After the fateful Black Friday in 2011, PokerStars no longer accepts US poker players, though it caters to millions of players from other countries across the world. PokerStars is the biggest and most popular online poker site on the web and is known for offering the best tournaments and games. It was launched on September11, 2001 as a ‘play money only’ site and then started real money gambling on December 12 in the same year. PokerStars is currently licensed by Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission in UK and AAMS (Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato) in Italy.

You can play real-money poker on PokerStars during the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s largest poker site offers a private home game option that’s available, even to players. By using the PokerStars PA bonus code STARS600, you can earn a 100% bonus of up to $600. You don’t even have to deposit the maximum amount to earn the full bonus. Simply make three qualifying deposits within 60 days. After depositing, you then need to earn redemption points by playing real-money games. PokerStars gained approval to operate in New Jersey in 2015. Their site, pokerstarsnj.com, went live on March 21, 2016. Of course, you have to be physically located in New Jersey to play. It’s play money for all other states. PokerStars NJ also offers casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette and more. To start playing real money games on PokerStars you have to register a proper game account, ie, correctly register on PokerStars. There are many PokerStars freerolls aimed at beginner players where they can hone their skills and earn some cash in the process, without having to put any money on the line. Beginners Freerolls take place twice a week, with both events taking place on Sundays at 8:05 and 11:05 ET. The top 20% of the field share in on a $100 prize pool.

The PokerStars Journey

PokerStars was initially a Costa Rican firm owned by Israel’s Scheinberg family. Then, the firm was transferred to British Crown dependent, Isle of Man. After the transfer, the site started accepting poker and casino bets from USA.

Later, PokerStars was involved in many media speculations regarding a merger with a public company. In 2006, when the US government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, PokerStars left behind PartyPoker and became the biggest online poker site in the world. Many casino and poker sites including PartyPoker stopped business with the US players, but PokerStars, along with few other poker sites, initially did not.

Black Friday of Poker

The Black Friday of poker has been one of the unfortunate events that affected the US online poker industry. A series of raids was conducted secretly by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and DOJ (Department of Justice) on 15 April, 2011. The raid accused owners of major online poker and casino operators like PokerStars, Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet of various charges including the unethical use of money that they earned from gambling. The charge against PokerStars was that it tricked financial institutions to process payments for gambling, challenging the UIGEA act.

PokerStars was seized and closed by the Attorney Office in Southern District of New York, since it was believed that it violated Federal bank’s money laundering and fraud laws. Since then, PokerStars stopped US players from playing for real money and changed the company’s URL from PokerStars.com to PokerStars.eu. The domain name PokerStars.com was given back to the company on 15 April, 2011, by the Attorney’s office in the US.

PokerStars and US players

PokerStars assured their US poker players that their balances on the site were safe. Though the site does not accept real money bets from US players, the US government ordered it to return the balance money of all their US players. Unlike Full Tilt Poker, all US PokerStars players have been repiad in full.

Is it the end of PokerStars in the US?

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) does not make online poker in the US illegal. However, the act stops all the financial institutions in USA from processing transactions related to online gambling activities. Because of this, many online poker rooms, including PokerStars, cannot operate in the country. Hopefully, when and if online poker is legalized in the US, PokerStars should be able to step into the US market again and regain its lost glory. However, there is a school of thought which suggests that because Poker stars is in trouble for what they have already done, they will be permanently blocked from re-entering the US market.

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Back in New Jersey & More States to Come in 2021?

Currently, PokerStars is only available in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Updated Jan. 3, 2021 – PokerStars launched in Pennsylvania and has the highest traffic of all regulated poker sites in America. It also hosted the Pennsylvania Online Championship of Poker. This was a huge series with more than $1 million in guaranteed prizes. It took years, but it looks like it was worth the wait for Pennsylvania players.

PokerStars has been running strong in New Jersey since 2016, but it hasn’t reached the size Pennsylvania has. A shared player pool could really kick things up a notch though. We’ll see if success in Pennsylvania leads to PokerStars in more states.

Online Poker in the USA

Six states have legalized poker. Out of those, four currently have sites up-and-running. Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Two more states passed legislation but are still working on setting sites up. West Virginia, greenlit it in 2019, but poker sites there aren’t expected to launch until 2021. The same goes for Michigan.

When it comes to PokerStars, only two states have Poker Stars software. PokerStars gained approval to operate in New Jersey in 2015. Their site, pokerstarsnj.com, went live on March 21, 2016. Of course, you have to be physically located in New Jersey to play. It’s play money for all other states. PokerStars NJ also offers casino games like slots, blackjack, roulette and more.

PokerStars then launched in Pennsylvania in late 2019. They kicked things off with the Pennsylvania Championship of Online Poker that drew thousands of players and culminated in a $300 buy-in main event with a $100,000-guaranteed prize pool.

How To Play Pokerstars For Real Money In Us

If you’re not in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, PokerStars could still come to your state further down the line. If you want to play today though, there are still plenty of great alternatives.

Best PokerStars Alternatives for US Players

$2000 Bonus-Rating: 5/5

$1000 Bonus-Rating: 4.9/5

$500 Bonus-Rating: 4.7/5

$1000 BonusRating: 4.6/5 -

$1000 Bonus-Rating: 4.5/5

We recommend Ignition Poker as the best alternative. A lot of people prefer it to non-state run sites since they accept players from all 50 states. Bovada, BetOnline, SportsBetting, ACR, Black Chip Poker and Intertops also rank highly. As state by state rollouts occur, we will continue to keep you updated on when PokerStars makes it to your state.

Can You Play PokerStars in the USA?

PokerStars is only available if you are physically in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. PokerStars will be in more US states soon though. West Virginia and Michigan are the current front-runners to join the party.

PokerStars, which also owns Full Tilt Poker, is currently owned by The Stars Group, formerly called Amaya Gaming Group and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. PokerStars is partnered with Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, and their main competition in the state is WSOP/888 and Borgata/PartyPoker. In Pennsylvania, they teamed up with FoxBet, which is the real-money wagering provided by FOX Sports.

While there are poker sits in Delaware and Nevada, but PokerStars has yet to get a license in either state. If you do not live in either New Jersey or Pennsylvania, we recommend Ignition Poker or Betonline.ag. They are safe and trusted sites that service all 50 states. Check out our reviews for a comprehensive look at each poker site. We detail the most important factors to l

How To Play Pokerstars Real Money In Us