Online poker in Massachusetts is a favorite pastime for thousands of the state's residents. If you know anything about the political system in the United States, though, you know that it does not move quickly, and players could be waiting forever if they are hoping that regulated online poker will be considered in the state.
Luckily, there are many offshore gambling sites that are available to residents of the Bay State, so they are not going to hurt from a lack of options for online poker playing. Among these wonderful destinations for Massachusetts online poker is Ignition Casino, but there are others, which you can learn about by reading the rest of this page.
All of the sites we recommend to you are trustworthy, reliable, and well-run companies. Below is the list of the best Massachusetts online poker sites!
According to Massachusetts law, illegal gaming involves “a banking or percentage game” – that is, a game where there's a “house” that banks action against the player(s). Because poker is a peer-to-peer game where everyone does his or her own banking, it's therefore excluded from being illegal under MA law.
The only other MA law that could conceivably give you any trouble is one that prohibits playing cards in public or on private property on which you're trespassing. As long as you conduct all your gaming in your own home or in other private locations that you have permission to enter, you have nothing to fear legally by playing online poker.
Furthermore, no statutes at the federal level target individual players either. It's only those running the sites that have anything to worry about, but they're effectively outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement and are therefore free to offer their services to residents of Massachusetts, which they most certainly do.
Rather than choosing a poker room at random, you can select one from the list below to ensure your own security and peace of mind. They pay out winnings quickly without any issues. We've taken the trouble of investigating the traffic levels, variety of games on offer, bonuses, and the other elements of these poker sites so that you don't have to do all the hard work.
Opening an account and starting to play is easy to do at any Massachusetts online poker site. Below, we've included step-by-step instructions for our #1 room, Ignition Poker. The process should be similar for any MA online poker room although there might be small differences.
There are many differences between the various sites for online poker in Massachusetts, which make some of them better in certain areas than others. We've researched these rooms according to a set of criteria to help us determine which ones are the best for our readers.
From No Limit Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha to Razz and Triple Draw Lowball, there are many poker variants that exist, and different sites offer distinct menus of them. Even within the same form of poker, the blind levels spread are not identical at every site.
Such divergent formats as fast-fold poker, lottery-style games with randomized prize pools, satellite tournaments, and freerolls may be present at any given poker site. However, others stick to the basics and do not offer these exotic game formats.
You can deposit to your account with credit cards and cash out with checks. However, this is the old way of doing things.
All of our recommended MA online poker sites also let you perform cashier functions in Bitcoin, which is our preferred method. Bitcoin carries low fees and lets you complete transactions speedily and securely. If you aren't familiar with Bitcoin and its myriad advantages, then read this detailed Bitcoin walkthrough for information on how to get started.
Most poker rooms will welcome you with a bonus on your first deposit. Then you can look forward to future reload bonuses as well as other types of promotions, like rake races, leaderboards, freerolls, loyalty programs, and tournament overlays.
Some of these deals are good more or less permanently. Others are time-sensitive offers that expire after a certain period to be replaced with others as the calendar changes.
Rakeback is one of the most advantageous types of online poker promotion. It refers to an ongoing rebate on the rake you pay at the tables. We appreciate the value of rakeback so much that we have incorporated it into the name of our site, Professional Rakeback.
Here's a list of all the Massachusetts online poker rooms that provide rakeback:
If you want more information before making a decision, then read the site reviews below. We've prepared thorough texts covering the highlights of each of the leading MA internet poker sites so that you can educate yourself about them. Simply read our reports, and then choose one that seems right for you.
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Ignition has the most traffic of any internet site open to Massachusetts poker players with stakes running as high as $10/$20. Beyond the standard NLHE, PLO, and PLO/8 ring games, you’ll also encounter Limit Hold’em, fast-fold Zone poker, lottery-style Jackpot Sit & Go, and plenty of multi-table tournaments. In fact, there are sometimes MTT series that award seven or eight figures in total prizes.
This is an anonymous room where nobody can see your screenname, and they cannot target you with trackers or other software tools. In addition, cash game tables and seats are assigned randomly, rendering bum hunting impossible. Some dislike these features, but they lead to incredibly soft games as novices feel comfortable playing here.
