Best Online Poker Sites in India 2026
The best online poker sites in India offer legal, safe, and secure poker rooms. Since these sites are licensed internationally, they are not bound by local restrictions on gambling, so you can receive bonuses and enjoy plenty of action in cash games and tournaments.
We’ve signed up, deposited, and played at 30+ international poker sites and now recommend the best for online poker in India. See why we rate them so highly, and why you should consider signing up.
In This Guide
- Top Sites for Online Poker in India
- Top 5 Online Poker Sites in India
- Best Online Poker Sites in India Compared
- Can You Play Online Poker in India?
- Are Poker Sites Legal in India?
- How We Rate the Best Poker Sites in India
- Best Online Poker Bonuses in India
- Best Poker Real-Money Games in India
- Game Types for Online Poker in India
- Banking at the Best Online Poker Sites in India
- KYC at Online Poker Sites in India
- Expert Tips for Playing Poker Online
- Taxes on Online Poker in India
- Key Takeaways
- FAQs
- References
Top Sites for Online Poker in India
Top 5 Online Poker Sites in India
We’ve reviewed and played at the top poker sites in India and found the five listed below to be the best of the best. Take a look and see which site suits your budget and playing style.
Best Overall Online Poker Site in India: CoinPoker
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This crypto-first poker room has quickly established itself as a favourite site for players worldwide, and welcomes Indian poker fans. Even if you don’t use crypto, you can deposit fast with bank cards and grab the 150% welcome bonus up to $2,000.
There’s also 15% rakeback that’s added to your balance as soon as you leave the tables. CoinPoker also sweetens the deal with more than $1.5 million in weekly rewards, in the form of daily leaderboards across all stakes and infused splash pots.
Enjoy busy cash game action, with stakes starting from just $0.01/$0.02, and plenty of tournaments on the schedule, with weekend specials featuring $150,000 prize pool guarantees.
Why Choose CoinPoker?
- Payment speed: Instant deposits and fast payouts, especially when using crypto.
- Liquidity: Average of more than 4,000 players at the cash and tournament tables.
- Mobile: CoinPoker has dedicated apps for Android and iOS, with vertical tables for easy use.
- Freerolls: Freerolls give you the opportunity to win tickets to bigger tourneys.
- Game variety: In April 2026, CoinPoker added PLO6 and Short Deck to the mix.
What Could Be Improved
- Rakeback: Reduced rakeback, but more rewards are now available.
- Crypto-only: Preferred by many poker players, but has a bit of a learning curve.
User Review
“I like Coinpoker! Good software and fast withdrawals. I hope they will make a Spin and Gold or Spin & Go poker format in the future. Crypto is the future!” Smebber – Trustpilot
Expert Tip
If you prefer anonymity, then you’ll love how CoinPoker conducts limited KYC checks when you play with crypto.
Top Real-Money Poker Site in India for MTTs: ACR Poker
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
It’s refreshing to see a poker room listening to its players, and that’s what ACR did when it doubled its number of tournaments early in 2025. The site now has a packed weekly schedule with more than 300 tournaments a day, with guarantees of over $9.2 million a week.
Sunday Specials have $250,000 prize pools, and ACR is the home of the Venom series, which, in 2026, featured a $10 million prize pool. Of course, the standard of play at these tournaments is quite high. But you’ll also find plenty of options with buy-ins under $1, plus 8 daily freerolls with $50 GTD.
ACR Poker is easily one of the best destinations for tournaments at real-money poker sites for Indian players.
Why Choose ACR Poker?
- Unmatched tournament schedule: More than 300 tournaments a day, including freerolls, plus weekend specials and signature series.
- Strategy tips: There’s a brilliant strategy guide section on the website that gives you lots of valuable free advice.
- Satellites: Win seats to WSOP events and other key live tournaments worldwide.
- Staking: We love how you can stake other players via the ACR platform.
- Mobile: There’s a good mobile app for Android and iOS players.
