Live poker rooms say they’ll spread these games, all you have to do is ask. But even then, the games might not run if there’s not enough interest. This is less of an issue online. Most US-friendly online poker rooms have Seven-Card Stud and sometimes mixed games, too. And you don’t have to ask.

1. Online Legal Poker Sites Usa
2. Online Poker Rooms Us
3. Online Poker Rooms Us
4. Do Online Poker Sites Use Bots

1. US laws about online poker create a less than hospitable environment and many poker sites see the US market as too risky. The biggest players in the late 2000's, PokerStars and Full Tilt, were prosecuted under US law, settled without guilt/admitting any criminal misdeeds, and have been forced to shut down their US facing operations.
2. Online poker rooms can run more tournaments since they’re not limited on space. This means you can play more tournaments. And most CA poker sites let you play more than one tournament at a time. Since you can put in more volume (play more tournaments), you can get through your variance (losses) faster.

Can USA Gamblers Play at Online Gambling Sites Legally? There are many misconceptions right now when it comes to playing at online gambling sites in the United States. The quick and short of it is that Americans can play at online gambling sites.

Due to the current legal situation many sites no longer accept US online poker, online casino and sports book players. Below we will list a overview of the current situation in the US, so that you can better understand your options as an American online poker or casino gambler.

What Are The Best Poker Sites For US Players?

Online poker rooms that have continued to operate and service USA players are somewhat limited. And thus Americans only have a few poker rooms we’ll recommend. Fortunately, however, there are still at least a few decent options that USA Online Gamblers can play at.

The top online poker sites for those residing in the United States are Americas CardRoom and Bovada Poker. While the traffic on these sites is nothing like what you would expect before Black Friday on the major online poker sites, it’s still decent enough. Furthermore you can play a huge variety of games such as Texas Hold’em for real money across a range of stakes and game types. If you’re looking to get your online poker fix, you can’t go wrong with any of these sites.

Best USA Online Poker Sites

What are the Best Online Casinos For USA Online Gambling?

With the acceptance of bitcoin, online casinos are on the up and up in the USA. Casino players are now able to deposit and withdraw instantly at most all casinos that work with bitcoin and other cryptos. Bitcoin has been the savior of USA Online Gambling. Most online casinos still take credit card deposits and can withdraw to checks and wires. Crypto like bitcoin is far faster and more convenient. Casinos like Bovada Casino and Casino Extreme allow US players and offer instant withdrawals. Take a look at the Online Casino page for a complete list.

Is It Legal for USA Players to Gamble Online?

Yes! Although this should not be deemed a legal opinion, there are no laws preventing those in the United States from gambling for real money online. There are no laws for USA Online Gambling at least at the federal level! Some U.S. states (notably, Washington), have made online gambling illegal on the gamblers end.

Online Legal Poker Sites Usa

And then there is the issue of differentiating between gambling and other games of skill. Many consider poker is a game of skill. In fact, in 2012 a federal court in New York ruled that poker is a game of skill. It ruled that poker is not illegal under the Illegal Gambling Business Act.

But for most of the country, the only restrictions are on the sites themselves. There are no restrictions on players. Furthermore the most important of these laws is the UIGEA . This is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The act made it illegal for banks and financial institutions from processing transactions to and from online gambling sites.

Is US Online Gambling Safe?

Now here's the thing. After the “Black Friday” indictments that targeted the three biggest poker sites accepting US players at the time: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/UB (now closed), these poker rooms and several others, including some online casinos, stopped taking Americans. With the exception of PokerStars, it took years for these indicted sites to pay back American players; if you got access back to your online bankroll at all (players on the Cereus network never saw their money).

Will The Government Stop US Online Gambling

But who is to know whether or not the federal government wont stop with just a few online poker sites. Any US online poker room or casino accepting Americans could be targeted, and since the rooms remaining tend to be smaller and less financially secure, it’s even less likely that they’ll be able to secure funds for their US players. This is why you should never have your entire bankroll tied up on one site.

With the acceptance of Bitcoin, it is now easy to get funds to and from players at online poker sites and casinos. In Addition there are some great bonuses to be had like our Bovada Bonus Codes.

This means that any money you deposit into an unregulated online poker site carries a certain level of risk. Even US facing poker sites that have not been targeted are finding it difficult to send winnings to Americans. There have been many payment processors have left the US market. There are US facing online poker sites that still manage to get funds into the hands of players in a timely manner.

