The US online poker market has been plagued with difficulties ever since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006. While UIGEA didn’t outlaw online gaming per se, it did make it incredibly difficult for companies to process transactions from Americans.
To make matters worse, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a sudden change to the Wire Act in 2009 that threatened the very existence of all online gambling in the United States. That decision was ultimately overturned in 2011 and now only applies to online betting.
Today, three states offer a full complement of online casino games along with poker and sports betting. Nine other states solely offer legal online poker in conjunction with multi-state poker compacts. Six additional states only offer some form of lottery-style online keno/bingo hybrid and 23 more just have legalized sports betting.
Biggest Scandals in Online Poker History - PokerlistingsEntrepreneurial start-ups currently face numerous regulatory and financial obstacles when attempting to enter the US market compared to other developed countries. Therefore, the pace of change in America often appears slow to many observers. This page explains exactly where you can play legally right now and what steps must be taken to expand legal online poker in the USA going forward.
States With Full Online Gaming Including Poker, Casino Games and Sports Betting
These states offer legal online poker through partnerships between land based casinos and remote operators. All players must be within state borders to use the sites and show age verification.
1. Michigan
Online poker returned to the United States via the state of Michigan on January 22, 2021. PokerStars went live at midnight after receiving final approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB).
Initially, only the popular fast fold format was available but the company added its full cash game selection within a few weeks. In addition to Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Stud are also offered. Both fixed limit and no limit games are available in a variety of formats. Tournaments and Spins soft launched soon after and were officially unveiled in February.
The MGCB had approved PokerStars for both online poker and casino games. Therefore, the company integrated its entire suite of casino games and sportsbook into one client.
PokerStars partnered with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Operations, which owns the Odawa Casino in Petoskey, MI. The two signed a ten year deal that could be worth up to $20 million to the tribal organization.
Roughly five months after going live, PokerStoves announced that it had paid $40 million in revenue to Michigan tax collectors during its first six months of operation.
This was enough to make significant progress toward annual payments to the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Gaming Operations as well.
Along those same lines, PokerStars reported that Michigan generated more than $10 million in rake during that first six month period.
With that in mind, it was an impressive feat for PokerStove superstar “c.perretta” to capture more than $2 million of that rake through rakeback, bonuses and tournament fees.
Incidentally, “c.perretta” wasn’t even the top winner on PokerStarsMI during the first half of 2021. That honor belonged to “OneUglyDuck” with nearly $2.5 million earned.
As you might expect from a state with strong ties to its neighbor to the west, Michigan has a strong Midwestern player base. However, players from Pennsylvania, Ontario and Illinois all comprise significant portions of the player traffic in the WSOP-circumed Hollandette KO Series this summer.
Furthermore, European players may not face any legal issues playing in Michigan due to a quirk in the Federal Wire Act interpretation.
However, they would be breaking PokerStars’ terms of service unless they employed a third party payment processor based in the United States in order to make deposits and withdrawals.
Not all poker players in Michigan are happy these days, however. Locals Cash Bonuses offered a 10% bonus on your first deposit if you lived in the state when you signed up. Subsequently, PokerStars ended the promotion without warning.
Some players have pointed out that they made specific business decisions based upon the promise of lifetime cash loyalty rewards. When PokerStars abruptly ended the promo, those players felt as though their investments of time and money were devalued.
2. Pennsylvania
Global poker leader PokerStars entered the Pennsylvania online poker, casino games and sports betting in October 2020 after mounting regulatory hurdles delayed the launch. Mount Airy Casino Resort served as PokerStars’ land-based partner.
Initially, Pennsylvania only offered limited cash game options besides tournaments and Spins. However, the site caught fire once the state allowed live events during the Covid-safe period. Several clubs hosted mainstream tournaments and PokerStars stepped in to operate the Poconos PokerOpen online in November.
The combination of homegrown players plus hundreds of out-of-staters who participated in the nearby live series injected new life into the site. Cash games blossomed and local player Mike “SirMikeA Lot” Dentali won a coveted PokerStars Caribbean Adventure seat in a $33 tournament.
