US Poker Sites 2013

There are more than 20 million poker players in the United States and this represents one of the largest poker markets in the world. There are some online poker websites that do not accept players from the United States. You'll quickly find that all of the biggest and the best poker rooms DO accept American players and you can see a list of these sites below.

Poker Sites Accepting US Players

Some states have enacted legislation that prevents players from playing poker online. If you are interested in information regarding the legality of online poker in your area you should check with your local jurisdiction. Here is our list of the best US poker sites.

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Bodog Poker

$1,100

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No Bad Beats Poker

$600

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US Poker Site FAQ

What are the best ways for US poker players to deposit funds into their poker account?

I recommend that you set up an account with EwalletXpress or another Ewallet. You can see a full list of deposit options here: Poker Deposit Options.

What is the largest poker site that is accepting US poker players?

Bodog Poker is the best option. Until the 15th of april 2011 this used to be Pokerstars in terms of the number of players, which has the largest player base and it also has the largest poker tournaments. Since that moment they do not longer accept US players and traffic is dropping.

Is online poker illegal in the United States?

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) enacted legislation concerning the role of bank transactions in online poker. This legislation did not make it illegal to play poker online. Some individual states like Washington have created their own laws that prohibit citizens from playing online poker.

Who runs these US poker websites?

None of the online poker websites for real money are based in the United States. While they do accept American poker players, their companies and web servers are usually based overseas where gambling companies can operate with more ease.

Is it safe to play poker online in the US?

Yes, there are poker players who have millions of dollars in their bankrolls and the security of these funds is not a major concern for many players in the industry. Your funds are generally very safe while sitting in your poker account. Just be sure that you are using a reliable method of transferring money into your poker account, and you should be able to avoid any issues.

Seven Common Myths About Online Poker In The U.S.

Much has been written and talked about concerning the current state of online poker in the United States. Here we’ll look at seven common myths surrounding the situation:

Myth #1: Online poker is illegal in the United States

This has been a myth that’s been around for awhile, and in some circles, since the very start of online poker. The U.S. government has held the belief that the Wire Act, which prohibits certain types of gambling, also makes online poker illegal. This ended up being fought out in the courts, who ended up ruling that the Wire Act does not apply to online gaming, meaning that there is no Federal legislation making it illegal.

Myth #2: The legality of online poker in the U.S., and online gambling in general, is decided at the federal level

As is the case generally, the federal government in the United States regulate interstate commerce, with interstate matters being for the most part left up to individual states. This is clearly the case with gambling, which is decided entirely at the state level. Online poker is indeed found to be illegal in a few states like Washington for instance, by state decree. This reasoning is also behind the efforts of several states, like Nevada and New Jersey, to regulate online poker. It’s not that online poker is currently illegal in these states, rather, they are looking to organize and tax it.

Myth #3: The reason that online poker is met with such opposition at the federal level in the U.S. is due to moral concerns about gambling being wrong and thus public opinion needs to change

This one is actually pretty funny, if you look at how much gambling there is now that is either condoned by governments, or in some cases, even run by them. For instance, sometimes we forget just how big lotteries are, and in fact lotteries dwarf every other form of gambling in the United States put together. Governments in fact prey on their citizens with lotteries, and the odds are so skewed in their favor, up to 50% vigorish as opposed to a couple of percent on average in a casino, that they are considered to be a tax on stupidity. If anything is morally wrong, this certainly is. However, gambling is a very accepted way of life among the majority of people.

Myth #4: The U.S. government opposes online poker because it doesn’t receive income from taxation from it

If this were true, the solution would be pretty easy, they only would need to regulate and then tax it. It’s not that there isn’t enough interest in the industry, as large land based gaming companies are standing in line waiting for this to happen. Up until now, the real reason behind both their looking to go after offshore operations and at the same time not willing to look to regulate it has to do with the lobbying they are receiving. It’s no secret that Washington is driven by corruption, and it isn’t even a matter of dispute really, it’s just how the system works.

So up until recently, the existing gaming lobbyists have opposed both as a way of maintaining the status quo. Now, there is speculation that this latest action is being driven by land based casinos who need to get the big competitors out of the way if they are going to take over the market once things become regulated. They will simply be able to make a lot more money with Poker Stars, Full Tilt, and Cereus out of the way. They have of course succeeded in this.

Myth #5: Companies like Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker, and the owners and principles of these companies, are subject to U.S. law

This one is really funny, although a lot of people don’t get the humor in it. Let’s say that a Middle Eastern country has a law where women have to wear a scarf over their head or face legal punishment. So your wife, in the USA, isn’t’ wearing one. So the religious leaders of that other country go to their courts and formally charge her. You laugh upon hearing this of course. Well that’s about the same thing that’s happening now to these online poker companies.

In theory, their people could be extradited to the U.S., but that would be almost the same thing as the U.S. government allowing your wife to be extradited to that other country. Of course, women going in public over here with nothing on their heads is perfectly legal, but online poker is also perfectly legal in the countries where these online gaming companies that are being attacked here reside. They are entirely outside the long arm of American law in fact, and even with all their muscle, they can’t really touch these companies in any meaningful way, apart from seizing their domestic assets, which they have done before as well.

Myth #6: These indictments are meant to prosecute the online poker companies named within it

This one is related to the discussion in the above myth. The lawyers for the Department of Justice aren’t stupid, they know that this whole circus is just a smoke and mirrors show, but that’s exactly what they are out for here. All they could have reasonably hoped for here is to get these large poker rooms to stop accepting American players. The UIGEA didn’t work, the seizures of bank accounts back in late 2009 didn’t work, but this should do it, they thought. They were absolutely right of course, and curiously, agreed to allow Poker Stars and Full Tilt poker to “launder” the deposits of American players provided they agreed to exit the U.S. market. So it was done. So this is a complete victory for them, as they accomplished exactly what they set out to do.

Myth #7: Online poker in the U.S. is dead

This is the big one actually, and one that quite a few people hold to be true. The funny thing is, nothing could be further from the truth. There are several other poker rooms that have not been affected by any of this, who have allowed American players and continue to do so, and who are now welcoming the hoards of American players who have been displaced by all of this, and are doing so with open arms. In fact, the stampede to them is such that some of them aren’t even set up for so many new players yet, and have had to rush to come up with technological improvements to do so. One day, they may indeed be targeted as well, but the online poker industry in the U.S. is a multi billion dollar affair, so even if this happens, you can bet that new poker sites will just spring up to take their place. The battle may have been won by the U.S. government, but it’s a war they can’t really ever hope to win, luckily for us.