Online poker in North Dakota is a fine form of recreation, especially during the winter when temperatures often dip below freezing and make going outside uncomfortable. The North Dakota online poker sites that are available offer a wide range of stakes and games, so there's undoubtedly something that fits your preferences.
Although there are a few offline poker locations in the state, they are all small. Online, however, you'll find many tables to select from and a level of player participation that puts N.D. live poker rooms to shame. This is especially true of our #1 pick for N.D. internet poker, Ignition Casino Poker, which is the largest site available.
Another benefit to conducting your real money gambling over the internet is that you don't need to leave the cozy confines of your home, and you can thereby avoid the expenses and bother involved in traveling to a brick-and-mortar cardroom.
We've evaluated all providers of North Dakota online poker to present you with the top five operators in existence.
The laws of North Dakota don't mention poker by name although there are parts of the Administrative Code that deal with charitable poker games. If we want to learn how the statutes in place relate to card games, we have to look at the texts regarding gambling in general.
Fortunately, the relevant portions of the law are pretty short and sweet, amounting to no more than a couple of pages. They're contained in Title 12.1 - Criminal Code - Chapter 28 - Gambling and Related Offenses.
These provisions of the law are mostly academic, however, because they're not enforced in practice against online poker enthusiasts. Indeed, North Dakota ranks near the bottom of the United States for gambling-related arrests in general. As an individual online poker player, you have no reason to fear North Dakota law because it has never been used to prosecute participants in online card games.
Even when we take a look at the federal laws that apply to the entire United States, there's nothing criminalizing the game. The Wire Act and the UIGEA in combination have been used to go after poker site operators in the past, but a reinterpretation of the law by the Department of Justice in 2011 stated that the Wire Act only applies to sportsbetting, not to poker or casino gaming. Playing cards online is thus not a violation of any federal statutes.
Online poker in North Dakota is an excellent and fun-filled hobby, but it's important that you take steps to safeguard your money by selecting providers that are entirely above board. When you play poker at one of the sites below, you'll get to enjoy smoothly running software, truly randomized shuffling algorithms, and the efficient payment of any winnings you're fortunate enough to accumulate.
Starting to play North Dakota online poker is a piece of cake. We've included instructions below for signing up at our highest-rated site, Ignition Poker, but the process should be similar, albeit with minor differences, at any online room.
No two internet poker destinations are exactly alike; they each have their own particular strengths and weaknesses. In order to establish useful evaluations of them all and thus give you relevant advice, we have set up a selection of criteria that we use to rate the various poker rooms against each other.
The poker variants hosted at each site are not the same. From the nearly ubiquitous NL Hold'em and PL Omaha to the harder-to-find Razz and 8-Game Mix, the mix of formats at any room will differ a bit. Even at sites that offer the exact same forms of poker, the blind levels and buyins available will be distinct.
This is even more true when we consider non-standard formats of poker, like fast-fold cash, lottery-style sit & go, and satellite tournaments. The specific lineup of such games will change from site to site.
Many sites for North Dakota online poker let you transact using familiar methods, like checks and credit cards. However, all of the sites on our recommended list also permit you to use crypto-currencies, like Bitcoin.
Bitcoin lets you bypass some of the annoyances of legacy payment methods, like high fees and slow transaction speeds. If you're not yet familiar with Bitcoin, you can read this guide to using BTC for online poker.
You can look forward to a bonus on your initial deposit at most poker rooms, and many of them also extend further promotions to their loyal users. Depending on the site you choose, you may be able to benefit from rake races, missions and contests, loyalty programs, reload bonuses, and more.
Some online poker promotions are time-sensitive and disappear after a short while. Others are basically permanent and persist for years at a time.
Of all the different online poker promos out there, rakeback may be the most worthwhile. It's a never-ending rebate on the rake you pay at the tables. We appreciate the value of rakeback so much that we have included it in the name of our site, Professional Rakeback.
For a solid North Dakota online poker rakeback deal, check out the following:
Though we've already given you a lot of information on the leading N.D. online poker sites, you might still be curious to learn more. Therefore, we've included more details below on these rooms so that you can educate yourself and make an informed decision.
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Of all poker sites for North Dakota residents, Ignition has the highest level of traffic and therefore the most games going at any given time. You can play No Limit Hold'em, Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Pot Limit Omaha/8. Furthermore, fast-fold Zone Poker, normal sit-n-goes, and lottery-style Jackpot SNGs provide diversions separate from the usual ring games. There are a lot of tournaments here too, including a $150K guarantee every Sunday and recurring series with eight figures in prize money.
All gaming at Ignition is anonymized, so you won't see anyone else's screenname, and tables and seats in ring games are assigned at random, so you can't choose whom you're playing against either. Some dislike this aspect of the site, but it does lead to very soft games because newcomers feel comfortable here.
