Sites welcoming US poker players.

This is the section which should be of most interest to online poker players from the USA. As promised, we are going to show you the poker sites that are still welcoming you to their tables to play for real money.

Poker.com        

Website Statement - "The passing of this act through congress will have no immediate affect on operations at Poker.com. We are not currently planning to close the accounts of US players, and all funds within player accounts are perfectly safe and will always be readily accessible. It is worth noting that the act is primarily related to financial transactions between gaming businesses and banks and no penalties have been introduced to to discourage individual citizens who wish to play poker online. We will continually monitor the legislative changes and obtain detailed legal advice on this situation, but for now it is business as usual.

As far as we are concerned our operations are 100% legal under international law and we follow all laws of the jurisdictions in which our operations reside.

At the moment we encourage all Poker.com members to join the Poker Players Alliance, and to contact your government representatives to voice your opinion on the potential Internet Gambling Prohibition law.

Citizens of the USA, do not allow your great country to be run in this way. Force your politicians to act with integrity by making your opinion heard."

VegasPoker247

Official Statement -  "VegasPoker247 is pleased to assure poker players around the world that they will continue to be welcome to play on our site. VegasPoker247 is completely confident that we will be able to continue offering our US customers the very best, safest and most secure online poker experience available on the internet, including the fastest deposit and payout solutions. All new and existing VegasPoker247.com customers should feel 100% confident when playing at our tables.

"VegasPoker247 wants to remind its customers that the Safe Ports Act passed by the US Congress on September 30th neither prohibits nor makes it illegal for any US customer to transact with VegsPoker247.com. Because of this, we see no reason why our relationship with US players should change. VegasPoker247 continues to run as always. We look forward to serving our current customers and to welcoming any new players who want to play at our site.

"All player's funds are completely secure and we are exploring every available depositing options with our existing payment processors. We believe they will remain unaffected by this law and will continue to operate without interference. The US Congress has no control over the international banking systems that many of our payment providers operate within.

"We will continue to update our customers as the situation develops. In the meantime we encourage our customers to continue to enjoy their experiences at VegasPoker247. We want our customers to know that our exclusive promotions will run as promised. We look forward to serving our customers and look forward to continued growth in the coming years." - Manager, Nick Powers.

Cake Poker        

Official Statement - "On Friday September 30, 2006 the 109th sitting of the U.S, Congress passed a Port Security Bill including a rider that affected online gambling in the US. The common media description of this act called it a 'ban on online gambling'. This is patently false. All previous attempts at passing legislation banning online gambling have failed. Instead, this act championed by Bill Frist (R -Tennessee), attempts to prohibit payments to online gambling companies from US residents via US based financial institutions.

CakePoker will not restrict access to our players from the United States. It appears that some of our competitors have decided to take this pre-emptive step for business reasons that are most likely related to the fact that they are publicly listed companies. In other words, they cannot be seen as doing anything that would put their shareholders in a 'gray' or precarious position. CakePoker N.V. is a legally licensed and privately held company in the country of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. As a privately held company we have no such pressures placed upon us.

Further, this act still has some stages to go through and it may take up to 9 months for the US government to fully define and clarify the terms of the law and their effect on US financial institutions. If/when this act actually becomes the law, our legal department will re-evaluate our policy on CakePoker's acceptance of payments from US based financial institutions. At worst we expect to only have to limit some of the ways we accept payments from our US players. However, as an alternative to accepting payments from US based financial institutions we have worked very hard to gain official acceptance as a legitimate business entity by some of the internet's most respected, non-US based financial institutions such as Neteller and Firepay.

Needless to say there will continue to be a lot of confusion and misinformation spread in the near future as online gambling companies, players and even US lawmakers try to interpret the terms of the act.

Once again, our official position is that the passing of the Port Security Bill does not currently affect us or our valued, loyal players in any way. Our operations have always been 100% legal under Curacao law and comply with all the jurisdictions in which we carry out our operations."

Ultimate Bet        

Response - "We first want to assure you that Ultimate Bet's games are still available and that you can continue to enjoy the site as you always have. Ultimate Bet has offered its poker room since 2001, and is not located in the United States. Ultimate Bet is not going away as a result of this legislation.

Here at UltimateBet.com the management of player funds is held to the highest standard of a public company. 100% of player funds are deposited in a segregated account, at a top tier bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland in the United Kingdom. You can be assured that your funds are completely safe and secure and that you are welcome to play with or withdraw your funds at anytime as usual.

The new law does not change the legality of playing online games. The law does not impact people who play games from their computers. Instead, the law focuses on the payment processing of unlawful Internet gaming.

Our strong belief is that poker is a game of skill and therefore is not encompassed by this law. As set forth in the user agreement, we furnish a gaming environment, and participants are eligible to access this environment for their enjoyment where legal to do so. We do not undertake to assess the legality of play in any particular case as our users may access us from around the world.

Full Tilt Poker        

Response - "As many people are well aware, the United States Congress recently passed legislation that aims to make it illegal for U.S. banks to process transactions related to online gaming.

We, like all online poker players, are dismayed and saddened by these potential regulations, and are doing our best to determine what these changes will mean to our customers. We are continuing to study this legislation and, until our investigation is complete, believe it would be wrong to comment on how these new rules will impact the ability for players to transfer funds to and from Full Tilt Poker.

