The Status of Party Poker for
Players from the USA
More US poker information:
•
Why
Online Poker Isn't Illegal
•
US
Poker Reviews
•
Legal Poker Sites
•
USA Online Poker
•
The Story of Poker's Black Friday
UNAVAILABLE TO US PLAYERS
•
PARTY POKER
(full review).
This poker room is not currently servicing US players. Please see
the "online poker options for US players" section below or visit our
updated
US
poker rooms page for alternatives.
Background of Party
Poker for US Players
Prior to September 29, 2006
Party Poker
was, by far, the largest poker room in the world both in terms of
public awareness and player numbers. Launched in 2001 as the
real-money poker extension of the greater PartyGaming network
Party Poker
for US players quickly became a leader in what was at that time an
extremely limited market. Poker, specifically Texas Hold'em, quickly
found its way into the public's consciousness in early 2003 due to
the televised World Poker Tour (WPT) and the ability to view the
hole cards of players as hands unfolded.
Party Poker
shrewdly began sponsoring WPT host Mike Sexton, who would become the
recognizable face of the brand.
Chris Moneymaker's remarkable win at the
2003 WSOP Main Event after winning his seat online sparked a 3-year
explosion of interest in online poker.
Party Poker
for US players quickly became the single most recognizable brand
thanks to a massive advertising campaign that featured professional
player sponsorships, a WPT stop at its namesake cruise ship, and a
heavy rotation of TV commercials for both poker and non-poker
programming. PartyGaming went public in 2005 on the London Stock
Exchange and quickly reached its maximum total value of over $12
billion. At its peak in 2006
Party Poker
featured a simultaneous real-money player count of nearly 20,000,
which was a record at the time. It is estimated that US players
comprised 50-60% of the total volume at
Party Poker.
Is Real-Money Play
Currently Available from Party Poker to USA Residents?
USA residents cannot currently engage in real-money play at
Party Poker.
Following the highly questionable last-minute attachment by Congress of the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to the unrelated
SAFE Port Act on September 29, 2006
Party Poker
voluntarily removed all US access to real-money tables. This
decision was largely made due to PartyGaming, the parent company of
Party Poker,
being listed as a public company on the London Stock Exchange.
Despite the fact that the UIGEA is
largely a financial restrictions bill public companies simply can't
risk the perception of any legal wrongdoing to its shareholders lest
they risk massive share price plunges. Consider that every publicly
traded company, such as those that own
888 Poker and
William
Hill Poker, stopped accepting US players while every poker room
that continued to accept US players was privately owned. While
Party Poker
for US players may not currently exist the poker room has refocused
its energies since 2006 in securing the European online poker
market. Despite the substantial loss of at least half of its
real-money player base
Party Poker
has quietly grown to become the third-largest poker network in the
world.
Even though
Party Poker
for US players hasn't been available for several years the shrinking
US market combined with the high player counts and strong promotions
at non-US poker rooms may tempt US residents to try to bypass
geography-based restrictions. Trying to mislead
Party Poker
or any other non-US poker room into allowing US real-money play
simply isn't worth the hassle for numerous reasons. Firstly, you'll
face the hurdle of creating international contact information and
constantly falsifying your IP address in order to access the
real-money tables.
Even if masking your US location proves
to be a minor inconvenience the greater issues will come with trying
to withdraw your winnings. If you somehow manage to register for
real-money games at
Party Poker
as a US player you will inevitably need to receive your winnings.
How will you collect your check to a non-existent international
address? How will you receive a wire transfer when you don't have an
international bank account? How will you withdraw to a supported
e-wallet when none of them accept US residents? Unless you have a
non-US address, bank account, and IP address trying to use
Party Poker
as a US player is a wasted effort. Fortunately, there are still
several strong choices remaining for US players, which are detailed
below.
Online Poker Options for
US Players
 One
of the newest real-money options to replace
Party Poker
for US players is
BetOnline,
which has been in the online betting arena for over a decade
but just recently launched its dedicated poker room.
BetOnline
has impressed me quickly due to several key factors: sizable
traffic, an extremely poor player base, and some of the most
successful credit card processing rates in the industry.
While
BetOnline
doesn't excel in massive bonuses or tournaments their cash
games have to be the most beatable in the US market. Our new
BetOnline
players also receive free tournament credits on any new
deposit.
BetOnline
is currently my top US choice.
Read full review or
visit
BetOnline.
 The
Merge Poker Network is now one of the longest tenured US
poker options and one of the newer skins,
Lock Poker,
has my recommendation. Although Merge temporarily disallowed
new US players they've since fully returned to the market
and are one of the best all-around alternatives to
Party Poker
for US players. Some of the best featurs of
Lock Poker
include a 150% bonus for our players, excellent software,
loose cash games, and a strong player rewards system.
Read full review or
visit Lock
Poker
 Primarily
known for its other betting services
Bovada has
quietly been one of the best cash game alternatives to
Party Poker
for US players for years. Despite losing a fair amount of
traffic while discouraging US signups
Bovada is once
again fully open to the US market. Largely due to its young
demographic and sports players
Bovada poker
players simply seem to be looser and more aggressive than
average. Another big positive for our
Bovada players
is one of the only instant bonuses left in online poker.
It's modest at 10% but it's given immediately following a
deposit. Other positives include personalized customer
service and an extra 100% play-through bonus.
Read full review or
visit Bovada
The Future Possibility of
Party Poker in the US Market
With
Party Poker
closing to US players quickly and decisively in 2006 it's easy to
assume that PartyGaming has moved on from the US market. However,
the course of action they've taken since then makes it easy to
speculate that regaining their dominant position in a regulated US
online poker market has always been the main goal. In early 2009
Party Poker
and PartyGaming directly negotiated with the US Department of
Justice and agreed to pay over $100 million in "fines" in exchange
for non-prosecution. PartyGaming was required to admit that it had
wrongly processed transactions for US customers prior to 2006 and,
as a result of its massive payment, was able to pay for clear legal
status with the US government. While possible the odds are slim that
Party Poker
would voluntarily part with so much money due to the minute chance
of prosecution without an ulterior profit motive.
Due to the economic crisis that has
significantly decreased tax revenues in the US the government has
been looking for possible ways to acquire it from other sources. One
issue that has received strong support and numerous proposals is
regulating and, thus, taxing online gaming. With so much potential
to earn on an untapped market and massive support from special
interests like Harrahs it seems inevitable that the US will offer
licensed online poker within the next few years.
Party Poker
and PartyGaming for US players have strategically set themselves up
for a regulated market by clearing their legal status and paving the
way for either a software partnership with one of the big Vegas
casinos or a full license to offer games again in the US. It's
possible that
Party Poker
for US players will once again reopen in some form but,
currently, there are no imminent plans to do so.
•
Read our full reviews of all remaining
US
poker rooms
•
Details of why
online
poker isn't illegal
•
Our in-depth
poker
strategy section
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