Tennessee Poker Sites

Author ImageAuthor: | Last Updated: March 2024

You can take part in a huge variety of tournaments and cash games each day at the best online poker sites in Tennessee. The Volunteer State does not have a state-regulated market for online poker, but the leading offshore sites accept Tennessee players.

There are no laws that would prevent you from using an online poker room based overseas, but it is important to select a trustworthy, reputable operator. That is where we can help. We have highlighted the top three online poker sites for Tennessee players, and we have broken down the games, tournaments, features, and bonuses that they offer.

Tennessee Poker Overview

You can only play poker at offshore sites in Tennessee. There are no land-based poker rooms in the Volunteer State, and it does not have a local market for online poker sites.

Type of Gambling Availability Reason
Online Poker Rooms Offshore Only Tennessee has not passed legislation permitting online poker, but no laws exist that would penalize residents for playing at sites based overseas.
Land-Based Card Rooms Unavailable There are no land-based tribal casinos, commercial casinos or cardrooms in Tennessee.
How Old Do I Have to be to Play Poker in Tennessee?

Tennessee does not have an official minimum poker age, as there are no locally regulated poker rooms in the state. Most offshore poker sites require players to be 18 or older.

Top Poker Rooms in Tennessee

We have reviewed every online poker site that accepts customers based in Tennessee. You can learn more about our review process in the next section. After comparing the strengths and weaknesses of sites offering online poker in Tennessee, we decided that these are the top three options:

Affiliate Disclosure:
close
At GamblingSites.org, we want to help you pick the best casino or sportsbook by providing you with quality and trustworthy information. If you choose one of our recommendations, we may earn a commission from them at no cost to you.

Bovada – Best Poker Site for Tennessee Overall

Bovada

Bovada is the best online poker room for Tennessee players. It offers better traffic than any other site, as it runs on the busiest online poker network in America, PaiWangLuo. This online poker room offers unrivaled liquidity and $2 million in guaranteed weekly prize purses.

There should always be limits to suit all players at Bovada. It has freerolls and low-stakes events for casual players, no limit action for high rollers, and $1 million tournaments. The schedule is very busy, so you should rarely have any trouble finding your preferred games and tournaments, with Limit and No Limit Hold’em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo covered. There are deepstacks, turbo events, and everything in between.

It runs on high-quality software too, which you can download or access via the browser on your desktop or mobile device. Bovada also offers competitive fees, a reasonably large bonus, same day withdrawals and 24/7 support, and it has a trustworthy reputation.

BetOnline – Best Poker Site for Building Bankroll

betonline logo

BetOnline stands out for its progressive bounty tournaments. They take place each day, with a variety of buy-ins. Look out for tournaments with a “K” next to them if you are searching for these events within the main lobby.

Bounty tournaments add an extra layer of intrigue to the action, as you earn a cash prize for each rival you eliminate from the tournament.

This can be a great way to quickly build up your bankroll at BetOnline. It does not have anonymous tables, so you can zero in on certain players when targeting knockouts. This is another high-quality, feature-rich, reputable online poker room, which offers very large deposit and withdrawal limits, a wealth of bonuses, and pretty strong traffic.

Ignition Poker – Best Poker Site for Beginners

Ignition Casino

Ignition Poker is our top choice for beginners to online poker in Tennessee. You can use the anonymous tables feature, which can prevent you from being targeted by sharks while you are still honing your skills and mastering the game.

It makes the sign-up process very simple, too, and there are lots of convenient deposit options, including credit cards, debit cards, and crypto. The minimum deposit via some methods is just $5, which is helpful if you do not want to risk much money at the start of your online poker journey. There are freerolls and low-stakes games for new players too.

You will receive a large welcome bonus up to $1,500 when you sign up. The site is easy to navigate, so it should not prove daunting for newcomers. If you need any help, high-quality support is available 24/7. The withdrawal process is smooth and simple, so this site is ideal for beginners to Tennessee poker rooms.

Tennessee Poker Sites: A Comparison

Poker Site Welcome Bonus Downloadable? Min. Deposit Star Rating Read Review
Bovada 100% up to $500 No download necessary, but available if you prefer. $5 5 Bovada Review
betonline logo 100% up to $1,000 No download necessary, but available if you prefer. $20 5 BetOnline Review
Ignition Casino 150% up to $1,500 No download necessary, but available if you prefer. $5 5 Ignition Poker Review

How We Evaluate Poker Sites in Tennessee

We divide our reviews into four key categories when searching for the best Tennessee online poker sites. These are the areas each site must excel in:

Availability in Tennessee

First and foremost, a site must actively accept players based in Tennessee. While these sites are based overseas, they are specifically geared towards the American market. That means all transactions, bonuses, prize pools and fees will be quoted in USD, and you will be playing online poker against fellow Americans, including those based in Tennessee.

