If you’re searching for a guide to the best online poker sites available in the US, you’ve found the right page!
This article outlines the legality of online poker in the United States, and also aims to direct US players to the best online poker rooms available in the US.
While options are limited for legal online poker sites in the States, ClubWPT offers sweepstakes poker games in more than 30 states. Read on for a full review of ClubWPT, and learn why you should choose ClubWPT over offshore sites for US online poker.
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Is Online Poker Legal In The US?
The legal status of online poker in the US is complicated, with laws varying from state to state.
What was once the world’s biggest online poker economy is now home to just a few states that offer regulated online poker sites. States like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan allow access to full-scale, real-money poker sites, overseen and regulated by state-level gaming agencies in those states.
With a few exceptions, player traffic at these state-regulated poker sites is limited to players from within a particular state. For example, if you play on a regulated Pennsylvania online poker site, you’re limited to playing against other players from Pennsylvania.
Only eight US states offer regulated online poker. If you’re in one of those states, you have access to a few poker sites and the fractured player pools at those sites, which are cut off from the rest of the US.
US Sweepstakes Poker Sites
If you’re not in a state with regulated online poker, you’re still in luck if you want to play poker for cash and prizes.
Sweepstakes poker sites offer the best legal alternative for online poker players without access to regulated sites.
A sweepstakes gaming site operates differently than a real-money gambling site, and falls under a different legal category. Sweepstakes poker rooms and casinos are legal throughout most of the US.
You don’t directly compete for cash at a sweepstakes poker site. Cash and prizes are on the line, however, when you play at a sweepstakes online poker room.
Sweepstakes poker rooms essentially operate as a sweepstakes gaming site with poker as the game. If you’re interested in playing online poker at a sweepstakes site, your best option is ClubWPT.
ClubWPT
ClubWPT operates as a sweepstakes poker site available in more than 30 U.S. states. The concept and setup of ClubWPT makes it one of the most unique and innovative places to play poker online in the United States.
You’ll find free-to-play games (both “cash games” and tournaments) as well as sweepstakes games running 24/7 at ClubWPT. The free games (aka Play Chips games) require no purchase to play, and are available in all 50 US states.
How Does ClubWPT Work?
The sweepstakes games at ClubWPT allow players to compete for cash and prizes. The prizes on the line include entries and travel packages to prestigious WPT live events.
ClubWPT is owned and operated by the World Poker Tour. When you play at ClubWPT, you’re playing at one of the top online poker rooms available to US players, and on a platform backed by one of the most trusted brands in the poker industry.
You can play in the sweepstakes games by purchasing a monthly subscription to ClubWPT. The site offers three different subscription tiers, with each tier offering access to different games.
The subscription levels available at ClubWPT include:
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VIP ($27.95 per month, access to all VIP tournaments)
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Diamond ($149.95 per month, access to all Diamond and VIP tournaments)
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Super SATurdays ($100 add-on per month, access to Super SATurdays satellite tournaments)
All three tiers allow access to tournaments that award real cash and prizes. The Diamond tier offers access to the tournaments with the biggest prizes.
Each monthly subscription allows entry to unlimited tournaments in that tier, with no additional cash buy-ins required.
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ClubWPT Subscription Tiers
The differences in the tournaments offered at each subscription level are as follows:
VIP Tournaments
VIP Tournaments use a currency called Tournament Points (TP). You can win TP and cash prizes in the VIP tournaments, though the cash prizes are often considerably smaller than what’s on the line in the Diamond tier.
When you sign up for a new ClubWPT account, you start with 500TP. ClubWPT also often offers special sign-up promos that award even more TP.
Your Tournament Points balance reloads each day. The VIP tier also offers access to daily freeroll tournaments, where you can enter for free and try to win more TP.
Diamond Tournaments
The Diamond subscription level awards the biggest prizes available at ClubWPT.
Unlike the VIP tier, Diamond tournaments don’t require Tournament Points to enter. Purchase a Diamond Subscription and you get unlimited entries to the tournaments in this tier.
In addition to the biggest cash prizes, Diamond tournaments also award entries into major World Poker Tour live tournaments, WPT Voyage cruises, and more.