- VIP program: Higher tiers of the Elite Benefits program feature big cash prizes and rakeback up to 65%.
What Could Be Improved
- Live chat: There’s no live chat on site, which can slow you down a bit.
- Stability: Occasional reports of software issues, but the number of complaints has fallen dramatically in the past year or so.
User Review
“The promotions are always generous, and there are a ton of tournaments with great prize pools. The deposit options are also very convenient and easy to use.” Bob G – Trustpilot
Expert Tip
Use the excellent filters available in the tournament lobby to quickly find the tourneys you’re looking for.
Best Real-Money Poker Site in India for Crypto: Stake
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Poker is a successful addition to the monster-sized, crypto-first Stake online gambling platform. The site accepts over 20 cryptocurrencies for lightning-quick deposits and probably the fastest withdrawals anywhere.
You get privacy playing with crypto, too, and the platform will help you set up your first crypto wallet if you’re new to transacting this way.
On the virtual felt, Stake has one key advantage: plenty of the site’s other gamblers decide to give poker a try, so the standard of your opposition won’t be as strong as it might be elsewhere.
Why Choose Stake?
- Wide choice of tokens: You can’t beat Stake for crypto banking choice, from Bitcoin to Trump Coin
- Simple design: There are few distractions for poker players here – you can easily find what you need.
- Loose players: We find there are plenty of newbie players on Stake poker.
- Bad Beat Jackpot: Earn a share of the $1 million Bad Beat Jackpot if your full house of aces full of jacks (or better) is beaten.
- All in or Fold: No sitting around here, these cash game tables are all action.
What Could Be Improved
- More promotions: While you can get 5% rakeback and join some decent freerolls, we’d like to see more poker-focused promotions.
- Better spread of games: Stake Poker is still relatively new, so we expect the stake ranges in cash games and tourneys to grow.
User Review
“Many gamblers on the site, huge player pool, available in most countries and US states, fast withdrawals. It is only through the browser.” SherbokVideos – Reddit
Expert Tip
You can consider moving up a level in cash games, as the general consensus is that the players here are softer than at other poker rooms.
Best Indian Poker Site for Easy Rewards: BCPoker
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
BCPoker is one of the top choices if you’re playing from India and want good rewards with zero hassle. It’s not the biggest numbers among Indian poker sites, but the bonuses are easy to claim.
The 10% up to $200 welcome bonus doesn’t have a time limit, making it ideal for casual players and beginners. On top of that, the app offers a 7-day reward calendar worth another $130, and it’s one of the only poker rooms with a no-deposit bonus right now.
With up to 50% rakeback available as you climb the ranks of the VIP program, BCPoker makes it easy to rack up rewards daily.
Why Choose BCPoker?
- Easy Bonuses: The welcome bonus has no time limit.
- App Rewards: Claim up to $130 in extras by completing simple Newcomer Challenges, plus a $5 no-deposit bonus.
- Crypto Banking: Deposit and withdraw via BTC, ETH, and USDT.
- Fast Rakeback: Up to 50% cashback with the VIP program.
- Game variety: One of the few online poker sites in India that offer Short Deck.
What Could Be Improved
- Traffic: As a new poker site, the traffic can be quite low during off-peak hours.
- MTTs: No Omaha tournaments available.
User Review
“Great. Honestly, I lost on all poker sites, but this one is fair.” Fresa, Trustpilot
Expert Tip
Use the mobile app to sign up to BCPoker for the first time to claim the $5 no-deposit bonus. The Newcomer Challenges are also exclusively on the smartphone apps.
Best Poker Site for Cash Games: Crore Play
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Crore Play has a growing fan base in India, and the connected casino means you’ll find a steady stream of casual players and some of the softest cash games around.
Most of the action here is at the lower stakes, and this is a good opportunity if you like cash games, where you won’t come across too many highly-skilled opponents.
