Legitimate Poker Sites Online

1. Poker Sites That Are Safe. Online poker is one of the most popular recreational activities in the world, and major online poker sites can have millions of players each. Safe, legit poker sites feature the same qualities as legit online.
2. Below you will find a list of legitimate and reputable online poker sites. The sites in this list have had stellar reviews and in some cases, have been in business for close to 20 years.

Almost the entirely of the world can enjoy real money online poker at sites like PokerStars, Party Poker, 888 Poker, Full Tilt Poker and Titan Poker. Texas Hold’em, Omaha, you name it. American online.

Unlike brick-and-mortar gambling institutions, Internet poker is not governed by a central regulatory body. This means that uncovering legitimate poker sites can sometimes be difficult. After all, even the veteran online poker player sometimes does not know what to look for when searching for a legal and legit Internet poker room. With today's incredible software and Internet technologies, a gifted programmer can create a gorgeous poker site that for all intents and purposes appears to be reputable. But if that web portal does not employ security measures which keep your personal information safe, if it has not been legally licensed and certified, how do you know if you are dealing with an honest web operator providing legitimate online poker?

To use gambling terminology, your chances of arriving at one of the legitimate poker sites the Web has to offer is basically a crap shoot, unless you do some homework. We are lifelong gamblers, both online and off, and want nothing more than to get right to the tables to enjoy some responsible, adult poker fun while wagering real money to keep the action exciting. But over the years, we have unfortunately discovered the hard way that you must have an intensive review process in place first which identifies those required characteristics that point to a trusted and secure Internet poker experience. Is it fun spending hours and even days with this extensive review process when we could simply log on to any site and begin playing? Of course it isn't. But the due diligence performed in this review process is worth many times its weight in gold for the safety, dependability and peace of mind that it returns by identifying legitimate poker gambling choices.

In recent years the United States has decided to allow regulated Internet poker that is sponsored by individual states. Some states like New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware have hopped on board this new Internet poker industry, and some have not. As more and more of these legitimate poker sites run by US-based and certified companies begin to offer their products online, we will review those options as well. But currently, offshore jurisdictions (cities, states and countries located outside of the US) where Internet gambling has been regulated and legalized are where you will find legitimate usa online poker websites. The problem is that since there are so many different locales offering licensing, and some are more reputable and trustworthy than others, you need to understand where your poker room's licensing originates. UK Poker rooms have no issues at all since online poker is 100% legal across the pond.

The governments of Curacao, Gibraltar and Panama, and the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, Canada, are just a few of the more reputable licensing bodies that you can trust to certify honest, secure and legitimate poker gambling providers. And if you are not sure which licensing bodies located around the world are known as those which operate with the highest levels of integrity that is okay. As industry consultants we can quickly identify the legitimate poker sites as compared to disreputable and possibly even dishonest offerings quickly. This is because we understand which governing authorities and regulatory bodies subject themselves to fair gaming oversight, while also employing honest and reliable Internet gaming commissions to apply the licensing process.

To be totally transparent, at the bottom of this page we identify the exact review process we use to identify legitimate poker sites. Feel free to follow our lead and perform your own due diligence using the intensive review criteria we outline below. And if you neither have the time nor the desire to enact this review process, simply refer to the reviews and recommendations listed here on our site. We only recommend those sites offering legitimate poker gambling options as dictated according to our exhaustive review process, and will never refer an Internet poker room where we ourselves would not play. Listed below you will find a constantly updated list of the top legally licensed and trustworthy Internet poker rooms, those dependable and secure websites which we rate the highest in customer satisfaction, security and overall performance.

How We Identify Legitimate Poker Sites - Our Review Process

Above we listed several generalizations that we take into consideration when attempting to identify legitimate poker sites. So that you can undertake your own reviews, or if you merely want to understand how complete our review process is, we go into depth in this section explaining the individual components that we use to reject or recommend the many different Internet poker room offerings found on the web.

