Are you looking for the best US legal online poker sites or a real money poker app? If the answer is yes, then you came to the right place. This is one of our many online poker reviews where you can find more about the best online poker options.

Without further ado, keep reading to discover how to play the best online poker for money and how to form an online poker strategy. So, let’s get started!

Online poker is not legal in Colorado, yet. Voters did pass Proposition DD on Nov. 5, 2019, essentially legalizing retail and online sports betting in Colorado. However, online poker and casino games were not attached. The last legislative effort to bring legal online poker sites to Colorado was in 2013, and it didn’t even get to a vote. Is it Legal to Play Poker Online in Colorado? Since Colorado considers poker to be a form of gambling, it forms part of the Unlawful Gambling Act, which was signed in 2006. This limits players from using electronic payment methods such as credit cards, cheques and direct transfers.

Best Legal Online Poker Sites

1. WSOP
2. PartyPoker
3. PokerStars
4. Pala Poker
5. 888poker
6. Global Poker

Is online poker legal? It's not always the same as legal online casinos and legal online sportsbooks. All new players who decide to explore the vast universe of real money poker sites should know that federally, online poker sites are illegal. However, on the individual level, online poker is legal in some of the states.

Some websites such as Global Poker (which is a sweepstakes poker site) are allowed in 49 out of 50 US states. Only Washington does not allow it. At the moment of writing our online poker reviews, only four states offer legal online poker websites in the United States. These are the following: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware.

For more information about some of the available sites, make sure to consult our Global Poker review.

US Legal Online Poker: State by State

Is online poker legal in your state? If the answer is no, keep in mind that the situation can change pretty quickly. Unsurprisingly, Nevada was the leader of regulated online poker. Once the ice was broken, the domino-effect followed.

One by one, many states tried or are still trying to pass the legislation. As you can see, some of them even succeeded. The last one to recently pass online poker is West Virginia, and we expect more legal US poker sites to be launched in the future.

When it comes to future predictions, we believe that chances are pretty good for some of the states to overcome all the legal obstacles and finally launch real money poker sites so their residents become able to play legal online poker.

Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, New York are some of the states that’ll probably make some innovations when it comes to the possibilities of playing poker online. These are the states that have active supporters of online poker in the state senate.

What’s more, regulated real money poker sites in neighboring states can only have a positive effect on public opinion. Additionally, within the borders of the aforementioned states, you can find a considerable number of land-based casinos.

Is It Legal To Play Online Poker In Colorado

Many of them come with the best online poker rooms where you can play various variants of poker, including the most popular one - Texas Hold’em. In other words, these poker offline options make it easier to launch legal poker sites and eventually start to offer legal online poker.

States Where Legal Online Poker Seems Like a Distant Dream

From this point of view, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah are just some of the states where we can see a certain legislative hostility towards online gambling. Therefore, we don’t believe that we won’t be able to play Texas Hold’em online there for quite some time.

Sweepstakes Legal Online Poker - Play Poker Free No Matter Which State You’re In

As said before, Global Poker, a sweepstakes legal online poker site, can be accessed in all US states except for the state of Washington. This legal online poker platform was launched in 2106, and since then, many players use its services. The virtual currency gaming business model is what makes it unique.

Instead of playing for real money, players play poker free, using gold coins or sweeps cash. That’s why Global Poker often appears when players search for “play poker free” or “play poker online, free”.

To understand how sweepstakes poker works, let’s start with some poker basics and make sure to understand sweeps poker terminology clearly. There’s a difference between gold coins and sweeps cash, and there’s a reason for which “play poker online, free” is actually a bit of a misnomer here.

Gold Coins are the name for the virtual currency in Global Poker, and they are equivalent to what regular legal online poker sites usually call “play money”. In other words, you can’t cash them out, but you can use them to play Texas Hold’em online or participate in some of the available tournaments with other players. On the other hand, “$weeps cash” is a promotional, virtual currency that can be cashed out through PayPal.

To sum up, you can buy gold coins that don’t have any monetary value and can’t be cashed out. “$weeps cash” is obtained as free of charge once you buy Gold Coins. Because of this virtual currency online poker model, Global Poker is not quite considered an online gambling activity. Therefore, it’s allowed in almost all of the US.

