Arizona Online Poker Law

Arizona is home to 22 Indian casinos, of which 16 harbor poker rooms. The state has a very healthy poker community, able to sustain mid-level buy-in tournaments weekly, but as of late 2013, there’s no real push by the tribes for online poker.

When it comes to gambling expansion, current Gov. Jan Brewer is a tough opponent. She fought and beat the Tohono O'odham tribe’s efforts to open a casino in Glendale, and works with other Republican members to try to prevent more casinos from opening on tribal lands.

Arizona Gambling Law And Online Poker Arizona’s Revised Statutes (1), in Title 13, “Criminal Code”, Chapter 33, deals with the legality of gambling in the state. Within this chapter, various offenses are.

They’re following in the footsteps of one of the great characters involved in the online poker saga this century, former Arizona Congressman Jon Kyl. An investigator tasked with finding the people who murdered online poker as we knew it in America in 2011 would surely find and follow a bloody pair of footprints into Arizona. Kyl was co-sponsor of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006, a law that was inserted into the pages of an act designed to fund greater security at the nation’s seaports.

The UIGEA carpet-bombed the online poker industry in the United States into rubble, and Kyl is the one who flew the airplane.

1. The poker laws of Arizona do not specifically address online poker as a legal or illegal form of gambling. Some of Arizona’s gambling laws fall under Title 5, which is categorized for.
2. Arizona is house of 22 casinos from which 16 are for dock poker accommodation. This Arizona state has very vigorous and strong society of poker, competent to carry on mid-level buy-in competition weekly. But in the 2013 peoples for online poker.

But, the tale gets weirder.

Before he left office, he co-sponsored a failed bill that would legalize online poker at a federal level, saying he now considers poker to be a game of skill that should be acknowledged by providing a legal “carve-out” to the UIGEA.

Arizonian policymakers are well aware of Kyl’s shadow and how much his anti-gambling stance helped him in the polls. It wasn’t until he neared the end of his political career that he came out and declared poker as a game of skill.

Even if this opinion is shared by his former state colleagues, it shows how tentative politicians are when tackling sticky social issues like this.

On a federal level, longtime Senator and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain accidentally showed the world his stance on playing poker. He was caught playing poker on his phone during a hearing on Syria in September 2013. He tweeted that he lost.

Criminal Code

Arizona’s criminal code doesn’t specifically address either live poker or online poker. Like many states, its codes have not been updated in decades, leaving room for interpretation. People don’t get arrested in Arizona for playing poker. Bookies and operators are busted every once in awhile, but never players.

Arizona has a Department of Gambling which works as an independent regulatory body, with its eyes on the tribal casinos and the rules and regulations they must follow.

A state lottery has existed in Arizona since the ’80s, and it contracts with the Mega Millions multi-state jackpot lottery. It’s a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which is lobbying against online gambling, including poker.

Will Online Poker Become Legal in Arizona?

Since gambling exists only on tribal lands in Arizona, many legal questions must first be answered before Arizona residents will be allowed to play online poker. Arizona politicians are traditionally resistant to federal mandates, and it’s doubtful that state representatives will vote to take part in an online poker industry (if such a bill even passes) without a major push from its residents in the form of a referendum.

Estimated Online Poker Consumer Base

Arizona is the home to about 3.5 million people over the age of 21. It’s estimated that about 10 percent of adults played online poker before Black Friday, leaving about 350,000 players in the Arizona poker desert. Arizona’s potential poker population is the same as the population of Panama, where online poker is legal.

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Mexico is directly south, and Nevada is directly north.

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Arizona has one of the strongest poker industries in the nation, both live and online. If you’re ready to get into the game, you’re probably wondering where to play online poker in Arizona. Here’s some great news for residents of the Grand Canyon State—you’ve got plenty of options! The best Arizona poker sites offer action on all stakes and on all game variants. They’re perfect for recreational players or serious studs looking to take their game to the next level.

What Makes These the Best Sites for Poker in Arizona

• Recreational Player-Friendly
• Competitive Rake Structure
• Healthy Bonuses
• User-Friendly Interface

Recreational Player-Friendly

Poker is all about challenging yourself, but it’s also about winning. The best players in the world know how to game select, which means choosing to play where they aren’t surrounded by sharks. All of the real money online Arizona sites recommended here are great for beginners. While you’ll run into some rock stars anywhere, these sites haven’t been overrun with too many pros and grinders.

