One of the first things that new poker players want to know is whether or not online poker is legal. Online poker is legal in most countries in the world although there are some countries where online poker isn’t legal. It’s your job to find out whether or not online poker is legal in your country before you start playing. As long as it isn’t illegal to play online poker in your country you’ll be able to play at almost any poker site, as the majority of poker sites are legal.

Almost every poker site is licensed nowadays although most poker sites are licensed offshore currently. Some countries in Europe including France and Italy have already made online poker completely legal and it’s proven to be a great idea. As long as the poker players pay taxes on their winnings they can play legally in their country on one of the licensed sites. The USA still hasn’t regulated online poker yet, but that doesn’t mean that playing online poker is illegal.

If you live in the USA then you may have heard of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). This law prohibits banks from processing online gambling transactions in the USA, which has made it difficult to deposit money into US online poker accounts. The law isn’t designed to come after the poker room or poker players and it should be noted that no US online poker player has ever been prosecuted.

#	Brand	Bonus Offer	Ready To Play?
1.		100% up to $500	Play Bovada Poker
2.		100% up to $2,000	Play Ignition Poker
3.		100% up to $2500	Play BetOnline Poker
4.		100% Up to $2500	Play Sportsbetting Poker
5.		100% up to $500	Play Intertops Poker

To determine if a poker site is legal you simply need to visit their website and read their about page. You need to find out if the poker room is licensed and if they’re audited by third party agencies or not. Most poker sites have their RNG’s tested regularly by other agencies to ensure that the games are 100% fair for all of the players on the site. Even though the poker site may be legal you need to ensure that it isn’t against the law to play online poker in your country.

Best Legal Poker Sites

Full Tilt Poker is licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada and is open to US players. One thing I love about Full Tilt is the huge game selection and high stakes action.

UB Poker is also licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and accepts players from around the world including those of you that live in the USA. UB is one of the most secure poker sites in the industry and you can feel safe playing with this legal poker site.

In the next few years online poker should be regulated in more countries, but for now you can still play online poker legally in almost every country. As long as you play with a licensed poker site you typically won’t have anything to worry about, but even some licensed poker sites have taken players money in the past. The two legal poker sites listed above have both been in the industry for a very long time and they’ve always paid out their players.