PokerStars is the world's largest online poker room, having overtaken PartyPoker after the United States Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, and PartyPoker withdrew from the U.S. market. PokerStars received a boost in popularity when one of its tournaments produced a player who went on to win the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker. That was Chris Moneymaker. Then, in 2004, Pokerstars's satellite tournaments generated another winner, who went on to be the WSOP Main Event champion. That was Greg "Fossilman" Raymer. Both are designated spokespersons for Pokerstars. Though the 2005 winner, Joe Hachem, did not come to the WSOP via a Pokerstars satellite tournament, he also assists in marketing Pokerstars, together with several other professionals and well known amateurs, who comprise what the company calls "Team Pokerstars." read more »

FullTilt Poker was started in June of 2004 by a number of private investors including several well-known professional poker players. One of the original owners is Howard Lederer. The list includes Jennifer Harman, and also several other well-known poker personalities like Chris Ferguson, Andy Block, Phil Ivey, and Mike Matusow. Full Tilt is based in Costa Rica, though the company goes to some trouble to keep information about itself out of public hands given the uncertain legal status of online gaming. It is the third largest poker site on the Web in terms of the number of online players. FullTilt is licensed by the Mohawk territory of Kahnawake. read more »

Carbon Poker, established in 2007, was a charter member of the Merge Gaming Network, a collection of interrelated sites created by Poker.com and using the player base of Poker.com when Poker.com left the card room business and became a poker portal. The site has grown rapidly, particularly because it is U.S.-friendly. Carbon Poker is licensed by the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. Ownership information on Carbon Poker is not publicly available. Some websites indicate that Carbon Poker is owned by an unnamed but well-reputed (contradiction in terms?) live casino operator in Denmark. Others state that it is owned by Poker.com. Correct information is not subject to independent clarification or verification. read more »

Bodog Poker is owned by Bodog Entertainment. Established by Calvin Ayre in 1994, Bodog Entertainment has expanded from online gambling, where it is perhaps the largest company in the sector, into music, sports and entertainment. Its headquarters are now in Antigua and Barbuda, having moved there from Costa Rica. Licenses are maintained in Antigua and Barbuda, and also in the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. The poker room operates under the Kahnawake license. Bodog's claim to fame in recent years has been its cavalier willingness to target U.S. customers in the face of an increasingly hostile legal environment. read more »

Players Only is part of the Cake Poker Network. Like the other sites on this network, it is open just for players from the U.S. The site is a portion of a larger Players Only site, which offers sports book, race book and casino action as well. The web site is a licensee of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles. Players Only is part of the Sportsbook.com group of gaming sites, owned by Jassy Sports Events Limited, a Maltese company organized in March of 2007 (presumably as a successor to previous companies). It is a private organization that does not disclose information about its management, ownership or financial strength. Though Players Only Poker is relatively young (2006), Sportsbook.com as an online gaming group have been around for nearly a decade. read more »

UltimateBet (or "UB" to its friends) is a prominent online poker room with high volume and lots of endorsements by famous professionals. Phil Helmuth, Annie Duke, Antonio Esfandiari, Jennifer Tilly and Devilfish Ulliot - all WSOP champions - represent the site (as UB Ambassadors) and play there often. UltimateBet is owned by Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, the same company that owns Absolute Poker, a privately held company, the CEO of which is Joseph Tokwiro Norton, formerly Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territories in Montreal. His jurisdiction included Kahnawake, the licensing jurisdiction of Ultimatebet, where he makes his home.ises ENRG. This company is owned by its chief executive, Joseph Tokwiro Norton, formerly Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and principal force behind the 1996 legislation that led to Kahnawake's becoming a favorite licensing jurisdiction for online gambling establishments. The poker room is licensed in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. read more »

Absolute Poker is a medium- to large-size poker room, growing quickly, and probably in the top 10 poker rooms in terms of traffic. Its peak hour ring game participation is around 10,000 players, though three-quarters of them are not playing for real money. As many as 8,000 players will participate in real-money tournament action. These numbers relate purely to Absolute Poker. Ultimate Bet, another large poker site, was recently acquired by the same company that owns Absolute Poker. If these two sites merge or interlink, as expected, then Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet together will be one of the world's largest online poker businesses. Absolute Poker is owned by Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG. This company is owned by its chief executive, Joseph Tokwiro Norton, formerly Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and principal force behind the 1996 legislation that led to Kahnawake's becoming a favorite licensing jurisdiction for online gambling establishments. The poker room is licensed in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake. read more »