Global Poker has grown in popularity quite swiftly over the past few years in the United States. Although questions regarding the legality of Global Poker still remain, the site has experienced tremendous growth and is now one of the most popular US-facing real money poker sites.
Global Poker, alongside sister brand Chumba Casino, has employed an intriguing model when it comes to how real money poker games are played. Essentially, the site features two different types of currencies: Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. Gold Coins aren't worth anything and function as play money chips. Sweeps Coins (also known as SC), however, are equivalent to $1.
The way that Global Poker uses this loophole in the legal system is by having players purchase the free play Gold Coins and then including a certain amount of Sweeps Coins with said purchase.
You can also write a letter and mail it in to receive a small sum of Sweeps Coins for free. Global Poker claims that by utilizing this arrangement, the site is only offering a type of sweepstakes and is not offering real money gambling.
This contention is questionable at best, and there have been a few states, like Idaho, that have been banned from playing at Global Poker (perhaps this was Global Poker's prerogative – the details are unknown). Regardless, Global made the decision to stop serving clients in Idaho back in 2021. Washington State was added to the list of prohibited jurisdictions earlier in 2018.
Although Global Poker is fairly popular, we feel that there are many superior online poker platforms. Please feel free to review our comprehensive list below for the best alternatives to Global Poker for US players.
Ignition is perhaps the best poker alternative for US players. Ignition is related to the popular Bovada and Bodog brands, and the site offers plenty of cash games, sit-and-goes, and tournaments. Poker play here is fully anonymous in an effort to encourage recreational players. As such, the player pool here is generally very soft and beatable even for average poker players.
New players are eligible to receive a 150% poker bonus of up to $1,500 on their first cryptocurrency deposit. Ignition also boasts an excellent online casino with plenty of games, including slots, roulette, blackjack, and live dealer table games. There is a separate casino bonus equal to 150% of your initial deposit amount of up to $1,500.
SB Poker is another trusted alternative to Global Poker. SB Poker is part of the Chico Poker Network, the third-largest operator serving U.S. players. SB boasts a wide array of cash games, including fast-fold Boost Poker, as well as a reasonable selection of sit-and-goes and tournaments. New players here can receive a 100% poker welcome bonus of up to $1,000.
SB also offers plenty of other promos like freerolls, leaderboards, and contests. There is also a 100% bonus of up to $1,000 available to bet on sports and three distinct 100% casino bonuses worth up to $1,000 each.
BetOnline is related to SB Poker and Casino, so the poker room is virtually identical besides a different color scheme. New players at BOL can take advantage of the same offers as are available at SB Poker, including a 100% poker bonus of up to $1,000.
BetOnline and SB Poker have garnered respect for processing withdrawals faster than any other US-facing online poker sites. If withdrawal speed is important to you, then SB Poker and BetOnline excel as the best alternatives to Global Poker.
Bovada is one of the elite alternatives to Global Poker. Bovada is related to the popular Ignition and Bodog platforms and operates as a part of the Pai Wang Luo network of sites. This group represents the largest U.S.-serving poker room by traffic. There are plenty of cash games, sit-and-gos, and tournaments available here, including fast-fold Zone Poker cash games and a few special tournament series. The poker room here is nearly identical to Ignition, although Bovada does offer a sportsbook and racebook, which Ignition lacks.
Bovada offers new players a few solid bonus offers for poker, sports, and casino gaming. First-time crypto depositors can receive a 100% bonus of up to $500 to play poker, $750 in sports bonuses, and up to $3,750 in lucrative casino bonuses.
ACR Poker is the best Global Poker alternative for tournament players. ACR features the best selection of multi-table tournaments available to US players and also has micro-stakes cash game tables with blinds as small as $0.01/$0.02. NLH, PLO, Limit Hold'em, PL Omaha/8, and 5 Card Omaha are all spread across a wide range of blind levels. You may also want to check out Blitz Poker fast-fold cash games, sit and gos, and lotto-style Jackpot Poker.
The poker software at ACR works on PCs and Macs. ACR also features mobile support, but only a few game types are available via a mobile device. Feel free to utilize our exclusive ACR bonus code PRB10FREE to receive a bonus worth $10 with no deposit required. ACR also offers new depositors a 100% bonus worth up to $2,000.
CoinPoker is a cryptocurrency-only poker site with numerous unique aspects. All play here is denominated using Tether, or USDT, a stable cryptocurrency that is worth roughly $1. You can choose to deposit and withdraw at CoinPoker with various other cryptocurrencies, like Ethereum and Bitcoin. CoinPoker features unique 7-max table sizes as the standard and also offers heads-up tables of NLH, 5 Card Omaha, and PLO.