You can access Ignition from Mac, PC, and mobile through a cross-platform web app. The Bitcoin poker bonus at Ignition is 150% up to $1,500.
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
SB Poker and its sister site BetOnline have enough player volume to feature ring games of NL Hold’em, PLO, PLO/8, 5 Card PLO, and 6 Card PLO around the clock, sometimes running as high as $5/$10. In addition, there’s Boost fast-fold and lottery-style Windfall fun to be had. The Sit-n-Go and Tournament sections provide even more types of games.
Promotions include Bad Beat Jackpots for every blind level of NLHE and PLO games, a system contests with rewards, numerous leaderboards, and a RISE rewards program that delivers up to 25% rakeback weekly.
Sportsbetting Poker and BetOnline install to either Mac or PC, and there’s also a superb mobile app. Your first poker deposit bonus is a 100% up to $1,000 match, and further bonuses await you in the associated sportsbook and casino sections.
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
A sister site of Ignition, Bovada boasts the same excellent poker tables and tournaments. However, Bovada permits you to wager on sporting contests and horse races too because it’s one of the leading USA-friendly online bookmakers. Not only are major professional athletic leagues, like the NHL and MLB covered, but also more niche events, like college sports, political elections, and esports matches.
Bovada works great on desktops, laptops, and mobile systems. You can redeem a poker bonus of up to $500 while claiming up to $3,750 for casino games and $750 to bet on sports.
Credit Cards, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Money Transfer
ACR Poker is great for high-stakes cash games because it is second in traffic in the US market and sports high blind levels for NLHE, LHE, PLO, and PLO/8 games. However, it’s even better for tournaments because it regularly has series that deliver more than $10 million in guaranteed prizes along with recurring Venom $5 million events. Fast-fold poker and lottery-style SNGs can also be found here.
Whatever games you enjoy, you can look forward to recurring rewards through the Elite Benefits setup. Leaderboards also exist to reward ring game and SNG players.
ACR works fine on Windows and Mac machines, and there’s also a mobile app. Use our ACR no deposit bonus code PRB10FREE for $10 free. Then deposit for a 100% up to $2,000 bonus.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, CHP, Polygon, BNB
CoinPoker is a crypto poker room online that uses Tether, or USDT, to denominate its games. Cashier functions can be initiated using a few other cryptos, like BTC and ETH.
CoinPoker is the largest crypto poker site online, but it does have a few drawbacks, like a lack of standard sit n' gos. Moreover, there are only three forms of poker spread here: NL Hold'em, PLO, and 5 Card PLO.
CoinPoker operates on any Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS system. You can redeem a bonus of 150% up to $2,000 on your initial deposit. Another benefit is that players who keep a balance of CHP, CoinPoker's proprietary token, will receive 33% rakeback weekly.
Credit Card, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Lightning Bitcoin, Litecoin
The poker lobby at Everygame isn’t the busiest around, but there are other factors that compensate for this. The rakeback rate is an enviable 36%, and bonuses alongside a loyalty tiers program grant you even more free money. There are also weekly rake races, frequent redeposit bonuses, tourneys with overlays, and other specials to look forward to.
Everygame is geared toward Windows users, but there is an Instant Play feature that you can use on other devices to get in the games. As a new player, you’ll get a 200% up to $1,000 poker bonus.
Bitcoin
SwCPoker is somewhat unique in its gameplay and cashier methods as it uses Bitcoin exclusively. The poker variants on offer here are plentiful featuring usual formats, like NL Hold'em, as well as more obscure poker games like Open Face Chinese, Razz, and HORSE.
SwCPoker runs seamlessly across PC, Mac, Android, and iOS systems. SwC lacks an initial deposit bonus, but you can get up to 50% rakeback depending on your volume of play.
Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, BNB
Unlike most online poker sites, Nitrobetting only uses Bitcoin for denominating poker play as well as its cashier operations. Therefore, there are no alternate cryptos in use here, which creates a simple and seamless experience. Nitrobetting runs smoothly in any modern browser, so you can play poker on almost any current device, including smartphones and tablets. There's no first deposit bonus here.
The information below serves to provide accurate and factual information regarding the live poker options in Massachusetts, the history of gambling in the state, and famous MA poker players.