Super SATurdays
VIP and/or Diamond members can purchase the Super SATurdays add-on.
Super SATurdays tournaments operate as satellite events. These satellites offer the chance to win WPT Passports that send you to some of the most prestigious on the WPT live tour.
A typical Super SATurday satellite awards five guaranteed seats to WPT live tour events. For instance, the prizes for a Super SATurday tournament could look like this:
· 1st Place – $6,000 WPT Voyage Passport
· 2nd-5th – $2,500 WPT Prime Championship Passport
You can purchase the Club WPT Super SATurdays add-on for $100 per month.
$125,000 WPT World Championship Challenge
One of the biggest tournaments on the ClubWPT schedule is the $125,000 WPT World Championship Challenge. The details for this special event look like this:
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Tournament Name: $125,000 WPT World Championship Challenge
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Buy-In: Entries must qualify through other ClubWPT events
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Prize Pool: $125,000 USD
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First Place: WPT Event Package $12,000
The first-place prize for this event is a $12,000 package that sends you to the annual WPT World Championship in Las Vegas.
You must qualify through other tournaments on ClubWPT to get a spot in the $125,000 WPT World Championship Challenge. Most of the qualifiers that allow you to win your way into the $125,000 WPT World Championship Challenge are in the Diamond tier.
How Do I Start Playing Online Poker At ClubWPT?
You can sign up for a ClubWPT account from anywhere in the US. The Play Chips games are available in all US states, making ClubWPT one of the best free poker sites in the nation.
To play the sweepstakes games for cash and prizes you must be located in one of 36 eligible states.
You can sign up for a ClubWPT account as follows:
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Click the sign-up link at the end of this section to visit the ClubWPT website.
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Click the green “Sign-Up” button at the top right of the ClubWPT home page
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Enter a valid email, choose a username and password, and click “Continue”
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Enter your name, DoB, and physical address, and choose a security question and answer.
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On the next screen, choose your subscription and your payment method.
To play the VIP and Diamond games, you must sign up for a monthly subscription package, and must be located in one of the 36 eligible states whenever you play.
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Where Is ClubWPT Legal?
You can sign up for a monthly ClubWPT subscription and play for cash and prizes in the following states:
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Alaska
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Arizona
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Colorado
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Connecticut
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Delaware
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Hawaii
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Iowa
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Illinois
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Kansas
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Kentucky
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Louisiana
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Maine
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Massachusetts
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Nebraska
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Nevada
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New Hampshire
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New Jersey
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New Mexico
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North Carolina
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North Dakota
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Oregon
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Pennsylvania
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Rhode Island
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Tennessee
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Utah
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Vermont
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Virginia
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Washington D.C.
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West Virginia
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Wisconsin
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Wyoming
Is It Safe To Play At Offshore Poker Sites?
If you’ve Googled a term like “top poker sites in the US” or something similar, you’ve likely come across a few sites that offer online poker and online casino games without any apparent restrictions based on state.
To be clear – any platform offering real-money poker or casino games without a license from one of the eight states that allow online poker is operating illegally.
Here are a few tips for identifying an offshore/illegal poker site.
How Can You Spot An Offshore Poker Site?
If you’re playing poker at a legal US poker site, those sites fall into one of two categories:
Regulated Online Poker Rooms
Regulated poker sites operate in eight U.S. states. Each individual state drafts laws and regulations for online gambling in that state.
All of the sites that operate in this category are licensed and regulated by state gaming regulation agencies. For example, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement oversees New Jersey’s online poker industry.
The full list of states that allow regulated, real-money online poker includes:
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Connecticut
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Nevada
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New Jersey
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Delaware
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Pennsylvania
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Michigan
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Rhode Island
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West Virginia
The legal, regulated poker sites available in these states clearly display that they’re licensed and regulated by the appropriate state gaming agency. If you’re playing on a poker site and you can’t find evidence of a real, US-based gaming agency, you’re likely playing at an illegal poker site.
Sweepstakes Poker Sites
Sweepstakes poker sites are available in more than half of U.S. states. If you’re in a state without regulated online poker (or even if you’re in one of the eight regulated poker states), sweepstakes poker sites offer a great way to play online poker legally, with cash and prizes on the line.