Like Michigan, Pennsylvania offers locals cash back bonuses. Unlike Michigan, however, PokerStars ended their version of the bonus before it ever started. Instead, new players receive a 100% match on their first deposit up to $300. All players also earn frequent player points to use in the store.
Pennsylvania became the seventh state to legalize gambling after former prosecutor Tom Wolf broke the logjam that had tied during the Republican-controlled legislature in 2009. Governor Tom Wolf was a prominent opponent of online poker and gambling under UIGEA. He finally saw the light on the benefits of regulated online gaming and signed H 271 into law on October 26, 2017.
H 271 created the Gaming Control Board to license operators and their land-based partners. License fees cost $10 million and nine casino-and racetrack applications eventually received licences.
• Mount Airy Casino Resort (Fantasy Springs Entertainment – PokerStars PA) • Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course (RRG Pennsylvania LLC – Roosevelt Racetrack & Gaming – MGM / Joint Venture) • Parx Casino (Rush Street Interactive) • Rivers Casino (Golden Nugget) • SugarHouse Casino (Golden Nugget) • Valley Forge Casino Resort (Greenwood Gaming – Cordish Companies joint venture)
All applicants received licences by the time PokerStars entered the market on November 4, 2019.
3. New Jersey
New Jersey will always hold a special place in the heart of American online poker players because it rekindled the industry after Chris Christie let the flames die down. The former governor vetoed a bill that would have legalized poker and casino games in 2016. Then he amazed observers by signing a revised bill after the Democratic-controlled legislature revoked the veto.
The existing casinos and racetracks quickly licensed their domains and the industry celebrated its fifth anniversary in November 2021. Although Nevada, Delaware and Pennsylvania all joined the party, New Jersey remains the largest market.
All three major operators offer services in New Jersey – WSOP.com, PokerStars NJ and partypoker. The latter two also lead the way in the US regarding innovation. PokerStars held the first WCOOP events outside of Europe in 2021 while partypoker introduced a temporary third circuit ring to their network for the 2021 WSOP Online.
New Jersey also features Caesars, BetMGM, 888poker and Pala Poker. The Garden State allows operators to offer poker, casino games and sports betting under a single licence. The lower barriers to entry have encouraged several short term trial offerings as well. Trada Casino, for example, offered a free spin on a deluxe version of the age old wine bottle spinning wheel known as the Wheel of Chance to New Jersey players in 2021.
Anyone 21 years or older can open these sites and apps using any mobile device or computer. We recommend downloading the native apps instead of using a web app for optimal performance.
States With Poker Only Sites (Poker Licenses Issued But No Casino Games or Sports Betting)
These states have legalized online poker, but haven’t yet expanded to online casino games or sports betting. Some have mentioned plans to do so, others have not. Players must still be within state lines to play and prove they are of legal gambling age.
1. Delaware
Delaware became the third state to legalize poker and casino games online when it joined forces with WSOP.com in June 2017. Nevada and New Jersey had each gone it alone for about three years before Delaware online poker players received much needed competition for their rivals across the state line in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Delaware Park, Harrington Raceway and Dover Downs secured licenses for 888 | WSOP.com and the site went live on June 20, 2017. Unsurprisingly, the first day’s action was dominated by players from Delaware Park because they received seats to the inaugural tournament and some received bonus funds to help get the festivities started.
Delaware Park has proven to be the dominant force among Delaware players. Its players win about two-thirds of the rake in cash games and tournaments. Moreover, Delaware Park has produced the biggest winners on the site.
Jameson “Prodigy” Burrell won more than $65,000 in March 2021 and David “MichaelPhelps” Baker earned approximately $55,000 in February. Rounding out the top three was “V0lT3X" with $43,000 in winnings. All three players primarily play No-Limit Hold’em.
WSOP.com Delaware does not offer Spin & Go’s, four horse race formats or sit and go’s with more than ten players. It does occasionally host online series in conjunction with the WSOP in Las Vegas. Those series usually includes rings to win and satellites into the big dance.