Crore Play offers a generous welcome bonus that’ll help you get started on the right foot. To start, you get a 150% deposit match bonus up to $2,500. Then, you take a chance at the bonus wheel to get extras like 50% Instant Cash, up to 100 free spins, or up to $25 worth of tournament tickets.
You can also earn an additional $600 by taking part in a series of Welcome Quests available on the site.
Why Choose Croreplay?
- Bonuses: The choice of welcome offers and guaranteed extras will appeal to Indian players
- All-in game: A fun cash game variant where you have two choices: move all in or fold
- Various local banking methods: Plenty of crypto deposit options along with eWallets, bank cards, and even UPI.
- Tournaments: Packed tournament schedule with plenty of freerolls, and signature events like the Diwali Dhamaka, a PKO tourney with $3 Million in guarantees.
- Game Variety: Good mix of game types and formats, and includes lesser-known variants like PLO5 and PLO6.
What Could Be Improved
- Mobile apps: Crore Play doesn’t have dedicated Android and iOS apps
- Tournament Players: Doesn’t have many players in the high roller tournaments
Expert Tip
From the micro- to mid-stakes (up to $2/$4), Crore Play has some of the softest cash games around.
Best Online Poker Sites in India Compared
There’s a lot to unpack when it comes to comparing all the games and bonuses at real-money poker sites in India. Here are the key features you’ll want to look for:
| Real-Money Poker Site | Welcome Bonus | Rakeback | Poker Game Types | Tournament Buy-Ins |
Cash Game Stakes
|
| CoinPoker | 150% up to $2,000 | 33% | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, PLO5, PLO6, Short Deck | $0.01 – $5,000 |
$0.01/$0.02 – $5,000/$10,000
|
| ACR | 100% up to $2,000 | 27% fixed or up to 65% via rewards club | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 7-Card Stud | $0.11 – $1,050 |
$0.01/$0.02 – $200/$400
|
| Stake | Get $1 Daily for Your First 7 Days | 5% | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Pineapple | $1 to $100 |
$0.01/$0.02 – $2.50/$5
|
| BCPoker | 10% First Deposit Bonus up to $200 | Up to 50% | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Short Deck | $0.30 – $50 |
$0.01/$0.02 – $200/$400
|
| Croreplay | 150% up to $2,500 | Up to 40% | Texas Hold’em, Omaha, PLO5, PLO6 | $2 – $1,000 |
$0.01/$0.02 – $10/$20
|
Can You Play Online Poker in India?
Yes, you can play online poker in India. You’ll receive bonuses and enjoy cash game and tournament action against thousands of other players while playing real-money poker in India.
Recent changes in the law mean real-money poker sites can no longer be based in India. But we recommend that you play at international poker rooms, as they and poker software in general, are not subject to Indian law.
You’re free to play poker online for real money at these sites, as we explain in more detail below.
Are Poker Sites Legal in India?
The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill came into force in India in July 2025, making it illegal for online poker rooms to operate within India.
But the new regulations don’t cover operations for international, offshore poker sites. That means you’re free to sign up and play real-money poker.
So, while a new law has caused sites you may have previously played at to shut down, now is the time to try somewhere new, where you can sign up and test your skills with no restrictions. It’s a legal “grey area” that comes with no fear of prosecution from Indian authorities.
How We Rate the Best Poker Sites in India
Before we recommend any real-money poker sites in India, they must pass our tests and checks. This involves us looking at the security and license of each site, testing out games, bonuses, depositing, and withdrawing.
Here are the key things to check before playing at any of the best online poker sites for real money.
- License and Security: In order to be one of the safe and legitimate real money poker sites, it must have a license from one of the recognised gambling authorities. This can include licensing by Curacao, Anjouan, Costa Rica, or Malta.
- Game Selection: We play at each site to make sure that there is a good variety of games from top software providers like NetEnt, Blueprint Gaming, Games Global, and Betsoft.
- Bonuses: We also check that there are a variety of bonuses to claim when we first join the site and after we return to play. The best real-money poker sites in India will offer deposit match bonuses, cashback, and daily, weekly, and monthly bonuses.