Honesty and Trustworthiness

Just as in your day-to-day dealings with individuals and businesses, identifying honesty and trustworthiness in an individual many times has more to do with feeling and instinct than with any hard indicators. However, in the Internet gambling industry, online forums can offer a wealth of knowledge. Poker forums are widespread online, and by searching for customer complaints and recommendations, one can begin to understand if a site offers a legitimate online poker experience or not. Also, if an Internet poker room is very transparent with its fair gaming, responsible gaming and security attitudes, and offers an extensive FAQ section, these are also excellent indicators that you are dealing with a legit site. Contacting a website's customer support team via phone call and/or live chat will also offer some excellent insight as to whether you can trust a particular poker offering or not.

Fair Play Consideration and Security Profile

We mentioned fair play above, and what this refers to is very simple. Often glossed over by less than reputable Internet poker websites, frequent testing of the Random Number Generator (RNG) and virtual card shufflers used to dictate which card shows up next is extremely important. Legitimate poker sites have no problem in openly discussing if they use independent, third-party testing labs to review and randomly test their software. Technical Systems Testing (TST) is one example of an independent organization known for honest and unbiased testing of casino gaming software, and is always a hallmark of a legitimate poker gambling operation. What level of SSL security and data encryption is employed by particular website also needs to be investigated, as well as what type of poker software is employed.

Legit Poker Site

Legal Poker Licensing And Certification

We really should have listed this review stipulation first, since it is absolutely the most important and immediate identifier of a legitimate online poker site. Think of all the poker rooms on the web as all the restaurants in your city. If you knew that certain restaurants were legitimately licensed and regulated, wouldn't you make sure to eat at those particular businesses? You would certainly not trust any restaurant that did not qualify for legitimate licensing to prepare and serve food, would you? The same goes for Internet poker rooms. Legitimate poker sites absolutely must be certified by an official governing body, in a jurisdiction where online gambling is legal and regulated, or you are taking an unneeded risk with not only your money, but your sensitive personal and financial data as well. Stick to online poker websites which have been legally licensed and certified, and then look for other criteria that identifies the cream of the crop.

Banking and Payout Choices

The review criteria found here is pretty straightforward. Considering the hundreds of different regulatory stipulations governing deposits and withdrawals made at Internet gambling sites, your particular ability to open and maintain a real money account at a legitimate poker gambling website can differ drastically depending on your jurisdiction. That is why the best poker sites will always offer a wide variety of identifiable and preferred banking options, both for deposits and withdrawals. Credit cards are the preferred deposit method for Internet poker accounts, but not all financial institutions, especially in the United States, support credit, charge, debit and gift cards for Internet gambling deposits. However, we have identified those legitimate poker sites which do allow credit card account funding for US and other players, as well as multiple deposit options and speedy, reliable withdrawals.

The Rest

Looking at the above criteria we use for reviewing and recommending legitimate poker sites, you will notice that these are things the typical online poker player usually does not bother to investigate. Taking time to research licensing, discussing with a customer support team member banking and payout options in your particular jurisdiction and reviewing security protocols and software are not very sexy tasks. But the information we receive by doing this extra work has led us, as online poker players ourselves, to uncover those sites which offer legitimate poker gambling choices to US and international players. Only after we have satisfied ourselves that the above stipulations have been met, do we go on to check other more commonly reviewed characteristics.

What types of welcome bonuses and ongoing player incentives are offered? Is the interface visually and audibly enjoyable? Also, is mobile poker supported for your smartphone or tablet? We also demand that there is a wide variety of well supported games, and that cash game traffic is high day and night so you do not ever get 'stuck' at the tables with an unfavorable position. Finally, we get an overall feeling for a poker site from the Internet poker community through chat rooms and forums, and by tapping into our network of industry consultants and investigators. The average Internet poker player does not have the time, the inclination or the ability to perform such an intensive investigation of a prospective poker room. In our effort to become the go-to site for everything regarding legitimate online poker offerings, we review and recommend the most honest and legit online poker sites frequently, so bookmark this page and check back often for the latest recommendations.