Not all poker rooms currently accept US players, but thankfully there's still a handful of reliable places to choose from…

Best US friendly poker sites.

These are the best real-money US friendly poker roomsthat I've played at. I think they're the most reliable online poker sites for American players as of December 2020 I haven't listed any poker rooms I don't trust, which is why this might be a shorter list than you find at other websites.

Unregulated and regulated states

Due to some states deciding to regulate online poker over recent years, your options for playing poker online vary depending on which state you live in.

Here's a colorful map to help you out:

Unregulated

These states have the most freedom. From here you are free to play at 'unregulated' rooms, which are currently the biggest and most popular destinations for playing poker online.

Unregulated sounds like a negative word, but in this context these rooms have the freedom to accept players from multiple states, and so therefore have much bigger player pools. Basically, if you live in one of the green states, you are in the best position for playing online poker because you have access to the busiest online poker rooms available.

The biggest rooms in operation are currently:

Note: All of the US-friendly poker rooms I recommend on this site fall in to the unregulated category. I believe they are the best options for playing poker online if you can get to them. I do not believe regulated sites offer anything better in terms of safety.

Regulated

These states have limited choice. They have regulated online poker, which means they offer poker rooms that only accept players from within the same (or sometimes other regulated) states, and therefore have much lower player traffic.

Regulation sounds like a good thing, but really the primary goal for these states is to be able to profit more directly from the running of online poker. As a result you can only play at the regulated sites (usually), and so you have a much more limited choice in where you can play poker online. For example, these are your options in each of the regulated states:

• Delaware (since 2012): WSOP/888
• Nevada (since 2013): WSOP NV
• New Jersey (since 2013): WSOP/888, PokerStars NJ, Party/Borgata/BetMGM
• Pennsylvania (since 2017): PokerStars PA
• West Virgina (since 2019):(none yet)
• Michigan (since 2019):(none yet)

Ideally it would be good if the whole of the US could pool together at some point, but as it stands the small number of individually regulated states means that you end up playing against a much smaller pool of players than you would otherwise be able to.

Unfortunately the biggest US-friendly online poker rooms tend to avoid accepting players from states with active regulated poker rooms.

Other

These states are in a tricky spot. They do not have regulated online poker rooms yet, but for certain reasons some unregulated sites have chosen not to accept players from these states either.

This is usually because these states either have strong laws against playing poker online (e.g. Washington), or because there's some significant gambling organization already operating in the state (e.g. several state licensed casinos in Maryland). Either way, some unregulated sites feel these states are too risky to open up to, or don't want to step on anyone's toes.

Nonetheless, there are still some decent online poker rooms that accept players from these states:

These rooms are bitcoin-only and are much smaller than the biggest rooms, but they're still worth playing at.

Is it legal to play online poker in the US?

I'm a better poker player than I am a lawyer. So I wouldn't want you to completely trust everything I say on this topic. However, I've been involved with online poker for years, so I'm just going to give you my opinion on playing poker on the the Internet in the US anyway.

Aside from a few states (see below), it appears to be perfectly legal to play online poker for real money in the US. Thousands of American players play online poker for real money every week. No players have ever been arrested.

If online poker is was illegal, the online poker rooms would not be accepting US players. US-facing rooms are vigilant about staying on top of the law. So unless the poker rooms prevents you from creating an account, you are good to go.

It is safe to play online poker in most US states, which is why we have these US friendly poker rooms. If you would like further reassurance from a legal expert in this area, read this article by I. Nelson Rose.

Here's a reassuring quote for you:

You are not going to go to jail for merely playing poker online. It is not a federal crime to make a bet. Half the states do have ancient laws on the books making it a crime, sometimes, to make a bet. But these are never enforced. I have been unable to find anyone who has been charged, let alone convicted, for playing Internet poker.– I. Nelson Rose (Is it safe to play poker online?)

And here's a couple more reassuring quotes from Micheal Bluejay:

Online Poker Rooms Us

No American has ever been arrested, indicted, or prosecuted by the feds for gambling online, because you can't break a non-existent law.– Michael Bluejay (Is online gambling legal in the U.S.?)

Even in states where online gambling is illegal, prosecution is rare and penalties are usually slight.– Michael Bluejay (Penalties for online gambling, state by state)

The UIGEA (2006)

The UIGEA was passed in September 2006. It stands for the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and it was attached to the SAFE Port Act. Official details can be found between 31 USC § 5361 and 31 USC § 5367.

