It’s been almost a year since Nevada launched its regulated online poker market and the great expectations have been replaced with a rather bitter reality. The intrastate poker market is already stagnating and the revenues simply didn’t meet the expectations of poker operators and the state legislators. Most experts were predicting an almost infinite growth, but in the end it seems that they didn’t take the popularity of offshore poker sites into account.
A recent survey courtesy of the Global iGaming Summit and Expo indicates that almost 40% of online players from New Jersey are still playing on online poker sites that were available before November 2013, when the first regulated local poker sites came online. This means that New Jersey poker enthusiasts simply don’t see a reason to migrate to the poker rooms that have an operating license issued by the state. In fact, many of those players aren’t even aware that they’re playing on unlicensed, offshore sites – some of them have been led to believe that the legalization of online poker in New Jersey made all the sites 100% legal.
Quite obviously, the state reacted by launching an information campaign, which is supposed to convince the players that playing on unlicensed websites is dangerous. However, most of those sites have already managed to build a solid reputation within the online poker community, which makes those efforts fairly unlikely to succeed. Furthermore, many players believe that offshore poker sites are downright better than their regulated counterparts, which is the view I share to a large extent. Here’s a few reasons why:
The sign-up process is quicker and easier to go through
Regulated poker rooms will require you to provide them with more personal information, including your Social Security Number. Consequently, the entire procedure takes longer and simply feels less safe than in the case of an offshore poker site, which isn’t going to ask you for any data beyond what’s really necessary to ensure the safety of both sides.
The deposits are fast and fairly reliable
Many credit card deposits to regulated poker sites have been rejected over the past few months. In fact the success rates tend to be much lower than in the case of offshore sites for most of the popular methods, which led many players to join the sites that haven’t exposed them to unreliable banking upon the first contact.
U.S. friendly mobile poker websites are embracing Bitcoin
Bitcoin has grown in popularity over the past couple of years and is now one of the chief payment methods for USA facing online gambling sites. With Bitcoin U.S citizens can deposit money anonymously at their favourite iOS and Android casinos or poker rooms. Funds are processed instantaneously and there are no transaction cost. This makes Bitcoin an extremely attractive option for real-money gamers in the United States. Unfortunately, none of the regulated poker rooms operating in New Jersey currently accept Bitcoin for deposits or withdrawals. On the other hand, Bitcoin poker sites like Seals With Clubs welcome real-money players from the United States.
Offshore sites give you access to a larger player pool
This one is fairly obvious – regulated poker sites allow you to compete exclusively against players located within the borders of Nevada or New Jersey, while offshore poker sites allow you to test your skills against players from all over the world. According to a recent study, at least four US-friendly offshore sites experience higher New Jersey traffic than Party Poker, while six offshore networks attract more Nevada-based players than WSOP.
Offshore poker rooms process withdrawals without any unnecessary delays
Even though offshore poker sites are quite notorious for offering rather slow cash outs, there’s simply no denying the fact than all of the trustworthy, high-profile sites do everything in their power to ensure that your money will arrive on time, which actually makes them more reliable than the licensed poker rooms.
Quite obviously, the state reacted by launching an information campaign, which is supposed to convince the players that playing on unlicensed websites is dangerous. However, most of those sites have already managed to build a solid reputation within the online poker community, which makes those efforts fairly unlikely to succeed. Furthermore, many players believe that offshore poker sites are downright better than their regulated counterparts, which is the view I share to a large extent. Here’s a few reasons why:
The sign-up process is quicker and easier to go through
Regulated poker rooms will require you to provide them with more personal information, including your Social Security Number. Consequently, the entire procedure takes longer and simply feels less safe than in the case of an offshore poker site, which isn’t going to ask you for any data beyond what’s really necessary to ensure the safety of both sides.
The deposits are fast and fairly reliable
Many credit card deposits to regulated poker sites have been rejected over the past few months. In fact the success rates tend to be much lower than in the case of offshore sites for most of the popular methods, which led many players to join the sites that haven’t exposed them to unreliable banking upon the first contact.
U.S. friendly mobile poker websites are embracing Bitcoin
Bitcoin has grown in popularity over the past couple of years and is now one of the chief payment methods for USA facing online gambling sites. With Bitcoin U.S citizens can deposit money anonymously at their favourite iOS and Android casinos or poker rooms. Funds are processed instantaneously and there are no transaction cost. This makes Bitcoin an extremely attractive option for real-money gamers in the United States. Unfortunately, none of the regulated poker rooms operating in New Jersey currently accept Bitcoin for deposits or withdrawals. On the other hand, Bitcoin poker sites like Seals With Clubs welcome real-money players from the United States.
Offshore sites give you access to a larger player pool
This one is fairly obvious – regulated poker sites allow you to compete exclusively against players located within the borders of Nevada or New Jersey, while offshore poker sites allow you to test your skills against players from all over the world. According to a recent study, at least four US-friendly offshore sites experience higher New Jersey traffic than Party Poker, while six offshore networks attract more Nevada-based players than WSOP.
Offshore poker rooms process withdrawals without any unnecessary delays
Even though offshore poker sites are quite notorious for offering rather slow cash outs, there’s simply no denying the fact than all of the trustworthy, high-profile sites do everything in their power to ensure that your money will arrive on time, which actually makes them more reliable than the licensed poker rooms.
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