Online Poker in Rhode Island - Best RI Online Poker Sites 2025
Online poker in Rhode Island is a subject of interest for people in the state who enjoy card games. You can play over the internet from within the Ocean State without any fear that you're breaking the law.
Rhode Island has actually passed legislation that appears to make licensed online poker a reality in the state. However, the cumbersome way this law was written along with Rhode Island's small size means it will probably be several years – at least – before any Rhode Island-licensed internet poker providers actually materialize.
Fortunately, there are several offshore sites that are ready to accept you as a customer right now, including the top-rated Ignition Casino Poker, so you have plenty of choices when it comes to Rhode Island online poker.
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2. Online Poker Legal? 3. Best RI Poker Sites 4. How to Play Online Poker
5.1. Game Selection 5.2. Cashier Methods 5.3. Bonuses & Promos 5.4. Rakeback
6.1. Ignition 6.2. SB Poker/BOL 6.3. Bovada 6.4. ACR Poker 6.5. CoinPoker 6.6. Everygame 6.7. SwCPoker 6.8. Nitrobetting
7.1. iPoker Regulation 7.2. B&M Poker 7.3. Gambling History 7.4. Famous Poker Players 7.5. Alternatives to RI Online Poker
Top Online Poker Sites in Rhode Island
Ready to play right now? Choose from one of the rooms below, which are our most recommended Rhode Island online poker sites:
Is Online Poker Legal in Rhode Island
You, as a private individual, can partake in Rhode Island online poker on your computer at your home without worry.
Some people think that the Wire Act criminalizes online poker at the federal level. This is not the case; a 2011 Department of Justice letter states that this statute only applies to betting on sports. Thus, the enforcement provisions of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 are wholly irrelevant when discussing online poker.
Rhode Islands' state laws, meanwhile, are directed at penalizing those who actually run the games, not regular players. You have nothing to fear personally from the RI legal regime as long as you play for your own pleasure and profit without running a gambling enterprise yourself.
Best Rhode Island Online Poker Sites
With dozens of internet gambling locations to choose from, the prospect of identifying a trustworthy online cardroom may seem like too much effort for too little reward. Fortunately, we've partnered with some of the top organizations in the industry to bring you the action you crave without subjecting you to irritating software glitches, unwarranted payment delays, or bizarre terms and conditions. Choose any of the poker rooms on our list, and you'll be treated to the kind of solid gameplay experience that you seek.
- Ignition Casino - Best bonus clearance + most traffic.
- SB Poker - Bad Beat Jackpots, leaderboards, contests, other promos.
- BetOnline - Excellent mobile poker software.
- Bovada - Multiple forms of gaming (poker, casino, sports, racing).
- ACR Poker - Lucrative tournament schedule and frequent series.
- Coin Poker - Best site for crypto-currency enthusiasts.
- Everygame - Many bonuses and promotions.
- SwCPoker - Many poker formats (NLHE, PLO, PLO8, Razz, HORSE, and more).
- Nitrobetting - Bitcoin games, in-browser software.
- BlackChip Poker - ACR sister site, option if you already have an ACR account.
- Juicy Stakes - Rakeback, reloads, rake races, other promotions.
- True Poker - Secondary room on same network as ACRPoker and BlackChip.
How to Play Online Poker in Rhode Island
It's pretty easy to figure out how to sign up and begin playing online poker, but we've included instructions below on how to get started at our #1 RI online poker site, Ignition. If you elect to play somewhere else, the specific steps might vary somewhat, but the overall process should remain very similar.
- Follow our link for Ignition Casino Poker.
- Enter your personal information in the registration form that appears. Remember to do so accurately because you'll have to complete ID verification before withdrawing any wins, and any discrepancies could lead to account termination and the confiscation of your money.
- Click the button that says, “Register,” after you've completed the form, and your new account will be created.
- Ignition might send a text message with a code to confirm your mobile number. Enter the code sent into the appropriate field on the Ignition website to proceed.
- If all previous steps were successful, you can now head over to the cashier and make your first deposit (we recommend using Bitcoin to deposit).
How We Evaluate Rhode Island Online Poker Sites – Choosing the Best Internet Poker Room
The providers of online poker in Rhode Island do not all have identical products. We've researched how they compare across several categories in order to identify the best ones available.
Game Variety and Traffic
The lineup of games offered by each site varies, and even among the most popular game formats (NL Hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha, and PLO/8), the blind levels spread are different at each site. These differences are magnified when we include sit n' goes and tournaments.
Beyond this, some rooms offer fast-fold poker, lottery-style single-table games with randomized multipliers, step tournaments, freerolls, and other innovative game types. The lineups of such games are very distinct from one site to another.