You can access CoinPoker using many different kinds of devices, including PCs, Macs, and smartphones. There are three deposit bonuses on offer here worth 100% up to $100, 100% up to $300, and 100% up to $700. You can redeem these bonuses in any order that you'd like, and the bonus funds will be released in 10% increments as you earn points through poker play. CoinPoker also offers 33% ongoing rakeback as long as you're willing to hold CHP coins, CoinPoker's unique crypto-currency. CoinPoker also recently opened a small casino consisting of around 50 games, like slots, blackjack, and crash gambling games.
Everygame doesn't have the same levels of traffic as the larger sites on this list like Bovada and ACR Poker, but it does offer excellent promotional value. 36% rakeback, reload bonuses, and overlay tournaments are available when you register to play poker at Everygame.
Everygame Poker is available to download on Windows PCs, and there is also an Instant Play client available to play through any browser on any kind of device. Unfortunately, the Instant Play software is somewhat limited and only allows you to view one table at a time. New players can receive a poker welcome bonus worth 200% up to $1,000 + 25 free casino spins. Additionally, there are valuable bonuses on offer for the sportsbook and casinos.
SwCPoker is a fairly obscure Bitcoin poker room. The gameplay on offer here is varied featuring all of the standard poker formats, like NLH and PLO, as well as many additional variants, like Razz and OFC. Micro-stakes tables here up to around $0.10/$0.20 blinds don't pay any rake, and there are also plenty of freerolls present to boost your bankroll.
SwC Poker operates on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS devices without issue. Although SwC doesn't extend any deposit bonuses, players can earn up to 50% rakeback depending on how much total volume they play.
Nitrobetting presents another solid alternative to Global Poker for US players. Nitrobetting utilizes Bitcoin for all cashier operations and poker gameplay. No other cryptos are in use here, which makes for a simple user experience. Nitrobetting offers a few poker variants, including NLH, Crazy Hold'em, and PLO.
Nitrobetting operates seamlessly in any web browser, so you can enjoy poker play on almost any modern device, including smartphones. Nitrobetting extends new players a poker bonus worth 100% of their initial deposit of up to 25mBTC. The casino and sportsbook also offer additional valuable promotions. Nitrobetting allows users to earn between 10% and 35% rakeback depending on their volume of play.
There may be any number of reasons why somebody would want to leave Global Poker in favor of another alternative poker site. First and foremost, Global does not offer cryptocurrency support, so players who like using crypto to deposit, withdraw, or play ought to look for another poker site to play at.
Global Poker also is just a bit limited in the technology utilized to run the poker room. The entire room operates only through a browser and does not offer a fully downloadable poker client. Because of this, Global Poker retains a simplified poker experience that may be a bit too limiting for professionals or true grinders.
Another serious downside to playing at Global Poker is the expiration date on Sweeps Coins. Players are required to log in at least once every 90 days in order to keep their accounts active. Otherwise, Global may declare the account to be dormant and remove any Sweeps Coins remaining.
Furthermore, everyone outside the United States and Canada (as well as those who live in Washington State, Idaho, or Quebec) would do well to avoid Global Poker because individuals from elsewhere in the world can never redeem their Sweeps Coins for real money.
Global Poker is somewhat unique in the way that it runs its poker room. Perhaps the most similar site operating currently would be Club WPT. Club WPT doesn't use the same model of sweepstakes play as Global Poker and instead allows users to register and pay a monthly fee in exchange for being able to participate in tournaments that feature special prizes, including cash, items, and live event packages.
The sweepstakes model in use at Global Poker isn't all that similar to Club WPT in reality though. Global Poker is simply using this sweepstakes model of Gold Coins to hide real money poker play in plain sight. Club WPT is actually running a genuine poker site that requires a monthly paid membership.
There are also other sites, like Luckyland Slots and WOW Vegas, that utilize the same Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins play model to allow real money casino gaming. The legality of these arrangements is questionable as is the case with Global Poker.
Global Poker primarily caters to players who reside in the United States and Canada. Because of this fact, many U.S. players may wonder if there are better alternatives for playing online poker.
For poker players residing in the United States, there are plenty of reputable alternatives to Global Poker. A few of our favorites include Ignition Poker, BetOnline, Bovada, ACR Poker, and CoinPoker.