Competitive Rake Structure

Is It Legal To Play Online Poker In Arizona

While Daniel Negreanu believes more rake is great for the game, we’re still on the sane side of the fence and vehemently disagree. For that reason, all of the top Arizona online poker rooms we recommend have lower or industry-competitive rake structures. Rake that’s too high on cash or tournaments can eat into your profits and make it nearly impossible to win money at Arizona poker sites, especially at the lower and micro-stakes.

Healthy Real Money Poker Bonuses

One of the best ways to get a leg up on the game is by taking advantage of signup bonuses, rakeback, reload bonuses, and VIP programs. All of the Arizona online poker sites here have big bonuses aimed at fluffing up the size of your poker bankroll. Additionally, the bonuses are easy to clear, carry favorable terms and conditions, and are designed to benefit the players.

User-Friendly Interface

While a bad interface at a regular website can be annoying, a bad interface at a real money online poker site can cost you money. If it’s easy to make mistakes, misclicks, or misread the action, you’re setting yourself up for failure. While the onus of correcting this falls on the site developers, it’s up to you to choose the best online poker rooms for Arizona residents that deliver the best platform.

How do you know where to play online poker in AZ with great user platforms? We’ve done the testing for you. Our team consists of recreational and professional players that have test driven the platforms to make sure they’re setting you up for success.

Why Poker Is Becoming Popular in Arizona

Poker in Arizona has always been popular. After the Moneymaker-boom, the state saw a big influx in attention towards live and online poker. Now, almost two decades later, the industry in the state continues to grow on all fronts.

And you want to know the best part? Compared with some states that tend to attract a lot of pros and sharks, Arizona has a knack for attracting recreational players. What this means is soft, easy to beat games that are great for turning a profit, learning, or just having unencumbered fun.

The forecast for poker in AZ is nothing but growth. As more states across the country continue to adopt favorable gaming legislation, expect this trend to continue. Now’s the time to get in and start establishing yourself at one or many of the top Arizona poker sites.

List of Land-Based Poker Rooms in Alabama

While most of you are probably here looking to play real money online poker in Arizona, we can’t neglect the land-based landscape. Brick and mortar poker rooms in Arizona do deliver a different experience that many players prefer full time or as a break from the online grind.

• Apache Gold Casino Resort
• Bucky’s Yavapai Casino
• Casino Del Sol
• Cliff Castle Poker Room
• Desert Diamond Casino
• Fort McDowell Casino
• Gila River Casino Vee Quiva
• Gila River Casino Wild Horse Pass
• Harrah’s Ak-Chin
• Mazatzal Casino
• Talking Stick Resort (Home of the Arizona State Poker Championship)

How to Stay Safe Playing at Arizona Poker Sites

• Use Reputable Sites
• Learn the Interface
• Don’t Play Emotional or Intoxicated
• Stay up to Speed on Gambling Laws
• Choose the Right Banking Partners

Use Reputable USA Poker Sites

Is Online Poker Illegal In Arizona

The best way you can ensure a safe experience playing poker online is by using reputable and trustworthy sites. The best Arizona poker sites are not just the sites that have big bonuses and flashy prize pools. To really be worth anyone’s time, a site needs to do everything it can to keep customers as safe as possible. The best way to determine the top online Arizona poker sites is to study their pasts and their reputations.

Learn the Interface

The best real money online AZ poker sites can only do so much to keep you safe. While the developers design the sites to prevent misclicks and mistakes, there’s no way to completely rule out user error. Take the time to learn how to use the interface, so you don’t join a game you’re not interested in, make a bet you don’t want to, or mess up a cashout with the wrong information. The learning curve isn’t steep, but you still have to put a few minutes into learning to stay safe.

Don’t Play Emotional or Intoxicated

Poker can be a tough game sometimes when you lose a big pot or when life is causing you stress. Don’t start playing or continue playing if you’re emotional, upset, or just not in the right frame of mind. Additionally, it can be fun to play poker online in Arizona after a few adult beverages, but if you get a little too saucy, it might affect your play. Find the balance, and you’ll be fine.

Stay up to Speed on Gambling Laws

As mentioned, gambling laws throughout the United States can change quickly. Because of this, it’s important to stay up to speed on what is and what isn’t legal. Thankfully, most changes these days are in favor of looser restrictions. That being said, you never know what could come down the pipeline. By being an informed player, you can insulate yourself from unwanted consequences.

Choose the Right Banking Partners

Each of these Arizona poker sites offers several different options for making a deposit and cashing out your winnings. While most of the options are completely fine, it’s still important to choose the right banking partner that works for you.