Legitimate online casinos have been around since the 1990s, but it wasn’t until the online gambling revolution of the early 2010s that they began to gain some mainstream recognition and widespread acceptance. Companies all over the world now offer online gambling on everything you can imagine. All popular casino games are now available online, and many sites have even begun offering live dealer games in an attempt to mimic brick-and-mortar casinos as closely as possible.

Not all online casinos are trustworthy, but the biggest brands—the ones that have been around for years and are trusted by millions of players—have invested heavily in security and customer service features to show their users how important they are. Online casinos are now at least as popular, if not more so than traditional retail casinos. This page will cover everything you need to know about legitimate online casinos, both in the U.S. and around the world, from their safety features to their betting options and more.

Safest Online Casinos In The US

Modern online casinos offer many important safety features to assure the satisfaction of their players. Gambling has been stigmatized in the U.S. for decades and companies understand that it is important to provide world-class safety to their players to assuage concerns. Nearly all major modern online casinos offer advanced encryption to protect player data, secure banking through cryptocurrency and wire transfers, and 24/7 customer service to deal with any and all problems.

Are Online Casinos In The US Legal?

Yes, online casinos are legal in the U.S. While only a handful of states license in-state online casino operators, international online casinos are available to players throughout the U.S. These international websites do not interfere with state or federal anti-gambling laws because they fall outside of both state and federal jurisdiction. American anti-gambling laws are designed to target providers rather than users, so individual gamblers have nothing to worry about. There are still age requirements to play with online casinos (generally 18+), and you must be able to prove your ID to collect winnings, but other than that, online casinos are fully legal.

How Do I Know If An Online Casino is Legitimate?

While legitimate online casinos almost always set themselves apart from their less legitimate counterparts in every aspect of their design, newer online gamblers might not know what to look for, which could lead them to sign up with an exploitative site. In order to avoid being scammed or abused by an illegitimate online casino, players should look for a few features that are hallmarks of safe and legitimate sites. Not only are they hallmarks of legitimacy, but these features are essential to creating an enjoyable online casino gaming experience at all.

The first thing to look at when you are evaluating the legitimacy of an online casino is its customer service support line. Legitimate online casinos offer advanced customer support through multiple lines of communication (phone, email, live chat, etc.) If a site doesn’t offer customer support, it isn’t holding itself accountable to its consumers. Legitimate major online casinos also must offer fast and easy banking through multiple transaction methods, including cryptocurrency, wire transfer, courier’s checks, etc. Legitimate sites have large player bases that can attest to the site’s quality. If an online casino doesn’t appear to have any fans on the internet, its legitimacy is in doubt. Finally, if all else fails, check to see where the company is registered and how it is being licensed and regulated.

Fair Online Table Games

While some consumers view online casinos with distrust, if they are assessed based on payout rates, online casinos are fairer and more player-friendly than their retail counterparts. Online table games utilize algorithms that are strictly monitored to ensure fair payout rates at all times. Payout rates are often regulated by an online casinos country of operation to ensure that they aren’t fleecing players. This usually isn’t a concern because online operating costs are lower than those of brick-and-mortar casinos, and online casinos also generally have larger player bases. This allows them to offer better payout rates and operate on thinner margins.

Legit Online Slots

Online casinos can offer hundreds of different slots, all hosted on the same page. Legit online slots offer even more accessibility and flexibility than physical slot machines in retail casinos. Online slots will never be unavailable because they are in use by other players. Additionally, online slots players can adjust their bet levels without switching machines. The best benefit of legit online slots, however, is their increased payout rates. The operating costs of online slots are minuscule compared to physical machines, so they can afford to pay out at considerably higher rates.