Where Can I Play Legal Online Poker in the US?

Pennsylvania is the last state where online poker had become legal when PokerStars was launched there at the end of 2019. Right now that’s also the only available option to play online poker for money in Pennsylvania.

If we don’t count Global Poker, which can be accessed in 49 states, all the other legal online poker sites come with pretty restricted access. For example, Pala Poker and PartyPoker are only available in the state of New Jersey.

However, they are not the only NJ poker sites one can access. WSOP, America's top legal online poker site, is available in the Garden State, and it’s also accessible to all Nevada online poker fans as well. Likewise, PokerStars NJ, available both independently and within the FOX Bet app

Where Can I Play Poker Live?

Most of the land-based casinos across different states include special poker rooms where you can play live poker. Playing Texas Hold’em online is definitely the most popular option. After all, poker is an American thing, so it’s no wonder to see it available in the vast majority of mortar and bricks casinos.

In fact, instead of listing all the states where you can sit back, relax and try out your luck with live poker, it’s better to list all those where you can’t play poker online. It’ll be easier to remember this list:

• Alaska
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• New Hampshire
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah

We must add that in Texas, private poker clubs aren’t forbidden. As long as no house makes a profit from the game, poker can be played in private places for fun.

US Online Poker Basics

When talking about the current status of legal US poker sites, there are two especially important laws that you should be aware of. Let’s take a look at these two federal laws that govern online poker in the country.

The Wire Act

The first one is the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, often called the Federal Wire Act. As you can see, it passed long before online poker or even the internet existed. However, it prohibits certain types of betting businesses to operate via wired communications.

In 2011, the US Department of Justice concluded that the scope of the act was limited to sporting events. Therefore, states, where online poker is now regulated, found that the bill didn’t apply to online poker nor other forms of gambling.

However, in 2019, the US Department of Justice reversed its opinion. The new opinion concludes that the Wire Act applies to all types of online gambling.

The UIGEA

The other relevant law is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) from 2006. This law made it illegal for US banks to proceed with transactions for offshore gambling companies. That’s how they were pushed out of the market.

History of US Legal Online Poker

Online casinos started to appear back in 1994. They were usually situated in Antigua or the Isle of Man. However, the vast majority of their users were US-based customers. Two years later, in 1996, online gambling was also brought to the North American market soil.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission was established just outside Montreal. They started issuing licenses, and pretty soon, it was possible to find hundreds of new online gambling websites.

Once again, two years later and again in Canada, the first-ever poker online website saw the light of day. Planet Poker was the favorite source of fun to thousands of Americans who were spending endless hours playing the first real-money online Texas Hold’em.

Over the next few years, thanks to technological advances, better online poker software was developed, while the number of websites kept increasing. These online poker operators also started to offer various tournaments and cash games and got a solid fan base all over the world.

The Industry Kept Growing & Then It Collapsed

Even though there were different interpretations of the law, especially of the famous Wire Act, the newly developed industry kept growing.

The year 2003 is especially important in the evolution of online poker. Using an account from Tennessee, Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker after participating in the event through an online satellite. In Chris Moneymaker's case, we guess, it's okay to say that name determines destiny.

This online poker strategy was live-streamed on ESPN. Suddenly, the whole nation knew about Chris's story. A good number of Americans were hoping to be the next. All of a sudden, poker was everywhere on TV. Live games were followed carefully, and commercial breaks had one purpose: promoting online poker for money and playing Texas Hold 'em online.

The great number of promoted sites were, in fact, offshore online poker sites. A lot of them disappeared from American browsers after Congress passed the above-mentioned UIGEA in 2006.

However, even though a lot of sites weren't accessible anymore, online poker couldn't be erased that easily. Some of the offshore gambling companies had found a way around the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, but not for long.

In 2011, some of the largest online poker operators, including PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker/Ultimate Bet, were accused of violating UIGEA and money laundering. These websites were definitely excluded from the significant US online poker market, which seemed to come to an end at the time.

Legal Online Poker Sites Rise Again

Also in 2011, the DOJ released a legal opinion that the Federal Wire act exclusively applied only to one form of gambling: sports betting. A few states saw this as a possibility, paving the way to regulated online casinos and legal US poker sites.