The best advice is to choose the option you’re most comfortable with. If an option you know and trust gets you paid in three days, don’t opt for an unknown option to get your money in two days. Unless there is an incredibly specific reason why you can’t wait an extra 24 hours, don’t take any unnecessary chances.

Tips for Selecting the Best Real Money Arizona Poker Sites

• Check player volumes when you’re planning on playing. Often, you may be researching the best real money poker sites in Arizona at a time that’s different from when you might be looking to play. For example, maybe you’re researching on a Monday night, but you’re ideally going to be playing mostly on the weekends. In this scenario, you’ll want to check the player volumes on the weekends! If things are jamming on a Monday but dead on the weekend, that site won’t work for you. On the flip side, if things are dead on a Monday but jamming on the weekend, you may pass on an awesome option!
• Evaluate tournaments vs. cash. Before you start comparing different Arizona online poker sites, know what style you’re looking to play. Are you looking to play tournaments or cash games? Are you looking to play high stakes or low stakes? Are you looking for big tournaments or smaller field sizes? By knowing what you’re looking for, you increase your odds of landing at the perfect option for you on the first go-round.
• Consider bonuses, but don’t go bonus blind. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with choosing real money online Arizona sites based on the quality of the bonuses offered. However, make sure you don’t go bonus blind and end up at a subpar site that is not safe just because you wanted a bigger bonus. The best +EV move is to start with a pool of trusted poker rooms and then compare those options based on the bonuses. The smallest bonus at a reputable site is always better than the largest bonus at a site you can’t trust.
• Use the play money tables. What’s the best way to test out a poker site with no risk? Use the play money tables! You can try out the interface and see how the controls work without putting any cash at risk. Bear in mind, this isn’t a great way to gauge the quality of opponents, but it’s incredible for testing out sites and preventing misclicks in the future.
• Check withdrawal options upfront. With a lot of newer players, there’s a tendency to check deposit options and assume those options exist for withdrawals as well. While this is often true, it’s not always the case. Sometimes, you’ll have an option that works for putting money onto an AZ poker site, but it does not double as a cashout method. Take two minutes before you join a site and see if there’s a cashout option you’re happy with.
• Join multiple sites. It’s completely acceptable to join and play at multiple Arizona gambling sites with poker. Many players find that one site has better tournaments, while another site has better cash games or sit and gos. There’s nothing wrong with joining both sites and even playing at both at the same time.

Arizona Online Poker Sites FAQ

Is Real Money Online Poker in Arizona Legal?

The laws throughout the state and the entire country are constantly changing when it comes to playing online poker. The good news, though, is that across the entire landscape, the legal changes continue to move more and more in the right direction. While some markets are still a gray area, the act of playing poker online is not illegal.

Is It Illegal To Play Online Poker In Arizona

Do Real Money Arizona Poker Sites Exist?

Yes! Real money USA poker sites exist and are flourishing within the state. Many of these sites link you with players around the country or around the world. This gives you an incredibly large player pool, which means bigger games, larger prize pools, and better action.

How Do I Find the Best Online Arizona Poker Sites?

The fact that you are here is an incredibly smart first step in figuring out where to play online poker in Arizona. Why? Because you already know that our team has vetted these options for safety, security, and quality. The next step is picking out which of these options is best for you.

How Does Banking Work at Real Money Poker Sites in Arizona?

Unfortunately, you can’t stick cash into your computer like an ATM machine. Thankfully, though, the process of moving your money around electronically is very simple at the best Arizona online poker websites. Deposits are made just like any online purchase, and you have access to your funds to play with instantly. Withdrawals take anywhere from a few hours to about a week, depending on a few determining factors. The bottom line, though, is moving your money around at online poker sites is extremely simple and straightforward.

Poker In Arizona

What Are the Best Real Money Poker Sites in Arizona for Beginners?

All of the Arizona online poker sites recommended here are great for beginners. Why? We look for options that are easy to use, have sufficient customer service teams, and are not overrun by experienced or pro players. If you stick with the options we recommend, your experience learning and getting to the next level of your game will be exactly what you’re looking for.

Conclusion on Poker Sites in Arizona

Pokerstars Arizona

AZ poker players looking for a way to get into the action have so many incredible options to choose from. If you’re ready to hit the felt, pick out a site, and give things a go. Remember, you can always start small with play money tables or micro stakes to get your footing before diving into bigger games.