Nevada Online Poker
Nevada was the second state to legalize online poker but the first to launch a real-money poker site, just beating Delaware and New Jersey by a couple of months in 2013.
WSOP Poker is Nevada’s only active poker site today. Three other Nevada poker sites have come and gone since 2013, but WSOP NV is currently the only game in town.
Legal Nevada Poker Sites
21+ and present in Nevada. T&Cs apply. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit nevadacouncil.org.
WSOP.com holds the distinction of being Nevada’s best poker site by default. It is first in its class (of one). Fortunately, WSOP.com is a quality poker site with a healthy variety of cash games, tournaments, and promotions. Even when there were multiple options, WSOP ranked number one among the best online poker sites Nevada players had access to at the time.
- Expert Review: WSOP Poker
Even if the Nevada online poker market was more competitive, WSOP would hold its own. In fact, WSOP.com is among the best poker sites in New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania where it competes with several other big-name operators.
Further, WSOP significantly outranks illegal, offshore poker sites. BettingUSA never recommends offshore poker sites but is aware some players are willing to take their chances. However, WSOP offers numerous advantages over illegal poker sites, even discounting the obvious safety benefits.
Nevada Poker Bonuses
Although Nevada is home to just one poker site, players will suffer no shortage of bonuses and promotions.
WSOP Nevada poker bonuses include a bonus package for new users plus regular ongoing promotions.
The WSOP NV signup offer is surprisingly generous, considering the lack of competition. New users can get up a welcome bonus for signing up and depositing and then claim additional offers every month.
Other Nevada poker promotions include SNG leaderboards, cash bonuses just for playing in real money games, half-price tournaments, and more.
Nevada Online Poker Basics
Legal online poker has been operational in Nevada for more than a decade. Three other operators, Ultimate Poker, Real Gaming, and South Point Poker, have operated in Nevada at various points but closed after failing to attract many players.
WSOP Online Poker Nevada remains the best and only legal option for players today, but it will not go unchallenged forever. BetMGM Poker NV is likely to launch sometime over the near term and will become the first legitimate competitor WSOP has faced in years.
BetMGM Nevada hasn’t detailed its launch plans, but it has an online poker license in NV and will be able to host multi-state tables thanks to its operations in other MSIGA states, including Michigan and New Jersey.
Nevada online poker laws require customers to be 21 or older and physically present within state lines to participate. Licensed Nevada poker sites may host cash games and tournaments, including satellites to major events like the World Series of Poker.
Nevada Online Poker Games
WSOP.com spreads a wide range of poker games, formats, and stakes in Nevada. Players can join cash games at stakes ranging from $0.01/$0.02 up to $100/$200 NL with a $20,000 buyin.
Similarly, WSOP NV offers multi-table tournaments at buyins ranging from free to several thousand dollars (for WSOP Online Circuit events). Players can compete for WSOP bracelets, win seats to live events, grind out head-to-head SNGs, and more.
- Cash Games: WSOP offers cash games from micro stakes up to the nosebleeds. Most games are of the no-limit Holdem and pot-limit Omaha variety, but players can also find the occasional pot-limit Omaha hi-lo, fixed-limit Holdem, and Stud game.
- Multi-Table Tournaments: MTTs are available around the clock with buy-in ranges for all players. WSOP also hosts guaranteed prize pool events and freerolls seven days a week.
- Tournament Series: WSOP.com holds monthly World Series of Poker Circuit events, open to players in Nevada and other states. In addition, WSOP has held month-long tournament series with millions in guaranteed prizes.
- Sit-n-Go Tournaments: The most popular sit-n-go tournament (SNG) format at WSOP.com is Blast Poker. WSOP’s Blast Poker SNGs are like other sites’ jackpot tournaments but with four players and an aggressive blinds structure.
Nevada Online Poker Deposits
Nevada’s only legal poker site provides various online poker deposit methods for players to get started quickly and easily. WSOP NV accepts the following payment options:
- PayPal: Users must connect their PayPal accounts to a personal bank account to transfer funds
- Bank transfers: ACH e-check – moves funds directly from the player’s bank account to their WSOP account
- Credit and Debit Cards: Visa, Mastercard, and Discover for deposits only
- PayNearMe: Deposit cash at nearby convenience stores statewide
- Cash at the Casino Cage: Players can visit the following casinos to deposit and withdraw cash: Caesars Palace, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, and Planet Hollywood.
- Play+ Card: Play+ is a reloadable prepaid debit card that players can instantly fund online. In addition, each customer receives a physical Play+ card to make cash withdrawals at ATMs and purchases anywhere Discover is accepted.
