Online Poker Sites That Accept Bitcoin
Bitcoin Poker Rooms. A legion of BTC online gambling sites has sprouted up in recent years, from online casinos, sportsbooks and poker rooms. All of these online gambling entities have had some level of success, but bitcoin poker sites have undoubtedly taken off over the past year. Online gambling operators have realized its potential, as the number of Bitcoin poker sites are increasing. Today, there are two primary ways to play online poker with Bitcoin: Bitcoin-only poker sitesand sites accepting Bitcoin as a payment option. Bitcoin-only poker sites are one option.
Much has changed since I first put this list together. Bitcoin has gone through a bit of a boom and bust but is still popular with poker players and in particular players from the United States. In 2012, there were only a handful of poker sites that accepted the virtual currency. Today the options for players are much better with a handful of dedicated bitcoin sites and mainstream sites offering the currency.
Play Online Poker With Bitcoin
These sites below are have a good track record and, most importantly, accept Bitcoin deposits.
#1 Best Bitcoin Poker Site for US Players – BetOnline Poker– BetOnline’s poker room has experienced a lot of growth over the past few years due to the their popular sportsbook. The site has added a bunch of new payment options, including Bitcoin in 2015, to make depositing and withdrawing to your account easier. This is my top choice for US Players because the site offers sports betting, casino, and really is the whole package. Sports bettors frequent the poker room which makes the action a bit softer then other rooms.
Runner Up –Ignition Casino – Ignition Casino has an online poker room that is the biggest mainstream poker site that accepts Bitcoin to play poker with. It has the most cash games going and tons of tournaments. If you want to use BTC to play poker, this is the site for you.
#1 for Canadian Players – Bodog – Bodog is back for Canadian players and better than ever. The site offers great poker software and uses the same platform as Ignition above meaning there are lots of players and games going at any time of the day.
SWC Poker – The former Seals With Clubs, SWC Poker is a bitcoin only poker room. Players at this room don’t need to verify account information or provide their personal details to play poker which has lead to a cult like following. Seals With Clubs was the highest trafficked bitcoin only poker site before closing their doors on Feb 20, 2015.
Bitcoin Poker Sites
Betcoin – Betcoin is a poker room, casino and sportsbook that only accepts bitcoin and litecoin. If you want to have one account where you can bet on sports, play casino games and poker with bitcoin, this is the place to play.
Defunct Bitcoin Poker Sites
In the past three years a number of bitcoin only poker sites have come and gone. The dust has settled after the initial bitcoin rush and there have been a few sites that have not made it. The sites below are closed or don’t have enough traffic worth playing at posing a risk to potential players.
Seals With Clubs – As of February 20, 2015 Seals with Clubs is no longer in operation. SWC Poker has taken over operations and launched a new poker room.
Infinity Poker – Infinity has suffered numerous setbacks with payment issues and software launches. The site is still technically active but with very limited traffic there are no signs it will become a viable option anytime soon. Players should be cautious when approaching this site as it could be shuttered at any time.
Switch Poker – Another Bitcoin poker site that had a good run but is no longer in operation.
Satoshi Poker – Satoshi Poker has long since closed it’s doors. The business was put up for sale but so far no one has come forward to buy it.
BTC on Tilt – This site is completely gone.
Saphire Strike – Another defunct bitcoin casino and poker room
Will Bitcoin Save USA Poker Players?
Bitcoin poker sites have become more and more popular, although they still have low player traffic and, well, the fact that you need to Bitcoin to play on them. It's not a comforting idea to play poker with Bitcoins when the currency's value in US dollars might sink any day.
Furthermore, Bitcoin does nothing to local state laws, many of which prohibit its residents from participating in games 'contingent on chance' (even if only partially), or 'games played with cards,' or directly prohibiting 'poker' or 'online gambling.'
So technically, in many states, you'd still be breaking the law if you played US online poker with Bitcoins.
The benefit of using Bitcoins to play internet poker is that you don't have to use USA banks to handle the transactions, which solves one huge problem for all US poker players with the exception of those living in states where online poker is legal and regulated (namely Delaware, Nevada or New Jersey): USA banks are prohibited from processing money transfers to and from online gambling sites.
How USA Players Deposit Without Bitcoin
The common way for USA players to transfer money to poker sites that accept USA players is to either use a combination of credit/debit/gift cards and check withdrawals or using a money transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram®.
While card deposits are a fast and an easy way to deposit money to USA poker sites - especially with VISA-branded cards, which get accepted more often than Mastercard or Amex cards - using a check withdrawal takes weeks, perhaps even months in some cases.
So you get the money into your player account fast but you have to wait for a long time to get it back, except for sites like Ignition and True Poker that return your money in 1-2 weeks.
And you won't be able to convert checks into cash if the bank finds out that the money came from an online poker site.
Money transfer services require you to go to a live location to send and pick-up the money, although the transfer times are acceptable: you can deposit the money to your account within a day (even hours, perhaps) even receive the money back within a few days.
Is it easier to use Bitcoin for Online Poker?
Sites That Accept Bitcoin
Using Bitcoins is easy once you've purchased them; certainly it would be easier to play US online poker with Bitcoins than it's to play with current deposit and withdrawal methods that are available to US-citizens.
For example, here's how a well-known Bitcoin casino called Satoshi Dice explains how you can fund your gambling bets with Bitcoin:
The SatoshiBet Bitcoin game operates with zero confirmations, meaning the time it takes for you to send a transaction and receive your winnings is near-instant.
You place a bet by sending bitcoins to one of the addresses listed in the bet options table. SatoshiDice sees this, evaluates win or lose and generates a return transaction.www.satoshibet.com
But the problem with Bitcoins lies in the currency rate: it's a currency that just a few days ago lost 25% of its value in dollars. I would much rather use the banking methods described above than worry about my currency losing a significant portion of its value overnight.
Poker Sites that Accept Bitcoin
Note: I have never used any of these online poker sites that accept Bitcoin. This is not a list of 'proven' Bitcoin poker sites - in fact, just about the only thing I know about these sites is that they accept both Bitcoin and USA players and have some player traffic as well.
| Site | Average Traffic | Accepts USA? |
|---|---|---|
| Seals with Clubs | 110 | Yes |
| Switch Poker | 16 | Yes |
The state of Bitcoin online poker sites are still taking baby steps, but Seals with Clubs gets OK traffic and even peaks at 200+ players.
Conclusion
In case playing online poker is legal where you live, I recommend playing at a site like Ignition or Carbon Poker instead of Bitcoin poker rooms simply because you get to play with US dollars, at sites with strong track records and you'll have a lot of opponents.