Poker rooms accepting US players

Ever since the UIGEA was passed in September 2006, American players have found it more and more difficult to play poker online. This law, which voted under quite peculiar circumstances to start with, (it was attached to the Port Safety Bill, which was of course, of utmost importance, and as such, it was voted in unanimity) with some of the very lawmakers who voted for it, speaking up against it, has given birth to a no less peculiar situation in the online gambling and poker world.

Financial institutions are forbidden, under US federal law, to process transactions, which may be linked to online gambling and poker, in whatever shape or size they may come.
As a result of the law and of some direct retaliatory measures, most online poker rooms were quick to terminate their US operations, and focus their marketing efforts elsewhere.
If the real intention behind the UIGEA was to deal online poker a global blow by seriously limiting its most fertile market area, it obviously misfired.

Online poker popularity is spreading like a wildfire as we speak, all across Europe and Asia, and - provided things stay on track - in a couple of year's time, the loss of the American market will probably have been completely forgotten.

In the same time, US players, feeling unrightfully removed from this global phenomenon that online poker is proving to be, are finding new ways to play their favorite game, of which many of them made a living before the UIGEA.

Believe it or not, It's not impossible for US players to play poker these days. Poker rooms like Full Tilt Poker, keep accepting US players, an offering them the highest levels of service, despite the UIGEA.
Whether these poker rooms stand in direct defiance of US law, I couldn't tell you because I'm no legal expert, what I can tell you though is what I see day by day: thousands and thousands of American poker players hitting the online tables day after day.

Did the UIGEA succeed in protecting the US public from the "menace of the century" that online poker is? I don't think so. What exactly did it accomplish then? Hard to tell... You'll probably have to ask someone a lot smarter than I, about this.
Anyway, as the pressure continues to mount in favor of repealing the UIGEA, US players can still enjoy the benefits of online poker. Rooms like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker not only offer them rakeback (the latter), and prop deals, they also offer their players the possibility to gain access through satellites, to some of the world's most prestigious live poker events.

No, the world hasn't stopped because of the UIGEA, and America is not about to be left behind in the poker craze. Go to Bodog, PokerStars, Full Tilt, Pokerroom.com, Poker Nordica, PlayersonlyPoker and a few more rooms, and you can still enjoy online poker.

Make sure you do not violate any law in the jurisdiction you live though.