- Payment Methods: It is important that any Indian poker websites we play at accept not only worldwide payment methods like Visa and Mastercard but also local payment methods like UPI, PhonePe, and Paytm. They also must accept a selection of cryptocurrencies.
Best Online Poker Bonuses in India
You get lots of generous bonuses when playing online poker for real money. That’s because international poker rooms want to earn your trust and reward your loyalty at the tables.
Of course, the types of bonuses you can expect will vary from one site to another, and will be available at sign-up and once you begin playing. Here are the best poker bonuses to look out for:
Welcome Bonus
The biggest and best bonus at a real-money poker site is always the welcome bonus, paid when you register and make your first deposit.
Welcome bonuses are typically in the form of a match bonus, where the poker room matches the size of your deposit with bonus cash, usually between 100% and 200%, and generally up to a capped limit, such as $2,000.
CrorePlay has one of the biggest welcome bonuses around, giving you 150% extra up to $2,500 on your first deposit.
Reload Bonus
Reload offers are also typically match bonuses, but they tend not to be as generous as welcome offers. Instead, you might receive a 50% match of your deposit size, up to a smaller limit, such as $200.
While most players wait for their account to empty before reloading, you should consider grabbing a reload offer at any time, because it can be much more lucrative than a standard deposit.
Rakeback
Every time you play at real money poker sites in India, a proportion of every cash game pot, and a small amount of every tournament entry cost, is withheld by the poker room to fund prize pools and pay for business expenses. This is called rake.
Many online poker sites in India offer rakeback, which returns a proportion of the rake you’ve contributed over the previous week. The percentage you get back will vary, but 20% is about average. You don’t typically have to satisfy wagering conditions on the rakeback; it’s yours to keep.
If you’re on the cusp of being a winning player, rakeback may be the thing that puts you into profit.
CoinPoker has an excellent 33% rakeback, paid weekly, to all players who hold its native currency CHP.
Freerolls
The best poker freerolls are a super way to win money playing online poker in India while eliminating the financial risk. Entry is free for all players, but the poker room adds cash to the prize pool. It’s basically a free shot at winning some cash.
You’ll find the prizes aren’t huge in relation to the size of the field. But on the flip side, the standard of play in freerolls is usually lower than online poker in India in general, because players have not invested any of their own cash. Play a solid tournament strategy, and you can do well.
Black Chip Poker runs at least eight freerolls per day, with $50 up for grabs in each one.
Tournament Ticket
A poker room might give out tournament tickets from time to time to reward your play. These are more valuable than freeroll tickets because everyone else in the tournament has paid for their entry, resulting in a bigger prize pool.
With more money on the line in a real-money poker tournament, and with the opposition invested financially, you’ll face a higher standard of player.
Another useful benefit of free tournament tickets is that they might use stakes or formats you’re not familiar with. This is a wonderful opportunity to try something different at no cost.
You’ll often find tournament tickets available on social media channels, so both Stake and BCPoker are solid options.
VIP/Loyalty Program
VIP programs are designed to give you increasing rewards the more you play at your poker room. They’re typically split into tiers. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up over time.
As you climb through the levels, better rewards include more tournament tickets, better rakeback, increased reload offers, prioritised payouts, entries to big live poker tournaments, and other perks.
ACR lets you pick between two VIP programs: Elite Benefits, or a flat 27% rakeback scheme.
Best Poker Real-Money Games in India
All the games you know and love are just a click away when you play at the best real money poker sites. Here’s a rundown of the most popular formats.
Texas Hold’em
Texas Hold’em is the simplest of poker formats to play, and its popularity means there’s always loads of cash game action, while multi-table tournament fields can be huge.
In Texas Hold’em, you receive two hole cards that only you can see. You must make the best five-card poker hand from any combination of your hole cards and up to five community cards.
There’s a betting round before the flop, after the flop, after the turn, and on the river. You can win the hand at any time by betting and forcing everyone else to fold. Otherwise, it goes to a showdown, and the best hand wins the pot.