Nevada Online Poker Interstate Agreements
Interstate online poker provides the lifeblood Nevada needs to remain a viable online poker market. In 2015, Nevada and Delaware formed the first interstate poker agreement, the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA). Under the agreement, poker sites active in one or more member states may combine player pools and share players across state lines.
The agreement provided a small boost to player traffic in both states, but the addition of New Jersey in 2018 was a game-changer. With a much larger population than Nevada and Delaware combined, New Jersey provides much-needed liquidity to poker sites in the other states. As a result, WSOP Poker NV players may sit at tables with people from Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware.
MSIGA gained another significant boost in 2022 with the addition of Michigan. West Virginia followed suit in 2023 to further expand the network’s reach. The complete MSIGA network now consists of:
- Delaware
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- Nevada
- West Virginia
Nevada remains a small online poker with a population of just three million, but its effective population spans five states due to the MSIGA agreement.
However, WSOP Poker needs to unify its software in every state it serves to take advantage of shared player pools everywhere. Currently, WSOP uses the improved Poker 8 platform in Michigan but not in Nevada and the other states. WSOP Poker will only realize the full potential of multi-state poker when it upgrades to the new platform in NV, NJ, and DE.
If BetMGM Poker enters Nevada, it will also offer shared player pools due to its operations in the other MSIGA states.
As additional states join MSIGA, traffic at Nevada poker sites will grow tremendously. The result will be more cash game tables, significantly larger tournaments, and more opportunities to play variants other than Texas Holdem. In other words, the more states that join MSIGA, the better it will be for online poker in Nevada.
Nevada Online Poker Market Growth
The Nevada online poker market launched in 2013 and has experienced ups and downs over the ensuing years. Four poker sites have launched in Nevada since 2013, but only WSOP remains in operation.
Today, Nevada is a small poker market, but its liquidity sharing agreements with other states provide enough additional players to support consistent cash games and tournaments.
The World Series of Poker and WSOP.com run complementary brands that strengthen and support one another. As early as 2014, players could qualify for live WSOP bracelet events through WSOP.com, including the $10,000 buyin Main Event.
In 2015, WSOP held the first online tournament that awarded an authentic World Series of Poker bracelet. The tournament proceeded entirely online until six players remained, at which point organizers paused the action and played the final table live at the Rio Las Vegas.
Each year since has brought even more integration of WSOP.com into the overall WSOP picture. In 2019, nine of the summer’s 89 events were entirely online. That year also saw WSOP NJ hold its first online bracelet events, marking the first time in history players could win real WSOP bracelets from out of state.
The World Series of Poker moved entirely online in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of a single month, WSOP.com hosted one bracelet event each day, with buyins ranging from $400 to $3,200. WSOP has continued the trend and now hosts multiple bracelet events every year. For instance, the 2023 WSOP Online Poker Series held 20 bracelet events at buyins ranging from $215 to $5,300.
The State of Nevada Online Poker
The Nevada poker market continues to expand, with even more WSOP-sanctioned events occurring as a part of the WSOP Online Circuit.
Many of the Circuit events have land-based Caesars sponsors, including the likes of Planet Hollywood, Caesars Atlantic City, Bally’s, Rio Las Vegas, Caesars Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, and Harrah’s Las Vegas. Others are simply named according to the season in which they occur (Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall).
Nevada Online Poker Law
Nevada legalized online poker in 2013 by passing AB 114 into law. In short, the law authorized local casinos to apply for licenses to offer online poker.
Key provisions in Nevada online poker law include:
- Players must be 21 or older and located within state lines to play online
- Players do not need to be Nevada residents, but they do have to be physically present in Nevada to participate in real money cash games and tournaments
- Player-to-player transfers are prohibited to prevent money laundering and collusion
- Players may fund their accounts online or in-person at select Nevada casinos
- Nevada poker sites pay a 6.75% tax on gross gaming revenue
- Licensed poker sites must verify the age and identity of every player
Live Poker Rooms in Nevada
Several poker rooms have closed their doors during and since the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nevada still has two cities with numerous live games for players to choose from in Las Vegas and Reno.
Nearly 20 poker rooms remain open in Las Vegas, including ten on The Strip. Players will find the busiest poker rooms at Aria, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Venetian, and Wynn. In addition, players can find smaller poker rooms at Ballys, MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, and SAHARA.
Golden Nugget is another option for players who find themselves downtown, and those who wish to play off The Strip can also look to rooms such as Orleans and South Pont.
Three Reno Casinos (Atlantis, Grand Sierra, and Peppermill) are also open, as are Harvey’s Lake Tahoe and the Carson Valley Inn.