There are times when not having to worry about the politics surrounding online gambling can be a great thing, and you really see that in Arizona because a contentious political situation would make it fairly unlikely to see Arizona online poker regulation any time soon. Offshore sites operate in the state though and offer games to Arizona citizens, so they aren’t subject to the changing winds of the political discussions.
While regulated online poker is likely a ways off in the future, offshore gambling sites, including Ignition Poker, are excellent options now and offer rewards that far outpace what any single-state, licensed site for online poker in Arizona could offer.
The online venues for online poker in Arizona vary widely in quality. Rather than subjecting you to the whims of fate, we've gathered together some of the best of them and presented them below so that you don't have to take a chance on any untested or unproven sites. Whichever of our recommended poker companies you elect to play at, you'll be able to enjoy up-to-date software features, honest games, and the fair payout of your winnings. Check out our top five choices for online poker in AZ below.
The Arizona laws on gambling are a bit confusing and involve very technical definitions of such terms as “gamble,” “betting and wagering,” and “benefiting from gambling.” The way these statutes are applied in practice, ordinary players are never charged, and the threat of prosecution falls squarely on the shoulders of those operating the games.
This extends to the online realm as well. Arizona authorities have never charged an individual with any crime for playing online poker.
There are many possibilities for real money gaming online from within Arizona, which means that it's not easy to identify the best sites for poker. We've gone through all the data carefully to create a list. Regardless of which of the below poker rooms you join, you'll be able to enjoy a variety of games and stakes, the rapid payment of your winnings, and fair randomization of the deal.
We've included easy instructions below for how to sign up to our #1 rated Arizona online poker site, Ignition Casino. The specific steps listed may be slightly different or occur in a different order depending on the site you choose to register for, but they should generally follow the format we present for Ignition.
There are many online poker sites for Arizona residents, and they each do things a bit differently. In order to identify the best Arizona online poker rooms, we evaluate them according to a set of criteria and use these metrics to determine which ones are worth recommending.
Different sites offer different lineups of games. No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Pot Limit Omaha/8 cash games are the basics and are found at almost all sites, but even within these three basic formats, the blind levels offered vary between rooms. Some poker rooms have additional poker variants, like Stud, Limit Omaha/8, and HORSE, too.
SNGs and tournament schedules also tend to change drastically from site to site. Some host freerolls, satellites to live tourneys, tournament series, and other special events.
Getting money on to and off of online poker sites is an essential aspect of their operations. Most poker rooms support credit cards, money transfers, checks, and other familiar payment methods.
However, almost all of them now also transact in Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. These innovative financial instruments enable speedy, relatively anonymous transactions with low fees and little governmental interference.
If you're not yet familiar with the world of Bitcoin, check out this guide to using BTC for online poker.
Most poker sites provide welcome bonuses to new players. A bonus might be expressed as something like, “100% up to $1,000 on your first deposit.” This means that whatever amount you deposit, it will be matched by the percentage indicated up to the maximum value (in this case $1,000).
Bonuses aren't available for withdrawal right away. In most cases, they will slowly be paid out as you play until the entire amount is converted to cash in your account or the bonus expires.
Other promotions, like leaderboards, redeposit bonuses, rake races, and missions, deliver their value over time. Some of them are seasonal and change frequently while others are more or less permanent.
There's a special type of promotion called rakeback that is provided by several online poker sites. This is an ongoing rebate on the rake you pay at the tables, and it generally lasts for the lifetime of your account.
Rakeback is legitimately one of the best tools for boosting your bottom line as an online poker player. We appreciate the benefits of rakeback so much that it's part of the name of our site, Professional Rakeback.
There are several sites for online poker in Arizona that offer rakeback, and you can sign up for them below:
Now, let's get into the details of each of our recommended AZ online poker sites. We'll give you solid facts, gleaned from our extensive experience at each site, so that you can decide which one best suits your preferences and style of play.
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Ignition has games aplenty, including NL Hold'em, PLO, PLO/8, Limit Hold'em, fast-fold Zone Poker, lottery-style Jackpots, and a full complement of single- and multi-table tournaments for your enjoyment. Cash game blinds range from $0.02/$0.05 to $10/$20 for the big-bet games.
Of the internet poker venues serving Arizonians, this one has the most player traffic and therefore the greatest number of games running. Of particular note are the $150,000 Guaranteed, a Sunday tourney with a $150 + $12 buy-in, and frequent MTT series that award millions in prizes.