This game tends to be in a no-limit format, meaning you can bet as much as you like. But you can also get pot-limit games (any raise is restricted to the size of the pot), or fixed-limit games, where bet sizing never changes.
Omaha
Omaha is the second-most popular poker format. It’s similar to Texas Hold’em, except now you get four hole cards to yourself, rather than two.
You still have to make the best five-card hand, but you must use precisely two of your hole cards to do so.
Because four cards mean each player has more options to make a hand, there’s more action in Omaha than Texas Hold’em, with more players chasing draws, for example.
Most games at the best Omaha sites are played in the pot-limit format. Look out for slight variants of Omaha, such as Omaha Hi-Lo, which is essentially two games in one on every hand. The winner of the ‘low’ hand gets half the pot, and the winner of the ‘high’ gets the other half. Sometimes, you can win both at once.
Seven Card Stud
This old school poker game is sadly on the way out. But, if you can find a table online, it’s well worth a try.
You don’t get any community cards in Seven-Card Stud. Instead, each player receives a combination of face-up and face-down cards, with betting rounds in between. It’s an intriguing game of bluffing and aggressive betting.
Other Poker Games
Other real-money poker formats are sometimes available, like Crazy Pineapple, which is similar to Texas Hold’em, except you receive three hole cards and must discard one before playing the rest of the hand as usual.
Some sites also have PLO 5, where you begin with five private hole cards rather than four. This increases your chances of making a big hand, prompting lots of action.
Game Types for Online Poker in India
One of the cool things about online poker for real money is that there are different formats of the game. You can mix and match to keep your games fresh and interesting, or you might end up specialising in one format because you find it the most enjoyable and profitable.
Here are the key poker variants you can play at all the international poker rooms we recommend.
Cash Games
Cash games, also known as ring games, are the most popular form of real money poker. Sit down at a table that suits your stakes, and play for as long as you wish. The blinds remain consistent throughout, and you can top up your chips any time you fall below the table maximum.
Check out your site’s poker lobby to see the number of seats and tables available at your preferred stakes. Cash games usually have nine or six players.
Most tables will be Texas Hold’em, but you’ll also see action-packed Omaha tables.
Tournaments
Join hundreds and often thousands of other players playing real money poker in India and looking to outlast the rest of the field and walk away with the top prize. Once you lose your stack, you’re eliminated, and the number of tables dwindles, all while the blind levels go up.
Usually, the top 20% or so of players “make the money”. The higher up you finish, the more you’ll win. Just like cash games, most MTTs are Hold’em, but you can also play Omaha or mixed game tourneys.
Look out for rebuy tourneys at the best poker sites, where you get another shot if you bust, and knockout formats where you win a small bounty from every player you eliminate, as well as any finishing prize money at the end.
Jackpot Sit & Gos
A sit & go, or SNG for short, is a single-table tournament available at the majority of the best poker sites in India. In this tournament, only the top two or three players get paid. Jackpot sit & gos have emerged as a fun variation.
They’re three-handed, and before the game begins, a random prizepool multiplier is awarded. It’s usually 1x or 2x the buy-in, but the top prize can run up to 10,000x or even more.
The action in three-handed jackpot sit & gos is fast and furious, with the blinds rising quickly. There’s no time to sit back and simply wait for big starting hands.
Fast-Fold Poker
If you don’t like waiting around between hands at a cash table, consider fast-fold poker. Here, a pool of hundreds of players are automatically seated in a six-handed cash game. When you fold, you’ll be dealt a new hand at a new table right away.
This format is especially useful if you’re claiming rakeback, because you can end up playing many more hands in an hour than you would in a regular cash game.
Think carefully about your strategy, as many players are happy to fold repeatedly and wait for good starting hands, since there’s no waiting around. This is where disguised smaller pocket pairs, or suited connectors, can end up making big hands, and you can win large pots against players who find it hard to fold top pair.
