With a population of nearly 20 million, New York is one of the largest online poker markets in the US. However, despite numerous efforts over the years, the state is yet to pass the required laws to regulate online poker and other forms of online gambling.
The most recent effort in this series came at the start of 2025, once again raising hopes that regulated and state-licensed online poker in New York is on the way.
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Trusted brand In the meantime, players from the Empire State have several options available to them, including offshore sites that still accept US players, as well as sweepstakes poker rooms that are available in many US states, offering games with real-money prizes without violating relevant laws.
On this page, we provide a comprehensive overview of New York online poker, including the best currently available options, the latest regulatory developments, and efforts to establish a fully licensed and regulated market in the state, similar to those in Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Can I Play Online Poker in New York?
You can play online poker in New York, albeit not on state-licensed sites like PokerStars or WSOP.com. Since New York has yet to pass the law to regulate the online poker landscape, players in the Empire State can play on offshore rooms like CoinPoker and sweepstakes poker sites like ClubWPT Gold that offer games where real money prizes can be won.
| Available options | Offshore poker and sweepstakes sites |
| State-regulated poker sites | Not available |
| Age limit for New York online poker | 18+ |
| Best NY poker site | CoinPoker |
Best Online Poker Sites in New York
Despite its large population and the fact that poker is very popular in New York, there are still no state-regulated and licensed sites available. If you’re looking to play at PokerStars, BetMGM Poker, or WSOP Online, these aren’t available at this time.
Luckily, this doesn’t mean that you can’t play online poker in New York. There are a fair number of options between reliable offshore sites and sweepstakes sites. Both of these are solid choices, depending on your particular situation and preferences, and we bring you our top picks from both groups.
#1. CoinPoker – Best for Game Volume
CoinPoker is one of the newer offshore sites catering to the US market, among others. The room is entirely based on cryptocurrencies, at least as far as players from the US are concerned, as you won’t be able to use any traditional banking options for deposits or withdrawals.
While this is a small inconvenience that could turn away some New York online poker players, the site stands out in many other areas, including big (and constantly growing) player traffic, fairly soft games across the board, a big welcome bonus, and solid rakeback.
We recommend CoinPoker for players looking to put in serious volume, as you’ll never struggle to find games on the site. There are plenty of cash game tables across all stakes running at any given moment, and the room’s tournament schedule has been constantly improving as well.
#2 ClubWPT Gold – Best for Achieving High Win Rates
ClubWPT Gold is a sweepstakes site where players can redeem cash prizes with their Sweeps Coins. It is one of the newer additions to the sweepstakes poker market, but despite its novelty, it is our top choice for New York poker players.
The site is owned by the World Poker Tour, a brand that needs no introduction, especially in the US. Thanks to the brand’s power and a strong marketing campaign leading up to the launch, ClubWPT Gold successfully attracted a large number of players from across the country.
This resulted in an extremely soft ecosystem and some of the best games you can expect to find anywhere in online poker today. However, unlike with CoinPoker, you’ll struggle to put in a big volume on this site, primarily because players are only allowed to play one table at a time.
Free Poker vs Real-Money Games
As we’ve already discussed on this page, New York online poker players have a choice between real-money games offered by offshore sites, such as CoinPoker, and free poker games made available by sweepstakes operators like ClubWPT Gold.
Offshore sites offer an environment that’s fairly similar to what online poker looked like before Black Friday, allowing US players (including those from New York) to play against the rest of the world in real-money cash games and tournaments.
The biggest caveat is that deposits and withdrawals can sometimes be complicated when trying to use credit or debit cards, as these transactions are often blocked. This is why many offshore sites are increasingly turning towards cryptocurrencies.
Sweepstakes sites, on the other hand, make transactions easier, as their unique business model allows them to accept a wide range of traditional payment methods. To be able to do this, however, they had to add a couple of extra layers to the whole experience.
Free Poker vs. Real-Money Poker Comparison
| Free Poker in New York | Real-Money Poker Games |
| No deposits or withdrawals – but you can make purchases | Traditional deposits and withdrawals that players are familiar with |
| A variety of banking options available | Limited deposit and withdrawal methods due to regulatory restrictions |
| Real money prizes available via the redemption process | Cash out your winnings straight back to your wallet |
Sweepstakes Model Explained
As the name suggests, sweepstakes poker sites conduct their business based on an old sweepstakes model that’s been present in other industries for decades. They don’t offer real money games, but players can still win cash prizes playing ring games and tournaments.
How is this possible? Players are given free Sweeps Coins for completing various actions on the site, which include purchasing play money (usually cold Gold Coins). Gold Coins have no value outside of the platform and can’t be exchanged for prizes.
However, for every GC purchase, the site gives the player a certain number of Sweeps Coins, which are treated as sweepstakes entries for legal purposes. So, for example, when you purchase 100,000 Gold Coins for $10, you’ll also receive 10 Sweeps Coins completely free.
You can then use Sweeps Coins to enter ring games and tournaments to win additional SCs. Eventually, you can proceed to redeem cash prizes using your accumulated SCs, usually at the rate of $1 for 1 SC.
This loophole allows sweepstakes poker sites to offer de facto real money games without breaking relevant gaming or banking laws in most states, as players don’t actually deposit, withdraw, or keep any cash on the site.
Regulation Landscape in New York
There have been numerous attempts to regulate online poker in New York over the years, but none of them have resulted in an actual law. With almost 20 million residents and a lot of interest in the game, the Empire State represents a very significant market in the grand scheme of things, so the regulation couldn’t come soon enough.
The latest attempt at it came in January 2025 with a proposal from Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. Addabbo’s bill aims to create a safe and regulated environment for all New York online poker enthusiasts and also boost the state’s budget.
While the bill would bring regulated online poker to New York, it would also mark the end of sweepstakes operators as it looks to close this legal loophole.
Of all the attempts we’ve seen so far, this one has the greatest likelihood of actually passing, so regulated online poker could soon be coming to New York. When that happens, it is likely that the state will soon join the MSIGA as well, which would be a significant addition to the currently existing player pools of Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.