In 2012, Delaware was the first state that managed to do just that. Then, in December 2013, Nevada followed the example of passing online poker legislation. A week later, the Garden State became the third to legalize online gambling, and plans for NJ poker sites were made.

The first-ever regulated US online poker site was launched in Nevada in April 2013. Delaware and NJ poker sites went live that same year, a few months later. In 2017, Pennsylvania became the fourth state to join this group. West Virginia is the fifth state where online poker was regulated in 2019. Probably, more states will try to do the same thing in the near future.

Which State is Next?

Is online poker legal in California or New York? This is one of the frequently asked questions that people search for in the USA. They also search for different terms of poker terminology that sound unfamiliar to them. However, that’s another question that we could discuss on some other occasion.

Let’s get back to our question of legal online poker sites and the possible new markets in the USA. Michigan has made significant efforts to legalize online gambling, particularly online poker, while California, New York, and Massachusetts also seem to be moving in the right direction.

Real Money Poker App: How to Find the Best Poker App

It doesn’t matter if you are a Pennsylvania online poker fan or a regular visitor of NJ poker sites, the good news is that you can play poker whenever you want, anywhere within the borders of one or the other state.

Many of the best online poker websites have launched a dedicated real money poker app that you can easily download and install on your device. The best poker apps are available for both iOS and Android operating systems.

In order to find the best poker app, make sure you visit one of the websites we listed at the beginning of our review.

Also, before you replace your poker offline adventure with the one that can be found on the internet, make sure to read some of the online poker reviews and get to know the poker terminology used by the players worldwide. After a brief introduction to the poker basics, it’s time to create your own online poker strategy and join one of the legal online poker communities!

If you live in Colorado and are a fan of online poker, there are not many options to satisfy your Texas Hold ‘Em itch. But that does not mean all hope is lost, as the state does offer one exciting card game alternative for Colorado poker players called sweepstakes online poker.

Sweepstakes online poker is available in Colorado, and the website, Global Poker, remains the most popular place to play. Global’s format offers card sharks the opportunity to win cash prizes by competing in tournaments and other poker games.

There are a few other sweepstakes poker sites to play in Colorado, but in this review, we’ll look at why Global Poker rises above the competition.

The Best Sweepstakes Online Poker Site In Colorado

Global Poker has established itself as the best sweepstakes poker site in Colorado. The gaming company offers rooms and tournaments for games of Texas Hold’Em, Omaha, and Sit’N’Go.

The gameplay on Global Poker provides an outstanding card game experience. From the easy verification to the simple deposit process, Global Poker outranks its opponents with a high customer service level.

Players can purchase gold coins packages that offer the bonus of Sweeps Coins. While Gold Coins provide no monetary value, Sweeps Coins allow you to gain entry into tournaments and other events where cash prizes go to those who finish high among the top players.

The site provides multiple bonus opportunities for players during their time at Global Poker. You can receive bonuses when verifying your account, playing frequency, and through daily free plays.

Great for any level of poker player, Global Poker is the most popular sweepstakes poker site in Colorado.

Check out our comprehensive Guide To Global Poker in Colorado for more details.

Five Minute Guide To Sweepstakes Online Poker In Colorado

How Does Sweepstakes Poker Work In Colorado?

Sweepstakes poker is legal in Colorado because you are playing for cash prizes with coins that hold no monetary value. At a legal online poker site, you can play dollar for dollar with other players. But on sweepstakes poker sites, such as Global Poker, players try to win coins that can be redeemed for cash or other prizes. ClubWPT offers players the opportunity to win a buy-in at one of their yearly tournaments.

How Do You Win Cash Prizes By Playing Poker?

You win cash prizes on sweepstakes poker sites by playing games and tournaments with their redemption currency. On Global Poker, this means playing with Sweeps Coins rather than Gold Coins. Sweeps Coins are a bonus when you are buying a Gold Coins package through the website. You can also obtain Sweeps Coins through mail redemptions and bonus play on the site. Once you have enough Sweeps Coins to enter games and tournaments, your skill level takes over, and you can win more from other players.

How Do You Access Sweepstakes Colorado Poker Sites?