Contrary to what some people believe, this did not make online poker illegal. It simply made it a little more difficult to process transactions to and from online poker rooms and online casinos. It does not make the act of playing poker online for real money illegal, so it's not aimed at you.

Black Friday (2011)

On Friday 15th April 2011, the FBI seized the domains of the top 4 US-facing online poker rooms. This is known in the industry as Black Friday. The 4 main affected sites were:

• UB Poker & Absolute Poker

These poker rooms were indicted for apparent bank fraud offenses, although it definitely appeared to just be an attempt to reduce the number of online poker sites that could cater to US citizens. You can't let that kind of money go untaxed, so best to slow the issue down until the Government can think of a solution for getting a slice of the action.

This did nothing to change the legality of online poker -- it simply resulted in these poker rooms no longer accepting or offering real money play to US poker players. This was the biggest change in online poker for US players since the UIGEA came in to effect in September 2006.

The major US poker sites were kicked out, leaving behind a handful of smaller US-facing rooms to soak up the remaining poker players.

US online poker law by state.

Each state has its own laws when it comes to gambling online. Here's a quick overview on playing online poker in the US by state.

States that have big problems with online poker.

• Washington

These states have explicitly stated that online poker is a felony. Some online poker rooms that accept US players have restricted access to players in these states.

States that have issues with online poker.

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Missouri
• New York
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Wisconsin

These states have issues with online poker and online gambling, but it's a bit of a grey area. It may be the case that there are some sort of laws in place, but they are not heavily enforced. I'm sure that there are many people in these states playing online poker on a regular basis, but there must be some element of risk.

As you may have spotted, I'm not a lawyer, so it's definitely in your best interest to do a bit of research for these particular states. This state by state gambling law summary has a lot of helpful information, so check that out.

States that have regulated online poker.

• Delaware
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia
• Michigan

These states are beginning to allow regulated online poker through online gambling companies that have acquired permits.

It's early days though, so it's nothing to get excited about. Expect it to be a while before this regulated state-by-state poker situation gains traction and is a worth getting involved in as a serious poker player.

States that seem okay.

Online Poker Rooms Us

• All the rest

As far as I'm aware, the states in white do not seem to have any problems or issues with online poker. You'd obviously want to do a bit of checking around first to be sure, but unless you find anything blindingly obvious on the Internet you're probably fine.

For even more information on the current laws in each individual state (and general thoughts on the risks in each one), have a look at my friend's site: pokerlaws.org/united-states/. He writes more about it than I do, and is also a lot more American than I am.

Why aren't all poker rooms US friendly?

In short, it's easier for some rooms to operate by not accepting any US players at all. The UIGEA has made processing deposits and withdrawals trickier, so some rooms prefer to stick with non-US players to make their life easier.

Poker companies have limited resources, so some have decided to focus on developing their product and servicing players rather than constantly dealing with difficult payment processing. Other's are happy to put up with the effort. Different poker rooms, different plans and ideas.

There are a lot of poker players outside the US, so some have just decided to focus their attention on other markets.

Do Online Poker Sites Use Bots

Best US poker deposit methods.

Although deposit and withdrawal options are slightly limited for US players, it is still easy to add funds and withdraw money from your online poker account. Some of the more popular deposit options for US players include:

1. Bitcoin - This is the most utterly restriction-free way to send money across the Internet. You just have to be prepared to put up with the volatility of a fledgling currency. Having said that, I think it's amazing.
2. Credit Card - The success rate of this method varies greatly from room to room. It's hit and miss, but worth a shot. VISA cards have the highest success rate.

Different poker rooms will have different deposit and withdrawal methods on offer for you, so don't expect to find the exact same methods everywhere. The poker room will let you know your options in the cashier, so your best bet is to just sign up and see what they've got. They'll usually highlight options for US players.

Note: Don't be surprised to have to pay fees for these methods, and higher ones than players outside of the US might be paying. They're not terriby large, but they're noticeable. If you make a deposit/withdrawal without paying a fee, consider it a bonus.

Other useful links.

As I say, I'm not a lawyer (not yet anyway), so I don't have all the answers. Here are a few helpful pages with more in-depth information:

Go back to the Texas Hold'em rooms.