Deposit and Withdrawal Processors
Most Rhode Island poker rooms have healthy support for traditional payment methods, like credit cards and checks. However, they all transact in newer financial instruments too, like Bitcoin and other cryptos. These digital assets preserve users' freedom from financial restrictions and enable speedy, low-cost transactions.
If you're not sure of how to get started using Bitcoin, then read this step-by-step Bitcoin walkthrough for more information.
Bonuses and Promotions
Most Rhode Island online poker rooms provide promotions to their loyal customers. These typically start with a welcome bonus upon first deposit. Later, customers can look forward to rake races, reload bonuses, loyalty programs, and other forms of recurring rewards to help them pad their balances and extend play time.
Online Poker Rakeback
Rakeback is one of the most beneficial types of poker promotions especially because it generally lasts forever rather than being time-limited as most other promos are. Rakeback is a percentage refund of all the rake you pay while playing poker, and it can really add up to big bucks. This is why we've decided to highlight this important online poker benefit and even include it in the name of our site: Professionalrakeback.
You can choose a Rhode Island rakeback poker site below to benefit from this lucrative setup:
- ACR Poker – 27% rakeback paid on demand
- CoinPoker – 33% rakeback paid every Monday (must hold CHP token balance)
- Everygame – 36% rakeback paid daily
- SwCPoker – up to 50% rakeback (volume dependent)
- Nitrobetting – up to 35% rakeback paid monthly (volume dependent)
- BlackChip Poker – 27% rakeback paid on demand
- Juicy Stakes Poker – 36% rakeback paid weekly
- True Poker – 27% rakeback paid on demand
Reviews of Online Poker Sites for Rhode Island
We've compiled below important details about each of our recommended sites for online poker in Rhode Island. Read these reviews to get a better handle on what they have to offer, and sign up for the one that most appeals to you.
Ignition Casino Poker
Deposit Methods
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Pros
- Greatest number of games running
- Fast bonus earn rate
- Excellent game quality
Cons
- Anonymous tables may displease some
Review
The largest poker site for Rhode Islanders is Ignition. It offers a wide selection of cash game formats including NL Hold'em, Limit Hold'em, and PL Omaha. Ignition also offers fast-fold Zone Poker, numerous SNGs, lotto-inspired Jackpot SNGs, and an array of multi-table tournaments.
One of the weekly MTTs is $162 event with a guarantee of $150K. There are also frequent tourney series that award millions in prizes.
All play at Ignition is anonymized to help newer players avoid being targeted. Some dislike this way of doing things, but it does lead to some soft games as novices feel comfortable playing here.
The poker software at Ignition is available on Windows and Mac devices for download. Users who wish to play on other devices can utilize the browser-based software. The poker welcome bonus for crypto users is worth 150% of your first deposit up to $1,500.
SB Poker/BetOnline
Deposit Methods
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
Pros
- Attached casino, live dealer casino, sportsbook, and racebook
- Speedy crypto-currency withdrawals
Cons
- High rake
Review
SB Poker and its partner BetOnline together comprise the third-largest U.S.-facing poker operator offering a variety of cash games with blinds up to $5/$10. NLH, PLO, PLO/8, 5 Card PLO, and 6 Card PLO are present as is fast-fold Boost Poker. SB Poker offers Bad Beat Jackpots across all NLHE and PLO games.
Other popular offerings include SNGs, randomized Windfall SNGs, and multi-table tournaments.
SB Poker is available for download on any Windows or Mac device. Android and iOS users can also access a truly excellent mobile application to play poker on the go. The poker welcome bonus is 100% of your first deposit up to $1,000. Check out the attached casino and sportsbook to receive additional valuable promotions.
Bovada
Deposit Methods
Credit Card, Voucher Code, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, MatchPay
Pros
- In continuous operation since 2011
- High traffic levels
- Easy games
Cons
- Poker bonus is only $500
Review
Bovada is on the same poker network as Ignition, so the poker games are identical. However, Bovada has the trifecta of poker, casino, and sports betting, the latter of which Ignition lacks.
Not only can you put your money down on baseball, football, soccer, basketball, and other sports matches, but you can also wager on the results of non-athletic events, like elections and eSports. A racebook with tracks from around the world rounds out the product portfolio.
Bovada Poker downloads to Windows PCs and Macs. In addition, you can play through the web on other devices, like your phone or tablet. The initial deposit bonus for poker is 100% up to $500, but there's thousands more available in bonuses for the casino and sportsbook.