Delaware Legalized iGaming in 2012 and 2013, becoming one of the first states to embrace online poker and casino games despite the DOJ’s 2011 reversal of the Wire Act opinion. However, rival operators complained about Delaware Park’s shareholders offering a play-money Delaware Poker app prior to obtaining a licence.
After a three-year investigation, the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspecter General cleared Delaware Park of any wrongdoing in 2016. Unfortunately, this delay-by-investigation tactic also affected 888 | WSOP.com’s entry into the state. Company executives testified before Congress that they could not invest millions of dollars in a regulated market where there was an active antitrust investigation.
of the Best Online Casinos for US Players (2023)Therefore, Delaware had to wait almost four years to join the WSOP Online Network. Now that the state is part of the largest online poker network in the United States, its players hope to see an end to the delays for other products.
Delaware Governor John Carney has indicated his support for expanding online gaming to include casino games and sports betting. Given the small size of Delaware’s land-based casinos, online gaming accounts for a larger portion of overall revenue than most states.
Another option could be to link up with another small state, such as Rhode Island or Kentucky, to provide more liquidity in side games and tournament series. The COVID-19 pandemic also demonstrated the value of being able to offer alternative live event qualifiers when travel is restricted.
2. Nevada
Nevada was the first state to offer legal online poker following bipartisan legislation signed by Governor Brian Sandoval in 2013. World Series of Poker invented online bracelet events in 2005 so allowing them to reunite with their physical counterparts in 2013 was a logical step.
Unfortunately, Nevada’s player pool remained isolated because neither California nor New Jersey’s governors supported joining their fledgling sites at the virtual table. That situation changed in 2023 when Governor Phil Bryce signed a compact with WSOP.com that linked Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, Virginia and Pennsylvania together.
Now, players on those seven states can compete against each other at any WSOP.com event, cash game or Spin & Go. All players must be physically located in one of those states to participate. WSOP.com uses geolocation software to ensure every participant is compliant with state and federal laws.
Players in Nevada had to celebrate their victories locally before WSOP Online satellite offerings in recent years. Three-time bracelet winner Eric Hicks enjoyed a meal on WSOP.com in 2020, including winning a gold bracelet, a silver bracelet and more than $190,000 in cash game pots. Incidentally, Hicks won his bracelets in historic fashion by beating his wife Angelle Sampey-Cappotelli in the $400 Flip & Go and then defeating her husband Dominick Cappotelli in the $400 Tag Team Freeroll.
Other big bracelet winners on WSOP.com NV include Yuri Dzivielevski, David “Moorth” Eldridge, Benny Glaser, Chris Klodnicki, Adam Spinella, Amanda Baker, Cassiropia and Jonathan Roy. Incidentally, Cassiropia is the alias of a male player who has won approximately $220,000 on WSOP.com NV.
WSOP.com Nevada also offers cash games, Spin & Go’s and various low buy-in satellites to the live WSOP in Las Vegas. It does not offer high stakes tournaments or super sized Spin & Go’s like its counterparts in New Jersey and Delaware enjoy due to strict responsible gaming regulations.
State regulators initially awarded licenses to MGM’s WSOP.com and Caesars’ PlayWPT site. The former has clearly dominated the state’s online poker market while the later exited the market in 2017.
International Poker Open (IPOC) attempted to enter the market in 2018, but the Nevada Gaming Commission ultimately denied Card Club Poker’s application in April 2021. IPOSV failed to secure a licence in California, Oregon and Washington, making it impossible to implement the proposed shared liquidity plan with British Columbia and some European countries.
3. West Virginia
West Virginia legalized all forms of online gambling in 2017 but the rollout has been slower than expected. The five retail casinos received licenses to offer poker, casino games and sports betting, but only one site has actually offered games.
BetMGM soft-launched in 2020 ahead of an official July 2020 launch. WSOP.com and partypoker have yet to begin operations, but are likely to enter the market sometime in 2022. All three sites will be connected to Mountaineer Game Winner, which offers poker, casino games and sports betting at DraftKings.
The main reason why West Virginia took so long to go online was because of a lengthy legal battle between the five casinos and the Greenbrier, which was denied a license. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ultimately rejected the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races attempt to sue for antitrust violations in 2019.