Game Variety and Table Types

The best sites offer high traffic, a very busy tournament schedule, a large variety of cash games each day, poker variants to suit all tastes, broad buy-ins, strong liquidity, millions of dollars in weekly guaranteed prize pools, and a wide range of skill levels. Some sites fall short in this regard, but we were impressed with the breadth and depth of the poker options at Bovada, BetOnline, and Ignition.

Rake and Bonuses

Next, we focus on the overall value that each site offers anyone interested in playing online poker in Tennessee. That includes the rake that a site charges, but also the bonuses and rakeback programs it provides. We calculate the cost of playing poker at each operator, as this helps us narrow our list down even further.

Table Features

Finally, we focus on the overall user experience. That includes the sign-up process, the quality of the software, the range of deposit methods, the payout speeds, security, and customer service. We seek reliable, easy-to-navigate sites that run on quality software. Our reviewers examine how easy it is to find tournaments and cash games. They also analyze the value-added table features, such as bad beat jackpots, chat boxes, anonymous tables, customizable setups, and more.

Tennessee

Online poker has not been legalized at a state level. The Volunteer State passed a bill in 2019 that allowed online sportsbooks and Daily Fantasy Sports operators to launch, but it does not permit any other forms of online gambling.

You will not be able to sign up with locally regulated online casinos or online poker rooms in Tennessee. No bills have been tabled seeking to change that situation.

However, there are no state laws or federal laws that prevent Tennessee residents from playing poker or casino games at gambling sites based overseas, so operators like Bovada, BetOnline, and Ignition have been welcoming Tennesseans for many years.

Land-Based Cardrooms in Tennessee

There are no land-based casinos or cardrooms in Tennessee. That is rare, as most states host tribal casinos, commercial casinos, commercial card rooms, or all three. However, Tennessee has always had a conversative stance when it comes to gambling, and there are no plans to introduce physical casinos or cardrooms right now.

The Volunteer State does not have any brick-and-mortar sportsbooks either. There are no racetracks or off-track betting parlors for horseplayers, so all gambling must be done online in the state.

Who Regulates Poker in Tennessee?

There is no official regulator for poker in Tennessee, as the state does not host any land-based casinos and it has not legalized online poker. If poker were legalized in the future, the state would need to create a new regulator. The only gambling regulators in the state are the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council and the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation.

Offshore poker sites are regulated in their home countries. For instance, the government of Curaçao oversees sites like Bovada, ensuring that they comply with their regulatory conditions. They have secured remote gaming licenses, which allow them to accept players in a variety of markets, including the United States.

Tennessee’s Poker Laws Compared to Neighboring States

Tennessee

Tennessee borders eight other states, and none of them have legalized online poker sites at a state level. A couple of them do not have land-based poker rooms either, just like Tennessee. That is the case in Georgia, where your only option is to play at an offshore poker site. There are three tribal casinos in Alabama, but they only offer Class II gaming, with no poker rooms.

There are more land-based options in the other states that border Tennessee. You will find one poker room at a tribal casino in North Carolina, while there are plenty of brick-and-mortar poker rooms at casinos in Mississippi.

Missouri also hosts some large riverboat-style casinos, which offer poker rooms. You can play live poker in Kentucky, Virginia, and Arkansas too. However, it is only available at land-based poker rooms, as all of those states prohibit local companies from running online poker sites. For that reason, offshore poker sites are popular in the region.

The Future of Poker in Tennessee

Tennessee is unlikely to legalize online poker in the immediate future. The Volunteer State did legalize online sports wagering, but it was a contentious issue. Gov. Bill Lee allowed the sports betting bill to pass into law without his signature, but he was keen to declare his opposition to gambling.

Online poker would be a far tougher sell than online sports wagering, especially when you consider that none of Tennessee’s neighbors have online poker markets. There is more chance of land-based poker rooms being permitted at brick-and-mortar casinos, but that could be decades away. The state would need to pass legislation permitting Class III casinos with poker rooms, and they would then need to be planned and built, so this is also unlikely any time soon. As such, offshore sites will continue to dominate the Tennessee poker market.

Responsible Gambling in Tennessee

Success is never guaranteed when you play online poker. It is important to only play with money that you can afford to lose, even if you are an expert player. Try to enjoy online poker alongside other hobbies, without letting it impact your work and your relationships with family and friends. If you need any support, consult these resources:

Tennessee Gambling Legal Sources

Author Avatar
About the Author

Isaac Payne is the static content writer at Gamblingsites.org, and he has a passion for learning about table games. Blackjack, in particular, is his favorite. In his free time, Isaac loves writing science fiction and doing arts and crafts.