If you’re looking for a top-notch sweepstakes poker site, your best bet is to play on ClubWPT. You can refer to the “Where Is ClubWPT Legal?” section a few paragraphs above to see the list of 36 states where you can play sweepstakes tournaments at ClubWPT.
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Why Not Play At Offshore Poker Sites?
Take a look at the following reasons that you shouldn’t play at illegal online poker sites:
Offshore Poker Sites Conduct Illegal Financial Transactions
The deposit methods at an offshore poker site are often quite limited. Many illegal sites only allow deposits and withdrawals using cryptocurrency. When a poker site won’t let you put money in your balance using USD, that’s generally not a good sign.
If you do get to make a deposit using a bank account or a credit/debit card, that deposit will often show up on your bank statement as a purchase from an online store you’ve never heard of.
In other words, your online poker deposit is showing up as something you bought from an online shopping outlet, often in a foreign country. The poker site is deliberately trying to disguise the true nature of the financial transaction.
When you purchase a subscription at ClubWPT, that transaction will clearly appear on your bank statement as a purchase from ClubWPT.
Your Money And Personal Information Isn’t Secure At Offshore Poker Sites
ClubWPT, and any online poker room backed by the World Poker Tour, operates with a keen interest in protecting its players’ money, financial information, and personal information.
If you submit your bank account or debit card number to an offshore poker site, there’s no telling where or with whom that information might end up.
If you try to withdraw your money from an offshore poker site, you’re requesting money from an operation that has no legal obligation to send your funds. If you find yourself on the bad end of a denied withdrawal, you have no legal way to file a complaint and get your money.
Offshore poker sites operate illegally, and any time you deposit at such a site, that could be the last time you see that money.
Player Security Is Questionable At Offshore Poker Sites
Many offshore poker sites are infested with bots (i.e. computer automated “poker players”), and rife with player collusion, multi-accounting (players operating multiple screen names at the same time), and ghosting (players controlling another player’s account).
The games at offshore poker sites are largely unprotected from illegal and unethical activity. Offshore sites are often in no hurry to implement the security measures needed to find and punish bad actors.
Offshore online poker sites have one goal – taking deposits from players. You can’t expect much player security once they have your money.
U.S. Online Poker Sites FAQ
What is the best online poker site for real money in the U.S.?
Real-money online poker options are pretty sparse for U.S. players. ClubWPT offers a great way to enjoy the online poker experience, including free-to-play games and subscription-based sweepstakes tournaments.
The sweepstakes tournaments at Club WPT award cash prizes, entries into World Poker Tour live events, WPT Voyage cruise packages, and more.
Where do most Americans play online poker?
U.S. players, unfortunately, don’t enjoy the same access to legal online poker sites as many other countries around the world.
If you’re in the U.S., ClubWPT offers the best way to enjoy legal online poker, with the chance to win cash prizes and entries into WPT live events.
Is ClubWPT legal?
Yes. ClubWPT operates as a sweepstakes poker site, and the sweepstakes games are available in more than 30 U.S. states.
You can enjoy the free-to-play games at ClubWPT from all U.S. states.
Can I play online poker in the USA?
Yes. US-based players can play online poker.
Legal poker sites in the U.S. fall under one of two categories – sweepstakes poker sites and regulated poker sites. Regulated poker sites operate in eight US states, and are licensed and overseen by state gaming agencies.
Sweepstakes poker sites can operate legally in most of the US. The best US sweepstakes site, ClubWPT, is available in 36 states.
You don’t directly compete for money at ClubWPT, but you can compete for cash and prizes in sweepstakes tournaments.
Do I need to live in a state where online poker is legal to be allowed to play?
If you want to play at a legal poker site, you must be located in a state that allows online poker. You don’t have to be a resident of one of those states, but you do have to be physically located in the state while you play.
For instance, if you want to play the sweepstakes tournaments at ClubWPT, you must be located in one of the 36 states that allow access to sweepstakes tournaments whenever you play.
Best US Sweepstakes Poker Site
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