Banking at the Best Online Poker Sites in India
The best online poker rooms have many convenient ways for you to make your deposits and cash out your winnings. Here are the main poker payment options.
- Crypto: Many poker players in India want to play anonymously, and crypto is ideal for that. Using your crypto wallet to play with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies offers full privacy when playing online poker. It’s by far the fastest way to withdraw, and you won’t have to link your bank account details.
- Credit/debit cards: Bank cards are an easy, fast way to deposit money, but withdrawals may take 1 to 3 business days.
- UPI: UPI is the preferred transaction method for millions in India, with instant deposits, withdrawals, and transfers. Some Indian poker sites offer this payment method.
- Wire transfers: You can still transfer funds via wire transfer to some online poker rooms, but this method is the slowest for withdrawals (3+ days) and incurs the highest fees.
KYC at Online Poker Sites in India
KYC stands for Know Your Customer, and it is something that all licensed online gambling sites carry out to prevent money laundering.
While KYC checks may seem a little intrusive, you only need to verify your account by confirming your ID when it’s time to cash out your winnings.
You don’t need to do this when you first sign up. Indeed, many crypto poker sites let you sign up with an email address and a username only and check KYC only when you’re withdrawing larger amounts.
But it’s best to be on the safe side, so try to get the KYC check out of the way early so it doesn’t delay your payout.
Expert Tips for Playing Poker Online
We have many tips to help you get the most from playing online poker in India, but they boil down to two key areas: having a solid grasp of basic poker strategy, and conducting sensible bankroll management.
Here are five top tips to follow:
- Play ABC poker: When you first start playing online poker for real money, don’t be tempted to play in every pot. Sit back, wait for solid starting hands, and play those aggressively, especially when you’re in late position at the table. At the same time, don’t be afraid to fold if you think you’re beaten.
- Study your opponents: While every poker player is different, you can put all of them into buckets. Tight players rarely play a hand, and loose players play too many. Learn to spot these giveaways, and adjust your game accordingly.
- Manage your money: Only put a small amount of your poker bankroll on the line in any cash game or tournament. If you use a maximum of 1-5% on any game, you can take the hit of an unfortunate losing streak without going bust and having to reload your account.
- Use bonuses wisely: Poker rooms pay out bonuses, such as deposit matches and rakeback, to earn your trust and reward your play. These offers can boost your profits, so ensure you’re getting what you deserve. Always check your site’s promotions page for the latest offers.
- Be responsible: Poker should be fun. Chasing losses, playing when you’re upset, or sitting at the tables for too long will begin to impact your decision-making. So, take a break and come back with a clear head, and always only play with what you can afford to lose.
Taxes on Online Poker in India
Any money you make while playing online poker in India is tax-free. Online sites are no longer allowed to base themselves in India, so you can now choose to play at international poker rooms, which are not subject to the Indian tax authorities.
Any withdrawals you make from sites like CoinPoker or ACR are yours to keep. But remember that any cash or digital deposits to your bank account are also reported if the amount exceeds a threshold. Crypto in India is also taxable, with profits taxed at a flat 30%.
Prior to the new anti-online gambling laws passing in India in the summer of 2025, poker rooms had to pay a 28% goods and services tax on deposits to the Indian authorities, but this no longer applies since these sites are based internationally.
Key Takeaways
Even though online poker rooms can no longer operate in India, nothing is preventing you from signing up and playing poker online for real money at international websites.
CoinPoker tops our list of the best online poker sites in India, thanks to its fast deposits and withdrawals, action-packed tables, and solid selection of bonuses.
Despite recent changes to online gambling regulations in India, there’s no law preventing you from signing up with one of our recommended international poker rooms.
FAQs
What’s the best poker site for real money?
Can I play poker with real money online in India?
Can I win real money playing poker online?
Can I play poker online for free in India?
Which app is best to play poker in India?
Can I use a VPN to play online poker?
References
- Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 (Press Information Bureau)
