also offers our players a 100% bonus, valid up to $200. As
players only have to play 100 raked hands per $10 of bonus
it's one of the easiest to cash out online. Player traffic
is only modest but has grown lately to offer 5 or 6 active
cash games per level.
Positives:
licensed by the KGC in Canada, unique software, bonus is earned
quickly.
Read full review...
Our Exclusive Bonus:
100% up to
$200
Visit True
Poker
True Poker is currently unavailable.
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