Online Gambling

Online poker is a fluid, dynamic industry. Just last month, a United States Department of Justice ruling came to light which many feel has paved the way for online poker legalization and regulation in 2012.

It seems that each month — heck, sometimes each week — online poker sites come and go, or change the policy toward accepting US-based real-money players. Complicating things is the fact that there are some online poker networks that have several “skins”, or front-ends, and you’re only allowed to register at one of the skins. So, even though there are more than a dozen US-friendly online poker rooms, you can only open an account at a handful of those sites.

Here is the latest list of US-friendly online poker rooms where you’ll want to have accounts.

Bovada.lv has opened its doors to US-based real-money players. In addition to a sportsbook, Bovada has an online casino, an online poker room, and an online racebook.

Note: Contrary to what you might think, .lv does not stand for Las Vegas — it stands for Latvia.

Bovada Sports

BOVADA embarks on its own road, armed with the experience and talent to quickly become the industry’s powerhouse brand and the most trusted and most fun place to bet on sports.

New Depositors benefit from a Free Sports Bet up to $100 - while many lean on signup bonuses in trying to earn your business, BOVADA is focused on providing free wagers up to 20% of your deposit. That free bet can be up to a maximum of $100 and it can be used on any sports market or wager type in the sportsbook.

Props and underdog odds - BOVADA has an unmatched variety of prop bets. You will find more betting options on Sports, Politics and entertainment than anywhere else.

Live betting – mobile betting - BOVADA is available on the go. They Offer live- Betting and mobile betting options from a variety of portable devices. Join BOVADA and learn more today.

Easy-to-understand website -BOVADA offers betting on every major sport and carefully steers you where you need to go each day. Find your favorite team, or odds type in a snap, whether you are betting the late baseball game on the moneyline or the quarterback props on Monday Night Football.

Best customer service, best sports stats - looking for trends, matchup details and game previews before going to the betting menu? BOVADA offers statistics on all major sports so you don’t need to venture far to do your research and handicapping. Need to contact customer service? You can always get a real, live, knowledgeable person who can help answer your questions. Customer Satisfaction is a top priority at BOVADA.

Your information is safe - security, privacy and payouts are three of the most important aspects of playing online. BOVADA’s pledge is 100% safety and satisfaction in all three areas and has independent oversight to make sure you have the best betting experience in their sportsbook. So when it’s time to feel comfortable about playing online, BOVADA is synonymous with this trust.

(For those familiar with Bodog, Bovada is the US-facing rebranding of Bodog.)

For once, online gamblers have some good news from the United States Department of Justice.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70857.html

Essentially, the DOJ has clarified that the Wire Act of 1961 applies to wagers placed on ‘a sporting event or contest’ only; it would not, according to the ruling, apply to the selling of ‘lottery tickets online to in-state adults’. While few online gamblers want to buy lottery tickets online, the principles that the DOJ cited in this ruling are equally applicable to in-state online poker, and should help rapidly move several states toward online poker regulation.

Ready to give online poker a try? Here are some great options.

  Bodog Poker
110% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1000!
No-download version available!
Create an account and download Bodog Poker for free with our Getting Started Guide. Play free online poker on our play money tables or head straight to the real money tables and earn Bodog Poker Points.
Languages:    Currencies:    Certifications: 

  Cake Poker
110% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $545!
At CakePoker we have developed our own innovative and industry leading software to provide our players with an enhanced and enjoyable poker experience. We have brought our players several new features that are unique to the online poker world.
Languages:    Currencies: 

  Americas Cardroom
100% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $1000!
Americas Cardroom is one of the fastest growing, friendliest online poker communities in the world. It offers both real and play money games in which its customer base can enjoy the excitement of a poker game from the comfort of their home.
Languages:    Currencies: 

With all the hoopla about Black Friday, and everyone out to get some great deals and save their money, I thought that it would be a good time to remind online casino players of my online casino Black List. After all, we want a square deal and a fair chance of winning when we risk our gambling dollars, don’t we?

After the jump, you’ll find my list of over two dozen online casinos that should be avoided for a variety of reasons.

So, as you are doing your Black Friday shopping online and in the stores, don’t throw your money away at the disreputable online gambling sites that are on The Online Casino Gambling Directory Blacklist. Instead, why not focus on the best of the best instead — the 20 or so top rated online casinos.

Here’s a sample:

  Slots of Vegas
$100 FREE + 300% bonus on initial deposits between $30 and $100!
Slots of Vegas, with over 80 online slot games, is the premier source of slot games for real or fun money. Slots of Vegas offers the loosest online slots, from the traditional three reel slots to the adventure packed five reel slots.

  Treasure Mile
100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $200!
Treasure Mile Casino combines the magic and glamour of a hot Las Vegas night out with all the exciting, fun, rewards and benefits expected of a truly world class online casino. Giving you the latest (and totally unique) games and exceptional odds, ph …

  Intertops RED Casino
100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $100!
No-download version available!
Bonus code: SIGNUP100. This RTG casino from Intertops is open to ALL US players and delivers all the fun and excitement that you would expect from an RTG casino and combines it with the trust, security, and outstanding banking that you have come to k …

  Grand Eagle
100% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $250!
With brand new cutting edge games, massive winnings and supreme customer satisfaction, Grand Eagle Casino offers you a truly dynamic and magnificent online casino experience.

  Silver Oak Casino
100% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $1000!
Bonus code: SILVEROAK1 through SILVEROAK10. Silver Oak Casino has the most dedicated customer service staff in the industry. Our knowledgeable and friendly representatives are available round the clock to assist you with any concerns you have.