You can download and install Ignition Poker on a PC or Mac, and there's also an excellent web client for iOS and Android users. New poker players get a 150% up to $1,500 poker bonus when depositing with Bitcoin.
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
If you appreciate the bad beat jackpots that are common in live poker, then SB Poker and its partner BetOnline are among the few places online that have them. There are separate jackpot pools covering all supported blind levels of NLHE and PLO ring games.
Besides these formats, you can look forward to PLO/8, 5 Card PLO, 6 Card PLO, and Boost fast-fold poker. Tournaments consist of normal MTTs and SNGs along with Windfall games that feature randomized prize pool multipliers.
One of the issues at this room is the fact that the rake is higher than average. However, if you play enough volume, you can get up to 25% of this rake back through the RISE rewards program.
SB Poker and BetOnline have software for PCs, Macs, iOS, and Android. The first deposit poker bonus is a 100% up to $1,000 match.
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Bovada, together with Ignition, is part of the PaiWangLuo Poker Network, and so both sites share the same games and player pool. Yet, Bovada may prove the superior gaming destination; for it contains a sportsbook, which is lacking at Ignition.
When you need a break from poker, you can bet on football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and many other types of contests, including non-sporting events, like financial markets and eSports. There's a racebook too, which lists horse races from hundreds of tracks.
Bovada Poker provides installers for Macs and PCs. In addition, there's a web client that works great on Android and iOS phones and tablets. When you make your first deposit, you'll get a 100% up to $500 poker bonus, which is admittedly much smaller than Ignition's corresponding cardroom bonus.
Credit Cards, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Money Transfer
ACR Poker is renowned among poker players as the place to go for massive tourneys. There's a $300,000 guaranteed event every single Sunday along with $5 million VENOM tournaments a couple of times per year. From time to time, there are big series with hundreds of events and tens of millions in prize money.
Of course, you can also dabble in cash games (NLHE, LHE, PLO, PLO/8, LO8, 7CS), sit-and-goes, and lottery-inspired Jackpot Poker.
The download software works on Macs and PCs. There's a mobile client too for users of Android and iOS. Use our ACR promo code PRB10FREE to score a free $10 no deposit bankroll, and then make a deposit for 100% up to $2,000 in bonus money.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, CHP, Polygon, BNB
CoinPoker has been growing in recent years, and it is now the largest crypto-only cardroom online. Games are denominated in Tether (USDT), but you can deposit and withdraw in several other cryptos, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Besides Hold'em and Omaha, there are also 5-Card Omaha to enjoy, but that's it as far as poker variants go.
You can play at CoinPoker using any modern desktop, tablet, laptop, or mobile system. CoinPoker boasts a welcome deposit bonus of 150% up to $2,000. You can also obtain up to 33% rakeback each week if you invest in the proprietary CHP token.
Credit Card, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Lightning Bitcoin, Litecoin
Everygame is a bit on the smaller side with seldom more than a half dozen cash games running. However, it still deserves your attention because of the incredible promotions offered. It all starts with the 36% rakeback for life that you'll receive when you sign up through one of our links. Then, you'll be able to compete in a $4,000 rake race every week, get reload bonuses, and receive free cash payments through the loyalty program.
Everygame's poker software works only on Windows PCs, although there's an Instant Play interface on its website that grants those using Macs, phones, and tablets access to the games. When you deposit for the first time, you'll get a 200% up to $1,000 poker bonus.
Bitcoin
A descendant of the original BTC poker room (SealsWithClubs), SwCPoker maintains its focus on Bitcoin. There are plenty of varieties of poker on offer here, including NL Hold'em, PL Omaha, Limit Hold'em, Razz, Open Face Chinese, 2 – 7 Triple Draw, and mixed games though it can be hard to find a running game at times. SwC software is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. This room lacks a deposit bonus, but you can get up to 50% rakeback depending on your playing volume.
Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, Visa, PayPal
The games here, which include No Limit Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Omaha/8, are denominated in fractions of a bitcoin. Most of the action is concentrated in ring games although there are a small number of sit n' goes and tournaments. Nitrogen's web-based software ensures compatibility with almost every computing device in widespread use today. There's no first deposit bonus.
The status of online poker and other gambling varies widely from state to state. We have collected a lot of information about this subject as it pertains specifically to North Dakota. You can peruse it by continuing to read below.
There are many gambling diversions available in the Flickertail State, including a lottery, pari-mutuel and off-track betting, full-bodied charitable gaming, including poker and casino nights, and five tribal casinos. There are no commercial casinos, and unfortunately, none of the tribal establishments feature more than a few card tables. However, there are several charitable poker rooms that host events for nonprofit groups on a rotating schedule, and this expands your brick-and-mortar alternatives for poker.