Poker Sites That Are Safe

Online poker is one of the most popular recreational activities in the world, and major online poker sites can have millions of players each. Safe, legit poker sites feature the same qualities as legit online casinos, so they should be easy to spot once you know what to look for. Safe online poker providers usually operate through downloadable poker software that grants players access to games both against a computer dealer and against other players around the world. Most software is compatible with many variants of poker, but the most popular are Omaha, Hi/Lo, and Texas Hold ‘Em.

Are Live Dealers At Casinos Real?

Yes, live dealer games with online casinos actually connect you to a live dealer. Dealers are specifically chosen for their prior experience in the casino industry. Players are not connected through a video feed, but they can use a chat function to communicate with the dealer, who will reply in real-time. Live dealers are beneficial for players in two separate ways: 1) Live dealers are closer to the traditional casino gaming experience than the virtual games normally offered with online casinos. 2) Players skeptical about the algorithms that control virtual casino games get peace of mind when they can see the dealer using a real deck.

How To Make Legitimate Real Money Deposits Into An Online Casino

Online casinos work hard to make account funding as easy and accessible as possible. Money is the biggest source of stress for American citizens, so there’s no reason to add to that with inadequate banking options. Depositing real money with legitimate online casinos can be done in a variety of ways. The most popular deposit options is probably cryptocurrency, which offers the fastest processing times, biggest deposit bonuses, and the most security for user data. Traditional credit and debit cards are also supported, although they can create additional hassle when withdrawing funds. Other less popular deposit methods include wire transfers and peer-to-peer funding transfers.

Legitimate Withdrawal Methods at Online Casinos

Withdrawal from online casinos is slightly more complicated than depositing money. U.S. federal banking laws prohibit banks from directly processing payments from international online casinos. This rules out withdrawal directly onto a credit or debit card. Instead, players have to either pay extra for a courier’s check or wire transfer. Alternatively, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin can be used at little or no extra cost. Crypto transactions are processed almost instantly and can then be immediately transferred into a normal bank account. While crypto might be off-putting to some players who have seen the word ‘cryptocurrency’ used as a scary buzz word, it is a widely used, safe, and trusted transaction method.

Are Mobile Online Casinos Secure?

Yes, legitimate online casinos invest heavily in their mobile gaming infrastructure to ensure world-class security for their players. If you are using unsecure public wi-fi, your data could be at risk, but there is nearly zero chance of having your information stolen from an actual online casino. These casinos employ advanced encryption technology and hire full teams of specialists to ensure that there are no flaws in their security. Mobile online casinos can securely access all the same features as desktop users. Mobile sites are even optimized for touch screen use, so they are a great option for casino gaming no matter where you are.

International online casinos are still legitimate even if they are not regulated in your state. Major online casinos are regulated by the government of the country they operate in, as well as by worldwide business standards for the online gambling industry. Still, be sure to check if they meet the standards of legitimacy outlined above up on this page.

Yes, you will be asked to provide proof of a valid, government-issued ID before withdrawing your winnings from a site. Players can create accounts without showing ID, but if ID can’t be established while cashing out, winnings will be voided. For information on how to establish a valid ID, check an online casino’s frequently asked questions.

All legit online casinos are regulated by their country of operation, and thus the legal gambling age is the same as it is in that country. For most legit online casinos, the legal gambling age is 18 years old. Users will need to be able to provide proof of age via a government-issued ID.

Legitimate Real Money Online Poker Sites

It depends on the casino, but many do offer full-service sports betting. Online sports betting absolutely dwarfs retail sports betting, and it is estimated that legitimate online casinos handle tens of billions of dollars in sports wagers every year. Legit casinos with sports betting often offer different odds on the same events, so you should consider signing up with multiple sites.

Legit online casinos are based out of many different countries. Some are even based out of the four American states with legal online casino gaming (Delaware, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania). Popular locations for hosting online casinos include Costa Rica, Madagascar, Singapore, and affiliated but unincorporated territories like the Isle of Man.

Legitimate Poker Sites Online Poker

Legit Online Poker Real Money