ACR Poker
Deposit Methods
Credit Cards, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, Money Transfer
Pros
- Biggest tournaments in U.S. market
- $10 no deposit bankroll (bonus code PRB10FREE)
- Excellent Elite Benefits rewards program
Cons
- No play money games
Review
ACR Poker is the flagship site on the Winning Poker Network which is the second-largest online poker option for RI players. ACR offers an exceptional selection of multi-table tournaments across numerous buy-in levels. The VENOM is a recurring series featuring huge prize pools topping $5 million, and there are numerous series too.
Of course, ACR also offers plenty of cash games, sit-and-gos, randomized-spin Jackpot SNGs, and more.
ACR Poker is available for download on Windows and Mac systems. Mobile users can access also play through a web interface. Use our exclusive bonus code PRB10FREE to receive $10 for free with no deposit required. Then, deposit and receive 100% of your first deposit up to $2,000.
Coin Poker
Deposit Methods
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, CHP, Polygon, BNB
Pros
- Largest crypto-focused poker room
- Weekly rakeback offered
Cons
- Few poker formats available
Review
Crypto-currency poker is a growing niche, and CoinPoker has achieved a level of popularity that eclipses its peers. Here you can play on tables denominated in Tether (USDT), and you can additionally deposit and withdraw in several other coins, like Bitcoin and Ether.
The cash games offered are NL Hold'em, PL Omaha, and 5 Card Omaha. There are also multi-table tournaments and lottery-style Cosmic Spins.
You can play at CP from your PC, Mac, iOS device, or Android system. There welcome bonuses here is 150% up to $2,000. In addition, you can obtain 33% weekly rakeback by investing in the proprietary CHP token.
Everygame
Deposit Methods
Credit Card, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Lightning Bitcoin, Litecoin
Pros
- 36% rakeback
- Many promos, including rake races, loyalty levels, reloads, and freerolls
Cons
- Low player traffic
Review
Everygame Poker doesn't boast the traffic of many of its competitors, but what it does offer is excellent and unique promotional value. 36% rakeback is offered standard and issued daily. Numerous other promotions are also on offer, including weekly race races, frequent reload bonuses, overlay tournaments, and a VIP loyalty program.
The poker welcome bonus is 200% of your first deposit up to $1,000, and be sure to check out the attached casinos and sportsbook for additional promotional value.
SwCPoker
Deposit Methods
Bitcoin
Pros
- Many niche forms of poker spread
- Up to 50% rakeback through Krill rewards
Cons
- Low number of players
Review
You might be bored of the standard trio of NLHE, PLO, and PLO/8 games, and this is where SwCPoker comes to the rescue. Here you can get your fill of these three formats but also enjoy HORSE, Razz, Seven Card Stud, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, Courchevel, and many other poker variants.
Nitrobetting
Deposit Methods
Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Tether, USD Coin, BNB
Pros
- In-browser software means no download needed
- Up to 35% rakeback monthly
Cons
- Only two forms of poker present
- Low player volume
Review
If you're keen to play poker for bitcoins, then consider Nitrobetting. Unfortunately, here are only a few games running at any one time, and only two forms of poker spread: No Limit Hold'em and PLO.
Facts About Rhode Island's Poker Industry
We've gathered together general information about poker in Rhode Island. Read on to find out about live poker options in the state, the history of RI gambling, famous poker players from Rhode Island, and more.
Rhode Island Regulated Online Poker
Rhode Island is very densely populated, but the smallness of the area it encompasses makes this fact mostly irrelevant. With just over 1 million people calling the state home, a Rhode Island-centric licensed poker market makes little sense. Only through interstate compacts to share player pools, like the one signed by Nevada and Delaware, could this tiny state hope to accomplish anything by licensing and regulating local online poker sites.
Surprisingly, Rhode Island did legalize online casino gaming, with poker as an afterthought, in June 2023 via SB 948. However, all the problems we've identified with state-regulated internet poker in Rhode Island are still present. Therefore, it's very unlikely that there will be any type of legalized online poker in Rhode Island for a long time although the fact that the necessary legal regime for it is in place means that Rhode Island could eventually go live with licensed online poker.
Live Poker
Rhode Island has just two casinos, and only one of them hosts a poker room. Bally's Twin River Casino in Lincoln has 28 tables, but the room is only open from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Most of the action is low-stakes Hold'em with the occasional PLO game also starting. However, there are no tournaments.
Bally's Twin River has announced a partnership with Maverick Gaming to improve the poker room. Therefore, it's likely that the poker offerings will be expanded, and there are plans to introduce daily tournaments.
History of Gambling in Rhode Island
The RI lottery began in 1973. Charitable gambling followed in 1979.
For a long time, public opinion in Rhode Island was against opening up casinos. However, the rise of Foxwoods in neighboring Connecticut in the early '90s saw Rhode Island enviously eyeing the millions of gambling dollars per year Foxwoods was generating. Rhode Islanders gave the OK for video terminals containing blackjack and video poker to be installed at the state's two racetracks in 1992 along with keno betting.