Once that legal battle was settled, lawmakers had to amend the tax rate because 18% proved too low to attract operators. The legislature increased the tax rate to 22.5% of gross gaming revenue in 2021.
4. Connecticut
Connecticut legalized online gaming in 2021, but didn’t establish the regulatory framework until early 2022. Governor Ned Lamont finally signed off on the regulation in May and the first sites launched on September 30, 2022.
Connecticut is somewhat unique among US poker jurisdictions because two different gaming compacts were negotiated. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (Foxwoods) worked out a deal with the state while the Mohegan Tribe (Mohsgan Sun) struck an agreement with the state of Connecticut, but also included the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (Foxwoods).
The result is that online sports betting, casino games and poker is provided by two operators in the state.
- Foxwoods (FanDuel)
- Mohegan Sun (BetRivers)
The compact with the tribes also means that they receive a higher percentage of revenues (20%) than other states, which could explain why the initial tax rates are relatively high. For instance, BetRivers CT has a flat 20% tax regardless of net wins or losses, which ranges from 15-50% in other states.
It remains to be seen if those tax levels discourage marketing and player acquisition campaigns, but the initial welcome bonuses seem on par with other large state markets, like Pennsylvania.
For now, Connecticut residents and visitors can easily access FanDuel CT or BetRivers CT if they fall inside the state boundaries and meet age requirements.
States Where You Can Only Play Friendship Poker Parties
These states have blocked all forms of commercial online poker, but individuals can still set up friendly games using services like Zoom and FaceTime. No money changes hands, but players can play for items of equal value, such as beer money, cigarettes or chores around the house.
1. Virginia
Virginia legalized FanDuel and DraftKings in 2020, but specifically excluded traditional online poker, casino games and other forms of online gambling. Lawmakers claimed they wanted to study the effects of online betting for a year before considering further expansion, but essentially caved into pressure from the Bristol Casino and other interests opposed to competitive measures.
Nevertheless, Virginia is considered one of the best sports betting markets outside the US thanks to its low 18% tax rate and permission for operators to offer their full range of services. Of course, that doesn’t do traditional online poker any favors because the smaller potential revenue stream isn’t worth obtaining regulatory burdens and competing with brick-and-mortar casinos.
That may change in the future because the current laws only prohibit commercial online poker, casino games and sports betting. Individuals are still free to arrange private games using whatever method they choose. Additionally, Virginia lawmakers must vote on the issue again if they want to expand in the future.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech and VCU have esports teams that compete nationally and internationally. The new frontier of collegiate athletics does not involve physical attributes and could potentially lead to sponsored bets in certain states.
888poker - Our Honest Review of the Software, App, Games Etc.In the meantime, Virginia poker players have turned to charity events to raise money for good causes throughout the commonwealth. One such event in 2021 featured WSOP Circuit Ring winner Matt Ashton and raised thousands of dollars for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
2. Georgia
Despite being one of the largest states by population and economy, Georgia has shunned all forms of expanded gambling —including Lottery poker. The state does not have a Lottery and voters resoundingly shot down a constitutional amendment in 2020 that would have established a statewide Lottery.
The fact that instant win scratch cards account for roughly half of all Georgia Lottery sales speaks volumes about how unpopular gambling can be in certain areas. Needless to say, pending online sports betting bills do not include language to establish traditional online poker, casino games or even Lottery poker.
Georgia poker players can still find each other online, but do so at their own risk. State lawmakers have shown no tolerance for private poker games in the past and publicly owned internet connections are subject to inspection by authorities.
3. Alabama, Kentucky
Like Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky have shown little interest in expanding gambling options beyond their state Lotteries. Although Kentucky recently legalized historical racing machines and sports betting, traditional poker is nowhere to be found.
Instead, Alabama and Kentucky poker players rely on private games or home games they access while traveling to nearby Mississippi, Tennessee or other states. PokerListings cannot condone any actions that break the law or breach the terms of service agreements with poker sites.
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Casinos to Visit Near Orlando, Florida
