Blacklisted Poker Rooms 2024
While many good online poker sites exist, there are plenty more that should be avoided like the plague. The rooms that have made it to our list of blacklisted sites have a proven terrible track record in paying customers their winnings or have cheated their customers in some way.
Blacklisted poker sites will also not have the proper licensing in place (an essential component of all reputable rooms) and inadequate security procedures for safeguarding personal data.
There are also countless more gambling websites on the Internet that have folded due to poor mismanagement, unpaid winnings, or straight-up fraud. We list a selection of the most notorious here.
What Makes a Blacklisted Site?
- FAILURE TO PAY WINNINGS OR HONOUR CASH-OUT REQUESTS
- NOT HAVING ADEQUATE LICENSING AND AUDITING IN PLACE
- POOR SECURITY PROTOCOLS TO PROTECT PLAYERS' PERSONAL INFORMATION AND PASSWORDS
- INSTANCES OF PLAYER COLLUSION OR CHEATING THAT WERE IGNORED BY THE SITE
- POOR, OR NON-EXISTENT, CUSTOMER SUPPORT
It's true that some poker rooms have had chequered pasts, but have come out the other side with their reputation (more or less) saved.
PokerStars, Absolute Poker/UB and Full Tilt were shut down in the US for accepting American payments. After the DoJ closed Full Tilt down, it later emerged that they had not segregated player funds from operating cash. The result: over $300 million was embezzled and US players were left out of pocket.
Although PokerStars ended up buying out Tilt and repaying (some) players, both sites remain frozen out of the regulated US market entirely. For that reason, we are leaving the pair off our list for now.
Before you sign up for a poker account, check our list to see who you should avoid. We keep our blacklisted page updated regular, so some sites who have proved themselves may find a way back into our good books.
The best advice is to read our reviews and sign up with only the best, reputable poker rooms on the net. You can then play poker safely and in the knowledge that your cash-outs will be dealt with quickly and the chances of fraud will be non-existent. Take a look at the best of our choice on The Best Real Money Poker Sites 2024
LOCKPOKER
ABSOLUTE POKER/ ULTIMATEBET
CARDSPIKE
DOLLARO POKER
BETCOIN
WSEX.COM (WORLD SPORTS EXCHANGE)
ODDSPOKER.COM
LUCK 3 POKER
CHICO POKER
Once only second to PokerStars in terms of player numbers worldwide, while also boasting some of the most successful players, Full Tilt Poker ignored the new UIGEA legislation of 2006 to continue offering real-money poker to US customers.
After the US DoJ shut the site down in April 2011 (Black Friday) it emerged the room was over $100 million short in paying its own players back. It emerged that the site, with the full involvement of some pro players, was engaging in a 'Ponzi' scheme by paying out winnings using other players' deposits, and siphoning off cash as loans to pros. Ultimately, the site was found to have defrauded players to the tune of $300 million. [3] While still denied a way back into the US market, rival PokerStars purchased the company and repaid US players itself.
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