According to CNN Money, there is a deal in the works that would get online poker site / ponzi scheme Full Tilt Poker back online, and perhaps even get money back into the hands of US players that got screwed out of their funds by Full Tilt Poker.

But there’s a BIG catch for US players if this deal goes through.

“American players would apply to the Department of Justice for compensation.”

Wait, what?

You read that right. The DOJ’s motives in doing this are yet to be uncovered — perhaps there is a legal requirement that they be involved in returning players’ funds due to Full Tilt Poker being declared a ponzi scheme. However, I can imagine that they also may be looking to get a little Big Brother on y’all and keep tabs on who was playing online poker.

Is it worth it to apply to the DOJ to get your funds back? That’s a decision that you’ll have to make, if it comes to that.

More wait and see to see if online poker players in the US will ever get their funds back from Full Tilt Poker.

Online Poker sites on the Merge Poker Network have recently began accepting new online poker accounts from poker players in the United States. While not all online poker players are accepted, most are eligible to open an online poker account. (Online poker players from the following states/jurisdictions are still barred at Merge Poker sites: KY LA MO MD NY WA DC).

My top three online poker sites on the Merge Poker Network are:

• OddsMaker Poker
• Poker Nordica
• PokerHost

All offer a 100% match bonus on your initial deposit, with OddsMaker matching up to $1K — the most of any Merge Poker Network site that I am aware of. In addition, OddsMaker spreads $40K a month in online poker freerolls: 7 x $200 daily free rolls, with the games varying from Pot Limit Omaha, to H.O.R.S.E. to No Limit Hold’em.

Doyle’s Room online poker site is no more. The site that was plagued by frequently-changing software, occasional payout issues, and other problems announced that all of its players are being moved to Americas Cardroom, an online poker site that is on the same network (Yatahay) as was Doyle’s Room.

Surely this move is a direct result of Black Friday 2011, and the site’s namesake — the multiple-time WSOP champion world famous Doyle Brunson — wanting to distance himself from online poker.

Back in the day, every US-facing online poker site worth its salt ran regularly-scheduled online poker freerolls with real cash prizes and no entry requirements. Before Black Friday in April 2011, the least amount of time that you would have to wait before another online poker freeroll started somewhere was maybe 90 minutes.

I just reviewed the top US-friendly online poker sites, and online poker freerolls seem to be a thing of the past. Only one of the four top online poker sites, Poker4Ever on the Everleaf Network, runs regularly-scheduled freerolls any longer, and the prize pools are as small as $5.

And while Doyle’s Room does have their “Freeroll Fridays in September“, this is a special promotion and isn’t a part of their regular freeroll tourney offerings. Finally, Cake Poker and BoDog have freerolls, but only for their new players.

It’s too bad that freerolls appear to be a thing of the past. I think newbies looked forward to getting their feet wet with these types of tourneys.

Since Black Friday in April 2011, online poker players in the United States have been struggling with not only where to play, but also with how to make deposits and withdrawals from their accounts in a way that minimizes the fees to conduct these transactions. Granted, medium-to-high-stakes players probably worry less about these fees, but for recreational, low-stakes players, fees make a difference.

I’ve written previously about the few online poker rooms that are still accepting new US-based real-money players. As a quick review, they are:

Doyles Room Poker – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $1000!

Bodog Poker – 110% bonus on initial deposits between $20 and $1000!

Cake Poker – 110% bonus on initial deposits between $25 and $545!

Poker4Ever – 100% bonus on initial deposits between $10 and $500!

I’ve just spent several hours running down as many details as I can about their deposit and withdrawal options, and their associated fees. It is frustrating to say the least. Often times, the information that they have on their sites is out of date, unclear, or is contradictory to information that they have published elsewhere.

So, as far as I can tell, only DoylesRoom offers online poker with no fees for certain deposit and withdrawal methods. Specifically, DoylesRoom offers no-fee Visa deposits ($20 minimum); in addition, they will credit to your account any fees incurred when depositing via Western Union or MoneyGram (both $200 minimum). On the withdrawal side,  they offer 1 free check-by-mail per month ($20 minimum), as well as debit cards ($5 monthly fee + per-load and per-use fees).

Remember the good old days of  the free (or nearly free) e-wallets like FirePay, NetTeller, eWalletXpress, EcoCard, Click2Pay, QuickTender/UseMyWallet? Me too.  The current e-wallets that are accepted by various online poker sites all have 5% or more fees by the time you perform one deposit and one withdraw. The online poker site itself does not charge any fees to use these e-wallets, but the fees to load the e-wallet and then make a withdraw are substantial.

• BoDog Poker supports MyPaylinQ, which loads via credit cards at 7% fee, or for free via Western Union (WU). But the only payout option is WU with a $20 MyPaylinQ fee + WU fees.
• Cake Poker supports MoneyLineWallet (MLW), which charges $4 per load from your linked checking account. However, Cake Poker cannot payout back to your MLW account. Even if they could, there are MLW payouts fees — via a check for <$1000 (the fee is $10) and via a Bank Wire for larger amounts (with a $55 fee (plus your bank may charge an incoming international wire fee)).
• Poker4Ever supports PICCLUB, which has the same load and payout fees as MyPaylinQ.

Need some extra spending money for the weekend? Free up your schedule EVERY FRIDAY in SEPTEMBER because DoylesRoom is giving away free cash for 12 hours straight in their exclusive online poker freerolls.

Each and every Friday in September, DoylesRoom is holding 12 hours of online poker freerolls. They run every hour from 12:05pm until 11:05pm. Buy-ins for the online poker freerolls are free and each week they’re throwing $400 in cash and $400 worth of satellite on the table.

From the poker lobby > Tournaments > Scheduled Tournaments > Freerolls