Playing online poker from the United States can be a tricky task these days
since the sheer number of US poker sites has dropped drastically in recent
years. While there are still a few quality poker rooms that accept US
players, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find the sites that offer
prompt payouts and high level games for Americans. This page is dedicated
to showcasing the various poker rooms still left in the US market and also
provides a detailed overview of the current state of USA online poker.
Below you will find listings of the best rooms on our website that still take
Americans and below you will see the featured US sites along with some
information on US deposit methods and a summary of the UIGEA and its affect on
players.
Carbon Poker - 100% Up To $500 Sign-Up Bonus
Carbon Poker is our number one pick for American poker players
looking for a great site to play at online. For starters, Carbon offers
some of the best software in the market along with huge freerolls and
tournaments. New players will also instantly gain access to their deposit
bonus up to $500 free during sign-up.
Bodog Poker - 110% Up To $550 Sign-Up Bonus
Bodog Poker is one of the top choices left in the US market for
poker players and the best part of this site is that it accepts eChecks from the
United States making it very easy to deposit at the site. All new American
Bodog players will also get access to the sign-up bonus of 110% up to $550 in
free poker chips.
PokerStars - 100% Up To $600 Sign-Up Bonus
Another excellent option for those players residing in the
United States is PokerStars.com which is largest poker room that takes customers
from the U.S.A. New players will be eligible for the upgraded bonus of
100% up to $600 when they create a new account & can choose from deposit options
like credit card.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA for short) is a piece
of US legislation that was passed in 2006 aimed at setting out restrictions
related to online gambling for citizens of the United States. Below we'll
take a look at some of the things this bill does and dispel some of the common
myths associated with its passing which are popular in the poker community.
We've also published a full
copy of the UIGEA in PDF format which can be viewed by visitors.
What Does The UIGEA Do Exactly?
The UIGEA sets out to restricts the way that US banks process
transactions related to online gambling by stating that they must deny these
type of transactions if they can identify them. The major issue with this
law is that online poker sites all use 3rd party processors to handle the
financials of depositing and withdrawing players so actually separating gambling
from non gambling transactions is something that US banks quite frankly haven't
accomplished to date.
What The UIGEA DOES NOT DO!
Nowhere in this legislation does the UIGEA state that online poker is
illegal for US players. This particular legislation only states that US
banks are forbidden from processing gambling related transactions and does not
make it a crime to play online poker from the U.S.A. That being said, some
individual states within the US have clarified their laws to make online poker
illegal. We have outlined those states below however most poker sites
still accept their residents.
Which States Are Banned From Online Poker?
Presently the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah,
Washington and Wisconsin have enhanced laws regarding playing poker online
making them a misdemeanour offence in these areas.
Has Anyone Ever Been Arrested For Playing Online Poker?
No! The US government is primarily concerned about the taxation of
online poker and since it currently does not derive any revenue from the
activity, it has decided to make it illegal for banks to process the
transactions. Even though gambling online in the states listed above is an
offence, now one has ever been arrested or prosecuted for violation of this law
as I am sure you can imagine it's almost impossible to enforce and even stupider
to apply to players.
Why Did Some Sites Stop Taking US Players While Others Still Do?
This is quite a frequent question amongst US players especially since
Party Poker used to be one of the biggest sites in the United States.
Basically what happened was when the UIGEA was passed certain sites started
getting nervous that the US would put an outright ban on poker and took
precautionary measures perhaps to abruptly to stop taking American customers.
You also have to keep in mind that sites like Party Poker are public companies
who have a legal responsibility to their shareholders whereas sites like
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are private companies who can make their own
decisions in the best interest of the business.