The best way to play sweepstakes poker is through the company’s website. When using a browser, you have so much more information at your disposal and can see the entire table’s chip count. Most sweepstakes poker sites like Global Poker do not have a mobile app, but other websites such as ClubWPT, home of the World Poker Tour’s sweepstakes poker site, offer customers the use of an app on their phone or device.

How Do Purchases Work At Colorado’s Sweepstakes Poker Sites?

At sites like Global Poker, you must select the Get Coins tab in the top right of the screen to purchase Gold Coins. Once you enter that section of the site, the company wants personal information and payment information to process the purchase.

Because Sweeps Coins on Global Poker is the virtual currency that can be redeemed for cash prizes, card players will see options for Gold Coins packages that offer the most Sweeps Coins bonuses.

What Are The Sweepstakes Poker Deposit And Redemption Options?

Sweepstakes poker sites, such as Global Poker, offer easy to use deposit and redemption pages on their site. For deposits, you can use your Visa or Mastercard to purchase Gold Coins packages. Direct Bank Transfer is another way to buy a Gold Coin package. Perhaps the easiest method to acquire a coin package is through your Paypal account.

When you have enough Sweeps Coins to redeem for a cash prize, you can either put the redemption through a gift card, the electronic wallet Skrill, or direct bank transfer.

How Does Entry By Mail Work At Sweepstakes Online Poker Sites?

You can request Sweeps Coins via the mail. All you need to do is send your personal information to Global Poker following the requirements found on their website. If you send in a request, make sure to follow the directions as they could invalidate your claim explicitly.

With each valid request, you will receive five Sweeps Coins. Global Poker will add the Sweeps Coins to your online account. Sweeps Coins are different from Gold Coins because they can be used to enter tournaments for cash prizes.

What Is The Difference Between Sweepstakes Poker And Legal Online Poker Sites?

Sweepstakes poker and legal online poker sites differ primarily through how they use money in their poker offerings. In sweepstakes poker, the Gold Coins you purchase at a site like Global Poker do not have a monetary value. The Gold Coins package you buy does come with Sweeps Coins, a bonus currency on the site.

Players on sweepstakes sites are trying to earn as many Sweeps Coins as possible for cash prizes or a gift card payout. Verification of the account must accompany all Sweeps Coins redemptions.

Legal online poker sites function as an ordinary card room in a casino would on an average day. Players can enter into cash games or tournaments at regular intervals of the day. One dollar submitted into an online poker account acts as one dollar in the site’s cash game. Players can withdraw the funds from their account at any time.

Status Of Online Gambling In Colorado

Currently, the only type of legal online gaming available to Colorado bettors is online sports betting. Voters in Colorado narrowly approved online sports betting in November 2019. The law made online and retail sports betting legal within the state’s boundaries.

Online poker and online casinos are not legal in Colorado. Since any expansion of online gambling in Colorado needs approval from the state’s voters, lawmakers have been resistant to introduce new legislation.

The last time that lawmakers in Colorado attempted to pass online poker was in 2013. The referendum died during the debate and never made it to the ballot. State lawmakers did legalize daily fantasy sports in 2016 under the authority of the Division of Professions and Occupations.

Thinking among experts is that Colorado’s approval of online sports betting could open the door to further gambling expansion, but with over 30 casinos in the state, voters may decide that enough is enough when it comes to gambling.

Is It Safe To Play Sweepstakes Poker In Colorado?

Yes, it is safe to play sweepstakes poker in Colorado at sites such as Global Poker. The poker site works under regulations set forth by Colorado’s Department of Revenue. These rules govern how consumers are protected by sites such as Global Poker.

Even though Global Poker operates out of Malta, because they offer a form of contest that qualifies as sweepstakes, they can operate legally inside Colorado.

Players interested in joining the Global Poker site should know that their deposits and withdrawals are safe. Because Global Poker operates in 49 states, they have a vested interest in keeping your money secure with high-tech encryption.

What Are The Types Of Games Available At Sweepstakes Poker Sites In Colorado

Texas Hold ‘Em

Easily the most popular card game for the last two decades, Texas Hold ‘Em utilizes five community cards, and two “hole” cards laid face down to the player. After two players set the big and small blind on the table, the dealer deals two cards to each player.