Ignition is the home of anonymized poker, which means there are no screennames, and users are simply assigned a player number upon taking a seat. This means you cannot track your opponents' play over time and get a bead on them over the long term, but it also makes newer players feel comfortable and thus leads to some truly soft tables.
Ignition provides installers for Windows and Mac users, and you can play on the web with most smartphones and tablets. New poker players receive a 150% up to $1,500 Bitcoin deposit bonus as well as another $1,500 casino bonus.
Credit Cards, Person to Person, Money Orders, Bank Wire, Cashiers Check, Bitcoin, Avalanche, Binance, Bitcoin Cash, Cardano, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Polygon, Ripple, Shiba Inu, Solana, Stellar, Tether, Tron, USD Coin
At SB Poker and BetOnline, which are partner sites, you can partake in NL Hold'em, PL Omaha, PLO Hi-Lo, 5 Card PLO, and 6 Card PLO from micro-stakes up through $5/$10. There are also pools of Boost, a fast-fold poker variant. One drawback of these rooms is the high rake.
A full SNG lobby beckons, and there are lottery-style Windfall contests too. A robust weekly tourney schedule completes the picture at Sportsbetting.ag. All Hold'em and Omaha cash game levels have bad beat jackpots, and you can get more free money from contests and leaderboards in the poker client.
Beyond its Mac and Windows desktop software, SB Poker also hosts an excellent mobile poker solution, which contains almost the entire complement of games. Make your first deposit to get a 100% up to $1,000 poker bonus as well as various promos in the sportsbook, racebook, and casino.
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Bovada's a sister site of Ignition, so the poker games and tables are 99%+ the same. Yet, Bovada offers an advantage that Ignition lacks: a sportsbook. Whether you're a fan of baseball, football, soccer, hockey, or more obscure contests, you'll likely be able to place all the bets you want at Bovada. There's horse racing and eSports betting too!
The poker welcome bonus is only one-third as large as Ignition's at $500. However, it clears just as fast.
You can download and run Bovada on your Windows or Mac OS machine, and the web client allows those with iOS and Android systems to play too. The poker bonus here is 100% up to $500, and there's up to $750 in bonus money for sports and up to $3,750 to use in the casino.
Credit Cards, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Money Transfer
ACR Poker is renowned for its tournament schedule, which has been growing year by year. There's a robust weekly MTT lineup, several series throughout the year, and amazing $5M+ VENOM tournaments a couple of times annually.
Of course, you can get your fill of standard poker fare here too, like NLHE, PLO, PLO/8, 7 Card Stud, LO8, and Limit Hold'em cash games at stakes as low as $0.01/$0.02 and as high as $200/$400. Jackpot Poker with randomized multipliers and Blitz fast-fold games offer a change of pace.
The standard ACR client runs on on PCs and Macs, but there's also a mobile product available for smartphone and tablet users. Enter the PRB-exclusive ACR bonus code PRB10FREE to redeem $10 free; then, deposit for a 100% up to $2,000 bonus match.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, CHP, Polygon, BNB
CoinPoker is the largest of the crypto-only poker rooms that eschew the use of traditional fiat currency. You can fund your account with Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and several other coins while conducting withdrawals in a similar manner. Meanwhile, all games are denominated in Tether (USDT). The game selection is a bit limited because you can play only NL Hold'em, PL Omaha, and 5 Card Omaha ring games, and the only sit-n-goes are three-player, lottery-style Cosmic Spins.
This room extends to new users an excellent deposit bonus of 150% up to $2,000. Also, you can obtain 33% rakeback paid weekly as long as you're willing to invest a modest amount in this room's proprietary crypto coin, called CHP.
Credit Card, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Lightning Bitcoin, Litecoin
Everygame is a small poker room with just a handful of games simultaneously active, but it makes up for its modest size with a wealth of promotions for its loyal players. First of all, you'll get 36% rakeback for life plus the chance to compete in rake races every week. Then there's the loyalty program, freerolls, frequent reload bonuses, tourneys with overlays, and more.
Everygame's poker client is designed for Windows PCs only, but there's an Instant Play web interface that lets Mac users and mobile owners play also. The initial deposit bonus is 200% up to $1,000 plus 25 free slot spins.
Bitcoin
SwCPoker is especially valued by players who enjoy multiple forms of poker. Not only are Hold'em, Omaha, and Stud present, but also more obscure variants, like Razz, Open Face Chinese, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, and mixed games. However, player participation across all these game types is somewhat lacking. You'll have to be willing to start games and sit shorthanded if you wish to log any significant number of hands at SwC.
Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, BNB
Nitrobetting is a cardroom that uses Bitcoin exclusively for all gameplay though you can deposit and withdraw via several other cryptos. There are a few tournaments and SNGs here, but most of the action is in NLHE ring games.
This section aims to provide factual information regarding land-based gambling information, the history of poker and gambling across Arizona, famous AZ poker players, and more.
Arizona has a thriving tribal casino scene, and they're permitted to deal poker. The instate live poker scene used to be hamstrung by a $500 bet limit, but this restriction was removed in 2021. The largest cardroom is The Arena Poker Room at Talking Stick Casino in Scottsdale, which has 69 tables. Other large poker venues exist at Gila River Lone Butte Casino in Chandler and Desert Diamond Casino in Glendale.
Talking Stick features low-limit No Limit Hold'em and Limit Hold'em cash games running around the clock. Tournaments run every weekday with buyins between $125 and $200 and somewhat larger events on weekends. From time to time, it hosts regional poker festivals, like the annual Arizona State Championship.
Early gambling in Arizona centered around mining towns, like Tombstone, which hosted the Oriental Saloon where faro, poker, and craps were on the menu. However, most gambling was made illegal in the early 1900s in preparation for statehood.
The story since then has been one of slow liberalization of the gambling scene with betting on horse races allowed from 1949, the Arizona Lottery coming in 1980, and tribal gaming compacts being signed since 1992. Terrestrial and online sports betting was legalized in 2019.
Poker has been officially allowed in tribal casinos since 2003 albeit initially with severe restrictions. Most of these restrictions have been since lifted, including the betting limit, which now permits true No Limit-style games.
There have been a number of famous poker practitioners from Arizona, including 1993 WSOP Main Event winner Jim Bechtel who resides in Gilbert, Arizona. Another prominent Arizonan in the game is David “ODB” Baker who lives in Sahuarita and has amassed more than $7.3 million in live poker tournament earnings.
If you happen to have another address in a nearby state, be it your business location, summer home, second apartment, family home, etc, you may have other online poker options available. Here is a list of the states that border Arizona and Professional Rakeback's review of each of them: California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. If you have a residence in some other state, then it might be worthwhile to browse through our guide to online poker for U.S. citizens.
Playing online poker in Arizona is a hobby that you can participate in legally and without any worry. The Arizona online poker sites that we endorse are all reputable, well-run organizations that won't subject your money to any unnecessary risks. Just choose the one that you find most attractive, and begin playing cards over the internet right away!
We here at ProfessionalRakeback find online poker to be a fun, engaging, and intellectually stimulating hobby. However, we recognize that there are some who struggle with gambling addiction and for whom internet poker might not be the best pastime. If you think you might have a problem, then you can check out the following resources:
There are a lot of aspects to Arizona online poker, so it's perfectly understandable if you have a few questions about it. Check out the FAQ below for answers to some of the most common queries about this topic.
It’s perfectly legal to partake in online poker in the State of Arizona. The various anti-gambling statutes that exist in the state are only used to go after those who own and manage illegal games, but they are never employed to prosecute mere players.
At the federal level, none of the laws in effect target individual players either. Since neither state nor federal legal codes contain any language directed against players, we can confidently conclude that enjoying online poker in Arizona is legal.
Yes, PokerStars is ready to accept Arizonan customers, but only at the play money tables. It’s impossible to play for real money if you’re an Arizona resident.
PokerStars used to offer poker for real money in Arizona, but this ended in 2011 as a result of the Black Friday crackdown.
Gambling in Arizona is permitted to those who are at least 21 years old. The only exception is for bingo and certain other charitable gaming, for which participants need only be 18 years old.
When it comes to online gaming, this latter guideline is in effect. That is, you're able to open an account and begin to play poker or engage in other types of betting as long as you're 18 or older.
Yes, all the sites in our recommended list make it easy to conduct transactions. About a decade ago, we could not have sincerely answered this question in the affirmative because credit cards are sometimes declined, and options like bank wires and money transfer services exact heavy fees for the privilege of using their services.
However, the rise of crypto-currency has enabled a convenient, low-fee, and speedy way to fund internet poker accounts and redeem the winnings therefrom. Virtually every online poker site supports Bitcoin, and many of them also do business with a variety of “altcoins,” like Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum too.
Learning more about Arizona gaming is possible with the below links:
We strive to maintain this information and update it frequently with our research. However, we are not immune to making mistakes or omitting information that you, dear reader, may find of use. If you have any further questions not addressed in this guide or have noted any discrepancies or inaccuracies we urge you to contact us with your questions and concerns so that we may swiftly address them!
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