These limited forms of gambling were a far cry from what a modern casino has, and a decline in racing revenues spurred a desire on the part of the owners to add more types of gaming. In 2012, by which time all racing activity had ceased, residents voted to allow table gaming at two venues: Twin River Casino and Newport Grand Casino. In 2015, Twin River (now called Bally's Twin River Lincoln) opened up a poker room, and it remains the only physical location within Rhode Island where real-money poker is permitted.
Sports betting was legalized at brick-and-mortar locations in June 2018 just a month after the landmark Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which struck down the federal ban on sports betting expansion. In March 2019, mobile sports betting was legalized too. In June 2023, Rhode Island legalized online casino gaming along with poker, but no sites for these forms of gaming have yet gone live.
Famous Poker Players From Rhode Island
Rhode Island is a tiny state with a barely there live poker scene. Therefore, it's kind of understandable that its residents haven't really made their presence known in the wider world of poker. Nevertheless, there are a few notable practitioners of the game who hail from Little Rhody. Perhaps the most prominent of them is Aram Zobian from Cranston.
First inhabiting real money games at the tender age of 19, additional possibilities opened up for him a couple of years later because most states have a 21-years-old minimum poker age. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he dropped out of college to play poker.
A few years later in 2018, Aram had his biggest tournament score in the WSOP. It was not just in any event either but the $10,000 Main Event. He made it all the way to sixth place, good for $1.8 million. In total, Aram Zobian has collected nearly $5.4 million in live tourney winnings.
Alternatives to Registering Your Poker Account in Rhode Island
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. Here is a list of the states that border Rhode Island and reviews on each of them: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Delaware, and Vermont. If there's another part of the United States that you frequent, then this page on the overall U.S. online poker scene may appeal to you.
Ignorance of poker, especially the internet-based variety, is one reason why our hobby isn't as popular as it could be. Do your part to enlighten the citizens of our great land by sharing this page with friends, family, and acquaintances whom you believe would be interested.
Summary of Online Poker in Rhode Island
The laws on the books regarding gambling in Rhode Island are lengthy, but they don't treat the specific subject of online poker at all. Anyway, they're meant to punish people who run gambling games rather than those who participate in them. There's no reason why you can't find an honest Rhode Island online poker site and start making your virtual bets, calls, and raises today.
Responsible Gaming
We at Professional Rakeback encourage responsible gaming. Online poker should be fun and entertaining. If you feel that it has become more than a form of recreation and threatens to negatively affect your personal or professional life, then you can take advantage of the following resources:
- Gamblers Anonymous
- National Problem Gambling Helpline
- Rhode Island Council on Problem Gambling
- Rhode Island Problem Gambling Services
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still have questions about Rhode Island online poker, then don't worry. We've prepared a FAQ below that will hopefully address your concerns.
Yes, online poker is legal to play in Rhode Island. All of the laws that criminalize gambling in The Ocean State either refer to brick-and-mortar gaming or target operators rather than players. Federal laws, like the UIGEA, similarly affect those offering the games and processing payments rather than ordinary players. Therefore, you're safe, from a legal perspective, if you feel like logging on to your favorite site and playing some cards while located in Rhode Island.
Yes, PokerStars is conducting itself legally in relation to its business activities in Rhode Island. However, those business activities may be more limited than you think. In fact, the only games offered in the state are those that use play money.
This is because in the wake of Black Friday in 2011, the company agreed to stop offering real money gaming to its U.S. customers except in those states where it holds a license to do so, which does not include Rhode Island.
Many people have been convinced by Global's arguments that its sweepstakes poker product is fully legal. We, however, remain doubtful. There's not enough space to go into our reasoning in full here, but we elaborate on why we feel this way in our Global Poker room review.
Yes, Bovada accepts customers from Rhode Island. There's only a short list of states from which Bovada does not take customers, and Rhode Island is not one of them.
At one point, Bovada closed its poker division, which is why you might have heard that it was not possible to play poker at Bovada. However, in 2017, Bovada reopened its poker room, and so you can now play here to your heart's content.
There are a variety of payment mechanisms available for online poker. The exact menu of options varies a bit from site to site, but some of the more common ones are credit cards, bank wires, and checks. However, there's one method that stands head-and-shoulders above the others in our opinion: Bitcoin. Bitcoin enables rapid transaction processing combined with low fees. Every site on our list of recommended Rhode Island online poker sites accepts Bitcoin, and many transact in other cryptos too.
Additional Resources
You can discover more about Rhode Island gambling with the following handy 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!