After the first round of betting, the dealer places three community cards in the center of the table. Then all players enter into another round of betting. This cycle occurs twice more with the winner crowned by holding, and not folding, the best hand at the end of all five cards being laid onto the center.

There are four total rounds of betting in each hand of Texas Hold ‘Em as long as two players stay in to complete the hand.

Texas Hold ‘Em remains a card player favorite because of the steady action and strategy involved. Each round of betting could reduce the number of players in a hand. Those card sharks who love aggressive play prefer Hold ‘Em because of the potential to dictate the hand, not by their hole cards, but by their ability to bet each round differently.

Omaha

Another card game with a high frequency of betting similar to Texas Hold ‘Em is Omaha. The winner of Omaha makes the best hand out of their four dealt cards and the five community cards that all players can use. Players can only use the best two cards in their hand of four to combine with the community cards.

Two players always start the game with the big and small blind ante, just like in Texas Hold ‘Em. Once the cards are dealt, Omaha features several rounds of betting. This steady action allows players to develop strategies with their wagers.

On Global Poker, the card game can be played with either Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins. There are Omaha tournaments available throughout the day for players on the sweepstakes poker site.

Jackpot Sit’N’Go

Jackpot Sit’n’Go is a three-person Texas Hold ‘Em showdown for a prize that could multiply the entry fee by up to 10,000x. Players can enter the game with either Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins.

The game is fast and furious, with blinds doubling every three minutes. The last man standing wins the entire pot of entry fees times the assigned multiplier before you begin. If you love quick and aggressive poker, this is the game of choice at Global Poker.

You can also enter a Sit’n’Go tournament at the Jackpot Level, making you eligible for the one in a million 10,000x multiplier. Instead of winner take all, first place gets 75% of the pool, second place gets 15%, and third gets the remaining 10%.

Is Online Poker Legal In Colorado

Tournament Games

One of Global Poker’s most popular offerings is Bounty Poker Tournaments. The game takes Texas Hold ‘Em and puts a few interesting new wrinkles upon players. The “bounty” part of the tournament is what makes the game so much fun.

Basically, the Texas Hold ‘Em game remains the same, but players get a bounty, or additional bonus, for every player they knock out. For Global Poker, they use Sweeps Coins (SC) as the currency for bounties.

For example, you might need 45 SC to enter a bounty poker tourney. 30 SC will go to the main pot and 15 SC will stay back and act as your bounty. Other players will claim 15 SC in this hypothetical if they knock you out of the tournament.

Colorado Sweepstakes Poker FAQ

Yes, you can win cash prizes at Colorado sweepstakes poker sites. These sites are legal in states like Colorado because they offer an alternative method to exchanging your deposits for virtual currency on the site. Instead of exchanging cash for tokens of equal value, you buy coins that work as entry fees into tournaments and card games where you could potentially win cash prizes.

The legal age to play sweepstakes poker in Colorado is 18 years of age. When signing up for a sweepstakes poker app, you must send proof of age through one of four legal documents. Global Poker requires either a passport, driver’s license, national/state ID, or other government identification to verify age. Players will also need to show proof of residency through a formal document such as a bank statement or utility bill.

Yes, Global Poker is legal and available in Colorado. Players must be 18 years of age and prove residency and age through legal documents such as a state I.D. or driver’s license. Card players in Colorado can access Global Poker through their desktop browser on Mac or PC.

Yes, players who like online poker will find sweepstakes poker enjoyable. While online poker and online sweepstakes poker differ in how each handles the money aspect of the game, both offer similar play styles.

Online poker uses a dollar for dollar exchange systems, much like you’ll find in real casino poker rooms. Sweepstakes poker offers cash prizes through tournaments and other unique poker games.

No, PokerStars does not offer sweepstakes poker in Colorado. PokerStars is legal in just a few US states, and they model their play on dollar for dollar cash exchange. Sweepstakes poker sites ask customers to play for coin packages to qualify to play in their cash prize tournaments.

No, sweepstakes poker sites like Global Poker do not offer casino games via their online platforms. But, you can play online sweepstakes casino games at legal sites like Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots.

Neither of those two Colorado sweepstakes casinos offers tournament poker or online poker rooms.

No, Colorado does not have regulated online poker sites. This means that PokerStars does not offer real money online poker in the state.