In 1889, North Dakota was admitted as the 39th state, and in 1894, the state constitution was amended as follows:
The legislative assembly shall have no power to authorize lotteries or gift enterprises for any purpose, and shall pass laws to prohibit the sale of lottery or gift enterprise tickets.
As used in this passage and understood by legal experts of the time, “lottery” was deemed to include all kinds of real money gaming pastimes, not just what we think of today as a lottery. It effectively banned all types of gambling throughout the state although a few illicit slot parlors continued to operate below the radar.
In 1976, charitable bingo and raffles were formally legalized, reflecting in law the reality that these games were already prevalent throughout the state. Then in 1987 came legal pari-mutuel wagering.
In 1992, a major addition to the gambling menu in North Dakota arrived with the signing of the first tribal gaming compacts. In 2002, a state lottery was voted on and approved, and it began selling tickets in 2004. This lottery is unique in the United States in that only multi-state games are allowed; North Dakota-specific drawings are prohibited. Also in 2004, Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, originally from Minot, North Dakota, prevailed in the World Series of Poker Main Event to the credit of his home state although he had by then moved elsewhere.
In December 2021, North Dakota adjusted its compacts with certain tribes to permit sports betting. All wagers on sporting contests must be placed at a retail gaming location; no mobile or online sports bets are allowed.
As a sparsely populated state far from any noteworthy gambling centers, North Dakota and its citizens cannot truthfully be said to have contributed a ton to the game of poker. Nevertheless, some of its residents have had a fair share of success on the green felt. One such individual is Tom McCormick who hails from Fargo.
Unlike many “pros” of the internet era, Tom hasn't made his name with one or two big scores. Rather, he has been plying his trade in live poker tournaments for more than three decades. McCormick's first trip to the World Series of Poker came in 1983, but he didn't have any success.
It wasn't until 1992 that Tom McCormick recorded his first major tournament cash, placing 3rd in the $2,500 LHE event for a $42,000 payday. Since then, he has gone on to post an impressive 100 cashes in WSOP events, including 12 final tables. Sadly, throughout this whole time, a gold bracelet has eluded his grasp.
Nevertheless, Tom has earned more than $2.3 million in live poker tournament winnings: the most of any player from North Dakota. His largest score came in the 2018 WSOP $3,000 NLHE event in which he placed 5th for $118,552.
If you are fortunate enough to have another address in a nearby state, be it your office address, summer home, second apartment, family estate, etc, you may have other online poker options available to you. Here is a list of the states that border North Dakota and Professional Rakeback's review on each of them: Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. If none of these states are particularly relevant to your situation, then our guide to online poker in the United States as a whole might be more appealing to you.
Many North Dakotans are unaware of the online poker ecosystem in the state. You can help to relieve their ignorance by sharing this page with any of your friends or family whom you feel would benefit from reading it.
There are only small cardrooms in the Peace Garden State, but online poker in North Dakota has come to the rescue. You can sign up, make a deposit, and play right from your own house. The legal authorities never take actions against individual players, so choose one of our reputable North Dakota online poker sites and open an account today.
Here at Professional Rakeback, we think that online poker is one of the most entertaining and potentially rewarding pastimes around. However, we recognize that there are a few people for whom the game threatens to take up too much of their time or money. If you think that you might have a problem, then we counsel you to explore the following responsible gaming resources:
Online poker in North Dakota isn't a straightforward affair, so you might have a few unanswered questions about it. We've attempted to address some of the most frequent concerns about this topic below.
Yes, there's no legal risk to playing internet poker in North Dakota. The few laws that could be interpreted as criminalizing the game are, in practice, never enforced against ordinary players.
At the federal level, regular players are safe too because the various statutes in effect, like the UIGEA, target those providing the games and the financial institutions that process real money transactions related to such gaming. Therefore, you can enjoy your online poker pastime without fear of breaking the law.
Yes, PokerStars is conducting its affairs according to the law in North Dakota. Unfortunately, what this means is that North Dakotans cannot play at the site for real money.
This is a consequence of the Black Friday indictments against 'Stars. In order to clear its name, the company voluntarily agreed to cease offering real money games to residents of the United States except in areas where it holds a license explicitly allowing it to do so. Only if North Dakota joins the ranks of licensed online gaming states and issues a license to PokerStars will its populace be able to play at PokerStars for real money.
Global Poker says it's legal in North Dakota and throughout the rest of the United States as well. We don't know if this is correct though. We won't spell out all our reasons for thinking this way in this FAQ lest we bore you, but you can find out more in our Global Poker review.
Yes, North Dakota residents are welcome to play at Bovada. There are only a few states from which Bovada declines action, and the Roughrider State is not one of them.
You may have heard that Bovada stopped dealing out poker hands, and this was the case for a while. However, it resumed poker operations in 2017 and has been faithfully spreading poker games that North Dakotans can participate in since that time.
For more information regarding the gambling environment in North Dakota, check out these resources:
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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