To learn more about the best online poker options for US players, please feel free to consult the list towards the top of this page or check out this page detailing the best online poker sites for players in the United States.
Canadian poker players may have slightly fewer choices when it comes to trusted alternative poker sites, but there are still plenty of solid options.
Bodog is a premier online poker site that caters to players in Canada. Other excellent choices include SB Poker, ACR Poker, Tiger Gaming, Everygame, and CoinPoker.
Global Poker is a bit unique when compared to other popular online poker sites for U.S. players. Most online sites allow users to deposit and withdraw using crypto-currencies, but because Global uses a sweepstakes model, no cryptos are in use.
Instead, Global Poker allows users to deposit using debit cards and credit cards. Withdrawals can be initiated using Skrill or Prizeout gift card redemption, or you can receive a bank wire after verifying the details of your account. There was a time when Global Poker allowed users to withdraw using PayPal, but this is no longer an option.
Unfortunately for many players, the most reliable method for withdrawing from Global tends to be by using the Prizeout gift card redemption process. Prizeout is a brand that offers gift cards to many popular restaurants and stores.
By using Prizeout, users can request a gift card equal to (or slightly higher in some cases) the amount that the user wishes to withdraw. There are certainly downsides to this as many players don't want their funds to be locked into a singular gift card at a certain store.
To circumvent this issue, some third-party websites allow users to sell these gift cards for cryptocurrency or cash, but these transactions usually come with fairly steep fees. One option is to redeem a Prizeout gift card to Mybitcards.com, but again, there is a heavy fee averaging 10.5% lower than current market rates.
Because Global Poker continues to operate in a bit of a legal grey area by claiming the site is a sweepstakes, there is no cryptocurrency support. Global Poker used to process withdrawals using PayPal, but since that time, PayPal has ceased all dealings with Global.
If you're looking for cryptocurrency support when you play online poker, then Global is definitely not the best choice. A few of the best options for US players who wish to deposit and withdraw with crypto include CoinPoker, Bovada, BetOnline, ACR Poker, and Ignition.
As we have already touched on at the beginning of this article, Global Poker is related to the popular online gambling site Chumba Casino. Chumba utilizes the exact same sweepstakes model with Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. Other sites have also adopted this system of using Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, like Luckyland Slots and WOW Vegas. These sites continue to operate in a legal loophole or grey area by disguising real money gambling.
Global Poker has recently introduced casino gaming, like slots and table games, as well. There aren't that many games available to choose from, but there are at least 50 slots and a few table games on offer here.
Although Chumba and Global present a reasonable selection of casino games and generally pay out winnings, we feel that there are many superior casino gaming platforms that offer a better selection of games and lucrative bonuses.
One of the best options is CafeCasino. CafeCasino offers new users a 350% bitcoin welcome bonus worth up to $5,000 with our exclusive bonus code CCBTCVIP, and the site features plenty of great casino games, like slots and blackjack.
There are certainly a number of other excellent options, including Super Slots, Slots.lv, Wild Casino, and Everygame. To learn more, please feel free to check out this page dedicated to the best online casinos for US players.
Global Poker lacks any kind of sportsbook, so poker players who want to wager on sporting events will need to look elsewhere. Our top recommendation for US-based players would have to be SB.ag, but there are a number of excellent options available.
If you're interested in betting on sports and want to learn more, you may wish to peruse this extensive sports betting guide. For additional information on the best sports betting sites, please feel free to check out this list of the best U.S. sports betting sites.
If you have any unanswered questions about the best alternatives to Global Poker, then please feel free to review our frequently asked questions section below.
It is a bit difficult to say what the best alternative to Global Poker is, but some of our favorites include Ignition, BetOnline, SB Poker, CoinPoker, and Bovada. To learn more, please feel free to check out this page dedicated to the top online poker sites for U.S. players.
There are not any other online poker sites related to Global Poker; however, the popular social casino sites Chumba Casino and Luckyland Slots are related to Global and utilize the same sweepstakes model as Global.
Yes, Global Poker serves players in Canada except for those located in Quebec. For additional information on the best alternatives, please feel free to peruse this Canadian online poker guide.
No, Global Poker is not available to players who reside in Australia. Ignition Poker is probably our best recommendation for players in Australia, but if you'd like to learn more about your options, please feel free to check out this Australian online poker guide.
Because Global Poker primarily serves players in the United States, some of their top competitors include Bovada, BetOnline, Ignition, ACR Poker, SB Poker, and CoinPoker.
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