Massachusetts has only three casinos, and two of them have poker rooms. Encore Boston Harbor is the larger of the two with 24 poker tables. Typically, the only cash games running are small-stakes NLHE. It also offers small-buyin tournaments several times a week.
MGM Springfield also has a cardroom, but it is a bit smaller.
Though Massachusetts held many lotteries in its early years, they were all banned in 1833, and gambling remained very sparse for the remainder of the 19th century. An exception was Boston, which in 1851 counted 26 gambling halls on one street alone.
Be that as it may, most forms of real money gaming remained illegal and difficult to find until the 1932 debut of legalized charitable gaming. Having whetted their appetites for gambling, state leaders officially allowed parimutuel racetrack betting in 1934.
Next came the Massachusetts Lottery in 1972. In 2011, a law was passed allowing three commercial casinos to operate within the state although it took a few more years before they actually opened to the public. 2016 saw Daily Fantasy Sports regulated, and in 2022, a sports betting bill was passed, which legalized both brick-and-mortar and online sports betting.
There's no denying it: Massachusetts poker players have left an indelible impression on the game. Who can forget Daniel Colman, from Holden, who won the Big One for One Drop tournament in 2014 and then said that poker was a game with a “negative effect”? Daniel “Action Dan” Harrington, who made the World Series of Poker Main Event final table two years in a row, is from Cambridge, and he became a prominent poker author as well as player.
Perhaps you are fortunate enough to possess another address in a nearby state, be it your business address, summer home, second apartment, family home, etc. If so, then you may have other online poker options available to explore. Here is a list of the states that border Massachusetts and Professional Rakeback's review on each of them: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. If you're curious about the online poker situation in some other part of the country, then check out our guide for U.S. online poker players.
Internet poker in Massachusetts is a subject that many people are ignorant about. If you believe that any of your friends or relatives would like to learn more about it, then please share this page with them and help to spread illumination about online poker.
If you'd like to play online poker in Massachusetts, there's nothing stopping you. There are plenty of sites willing to accept your action. The Massachusetts online poker laws aren't very harsh, and anyway, they're never enforced against ordinary players. Sign up to a reputable internet poker room today, and start playing.
At Professional Rakeback, we take responsible gambling seriously. If you find that your online gaming activities consume too much of your time, energy or money, then you might wish to consult the following resources for help:
When it comes to online poker in Massachusetts, there's a lot of ground to cover. Below, we've included some of the most common questions and answers about this topic
Yes, there’s nothing that makes it illegal to partake in online poker from Massachusetts. The confusing MA anti-gambling statutes have never been employed for the purpose of prosecuting internet poker players. And the federal laws don’t criminalize the act of playing online poker either; they’re all focused on punishing those providing the games.
Despite the fact that there’s no licensed Massachusetts online poker economy at present, you can still head to an offshore site and enjoy your fill of the gaming available without running afoul of the law.
Yes, you can play at PokerStars in Massachusetts, but only for play money. The company ceased offering real money poker in the United States in 2011 following the Black Friday crackdown against the industry,
Right now, PokerStars offers real money USA poker games only in those states where it has received a license to do so. Given that The Pilgrim State has not yet passed any bills or set up a system for internet poker licensure within its borders, we don’t foresee PokerStars becoming a realistic option for Massachusites any time in the near future.
You must be 18 or older to gamble on the lottery, horse races, or charitable games. However, to enter one of the three MA brick-and-mortar casinos and play, you have to be 21 or older.
Massachusetts has not specified an age at which residents are allowed to bet online. Therefore, poker sites use 18 as their minimum age because this is the age of majority in most of the jurisdictions in which they operate.
If you are younger than this, you might be tempted to use false identity information in order to open up an account. We strongly urge you not to do this. It will produce a number of headaches when you attempt to withdraw your winnings and the site asks you for your ID. In the worst case, they might even confiscate your funds.
The below links might prove educational as you further your understanding of Massachusetts gambling:
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!
Professional Rakeback has the following job openings:
All positions are remote, make your own hours, easy-going work environment.
If you are interested in any of these positions, simply contact us and let us know why you are the person for the job!