In the short term, we assure you that your online experience at Full Tilt Poker will not change. You will still be able to deposit and withdraw money from the site using the same methods and payment processors you have always used, and your .money will remain completely safe and secure. We cannot predict how the online poker experience may change in the future, but we do not expect any immediate impact from the legislation, as the banking industry has 270 days to implement new rules after the bill is signed.

It is also important to note that, once signed; the new legislation will not criminalize individuals for playing poker online. Instead, the bill will eventually attempt to prevent the transfer of funds to online gaming. As poker is a game of skill rather than pure chance, we hope that it will not be affected by this new bill. Speculation aside, however, we will continue to work closely with organizations like the Poker Player's Alliance to lobby for an exemption for online poker and for your right to play a truly American game from the privacy of your own home and computer.

While this last-minute congressional move has undoubtedly caused concern among our players, we want to assure you that Full Tilt Poker is legally regulated and licensed to offer its services to anyone around the world and that your day-to-day experience at the site will remain unchanged in all respects."

Poker Stars

Response - "PokerStars has received extensive expert advice from within and outside the U.S. which concluded that these provisions do not alter the U.S. legal situation with respect to online poker. Furthermore it is important to emphasize that the Act does not in any way prohibit you from playing online poker.

Therefore, our business continues as before - open to players worldwide including the US. You may play on our site as you did prior to the Act.

PokerStars believes that poker is a game of skill enjoyed by millions of players and we remain committed to providing you a safe and fun environment in which to play."

Absolute Poker        

Response - "As the 4th largest online poker company we continue to welcome all Poker Players. Absolute Poker is Absolutely confident in its ability to continue to offer US customers the very best in Online Poker with the fastest secure deposit and payout solutions, all new and existing customers should be 100% confident in playing with the very best.

Importantly Absolute Poker is a privately held operation, which gives our business model more flexibility and creativity in operating that our publicly held counterparts don't have. Furthermore, the Safe Ports Act passed by the US Congress on September 30th neither prohibits nor makes it illegal for any US customer to transact with Absolute Poker and therefore customers experience at Absolute Poker will no change. Our business continues to run as normal and our executive team expects to see the business to continue to grow in both the short and long term.

We are exploring all of our options with our existing payment processors and ensure any existing or new customer that your funds are safe and secure. Indications are that many of our payment providers will be unaffected by this law and their business will also be able to operate uninterrupted and unimpeded.

We are confident that our business, and that of our partners and suppliers, will be unaffected because while the U.S. Congress efforts potentially could block transactions conducted within the U.S. banking system, many of our payment providers transactions are done within the framework of the international banking system, which the U.S. Congress has no control over.

We will have continued updates and assessments of this situation, but we are confident again, that you will be able to continue to enjoy all of the offerings at Absolute Poker as you always have. We look forward to having you as a customer, and being a part of our site as we grow and experience new heights in the years to come."

Bodog Poker

Response - "We understand there are stories circulating about what impact the recent Internet gambling legislation passed by the US Congress will have. We would like to reassure you that for us, everything remains business as usual. As a private company, our commitment will always be to our players, not shareholders.

We will not be shutting down, and your funds are completely safe with us.  We have been able to adapt to change in the past and will continue to do so in the future.  We will ensure that our customers will always have a safe and secure way of depositing and withdrawing their funds."

Planet Poker

During a live chat conversation, they stipulated that they would still be accepting US players for the foreseeable future.

Bugsy’s Club        

Bugsy’s Club website states that they will still be welcoming US players to their site.

Doyle's Room        

During a live chat conversation, Doyle's Room stipulated that they would still be accepting US players for the foreseeable future.

TradeSports Poker        

Live-chat response - "The new law does not tell US residents not to use any particular internet service. Therefore, if you live in the US you may still open, fund, use, and withdraw from your account with our exchange so long as it is legal for you to do so. Please be aware that we do not offer legal advice, and that when you join our platform you agree that any and all of your activities are legal in and from your location."  This looks like a tentative yes!

True Poker

Website statement - "TruePoker is not covered by the UIGE Act, and will continue to offer games for play by US players.

If you live in the US, your Bank or credit card issuer may cut off deposits in the future, but we will always be able to process cashouts. We are awaiting the analysis from Neteller, Firepay, Click2Pay and other services.

We are not giving legal advice, you need to determine whether your State laws ( US players) allow you to access our games’ servers."

Jungle Poker

Response - "Yes, we are accepting US players.

Thanks for playing at Jungle Poker! If there is anything else we can help you with please let us know. We're here for you!"

World Poker Exchange

During a live chat conversation, they stipulated that they would still be accepting US players for the foreseeable future.

Mansion Poker

During a live chat conversation, they stipulated that they would still be accepting US players for the foreseeable future.

Full Contact Poker

Website Statement - "The Ongame Network, owned by bwin, has announced that it will block service to players with U.S. addresses. Full Contact Poker, however, is committed to providing its poker services to all of its existing players and to any new customers in the U.S. or around the world.

As a result of Ongame’s announcement, Full Contact Poker is partnering with a new poker network provider that shares its desire of offering poker software to legally aged players in the U.S. In the unlikely event that your service is interrupted during this transition time, contact our 24/7 player support team. We promise to keep our players informed of any new developments and appreciate your continued support."