Best VPNs for Online Poker in 2024 (Unblock Safely)

People enjoy playing online poker for entertainment or to earn a quick buck. Sites like PokerStars and 888Poker are becoming increasingly popular, but the risks are also significant. Winning a hand won’t matter if your connection drops or a hacker gains access to your private information. It’s also hard to play in countries where such sites are banned.

You can overcome all of these challenges by using a good VPN. A VPN provides numerous privacy and security benefits to keep your money and identity safe. Connecting from a different VPN server allows you to get past any restrictions and continue playing poker wherever you are. It will also make sure your ISP doesn’t slow you down.

Clearly, you shouldn’t entrust your security to just any VPN provider. This is why we’ve done the research and found the best VPNs for poker that offer excellent unblocking capabilities, fast speeds, along with strong privacy and security.

1. NordVPN – The all-around best VPN for poker, with excellent security features, fast speeds, and a massive global network of servers (get 74% off with this coupon).
2. Surfshark – A fast VPN with unlimited simultaneous connections, all on a budget.
3. ExpressVPN – Classic premium VPN with a consistent speeds and stringent no-logs policy.
4. IPVanish – Great poker VPN that supports multiple platforms and offers terrific speed.

In this article we will cover top poker VPNs in detail, give you good reasons to use them and provide tips how to get the most out of them. Finally, we will cover all frequently asked questions.

Key takeaways

• A premium VPN allows you to bypass geoblocks and unlock popular poker websites from anywhere. It will also protect your outgoing data with encryption and keep you anonymous

  during high-stakes games.

• When looking for top poker VPN, focus on services that provide fast speeds, advanced security features, total privacy, and worldwide server network. We highly recommend using NordVPN, as it performed the best in our test results (screenshots below).

• Using a VPN for poker requires compliance with poker site policies. You should also make sure that playing online poker is legal in your country. If you are from the US, use servers located in New York or California, as these states have relaxed laws around online gambling.

How to Set Up and use a VPN for Poker

A VPN connects you to a new server and gives you a new IP address. This tricks online gambling websites into thinking that you are accessing from a different location, allowing you to start playing poker in seconds.

A premium VPN will also encrypt your outgoing data. This is crucial because encryption prevents third parties from accessing your sensitive information, including your identity and credit card data.

To begin using a VPN for poker, all you have to do is:

1. Subscribe to a premium VPN for poker.
   
   We recommend using NordVPN or another VPN in this guide.
2. Register, download, and install the VPN app on your device.
3. Use your credentials to log into the app.
4. Enable advanced security features.
   
   Make sure that all leak protection tools and the kill switch are turned on.
5. Connect to a VPN server in a location where online gambling is available.
   
   You'll likely get the fastest connection with the lowest latency by using a nearby server.
6. Securely and privately play poker online.

In this example, I am using NordVPN to connect to a NordVPN server in New York (USA). This allowed me to access and gamble on a popular poker website.

Congratulations, you are now able to securely play online poker!

Now, we will cover each top VPNs for poker in more detail.

NordVPN – Ultimate VPN for Poker

NordVPN is our favorite poker VPN for a myriad of reasons. It has one of the biggest VPN networks, spanning 6,300+ servers in 111 countries. This includes many servers in New York, which is a great location for playing poker. NordVPN is powered by multiple advanced VPN protocols, including NordLynx.

NordLynx is ideal for our needs because it provides an instant and secure connection with impressive speeds. In our NordVPN vs ExpressVPN comparison, we have done multiple speed tests to see how good it really is. We got impressive results when connected to NY VPN servers, often reaching over 600 Mbps, as you can see in the screenshot below.

However, security is much more important than speed when it comes to playing poker online. To keep you safe, NordVPN uses impenetrable AES 256 GCM encryption to safeguard your financial information. There are also various leak protection tools in place (IPv6, WebRTC, and DNS) that will make sure your identity doesn't end up online. When everything else fails, you can rely on its powerful kill switch for security.

NordVPN Premium Tools

• Obfuscated Servers – These servers hide your VPN traffic from your ISP. Using obfuscation may be crucial if you are from a country that employs strict online censorship or restricts gambling. This is why many people use Nordvpn as a top VPN for China. The downside is that obfuscated servers will slow down your connection a bit.
• Double VPN Servers – Will further boost your security while playing poker. While this will double your encryption, it will also affect your speed. The same feature is present in Surfshark and ProtonVPN.
• Dedicated IP – For a few bucks, you can get an IP address that you don't need to share with anybody. NordVPN’s dedicated IP will improve your performance and may positively affect your security.
• Split Tunneling – Lets you create an exclusive VPN tunnel for playing poker by allowing you to monitor what apps can use NordVPN traffic.
• VPN Proxy – A high-end extension available on all popular browsers.
• VPN Kill Switch –  This stops your private information from ending up online. If all other security methods fail, the kill switch will turn off your Wi-Fi before your identity gets compromised.
• Threat Protection –  An advanced scanner that blocks ads, removes malware and trackers, and stops you from opening suspicious websites.

See all NordVPN features here >>

With NordVPN, you can easily unlock restricted websites like 888Poker and PokerStars. Its app is available on most platforms, including computers and smartphones. This VPN also supports router installation, allowing you to quickly protect multiple devices. By subscribing, you will have 10 simultaneous connections you can use within your household.

NordVPN is a top free trial VPN, so you don't risk anything by trying it. If you're not impressed, simply use its 30-day refund guarantee to get your money back.

Learn more details by heading on to our complete NordVPN review.

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Surfshark – Affordable and Secure Poker VPN

Surfshark is a fast-rising premium VPN from the Netherlands with 3,200+ servers in 100 countries around the globe. This includes many locations where online gambling is fully legal, making it particularly good at unlocking restricted poker sites. Surfshark relies solely on advanced VPN protocols like WireGuard and IKEv2. As such, we expected instant connection to servers, blazing-fast speeds, and military-grade security.

In this NordVPN vs Surfshark comparison, you can see that it clearly delivered. Despite being a budget service, Surfshark can deliver speeds rivaling the best VPNs on the market. Still, NordVPN has an edge due to slightly better performance on remote servers.

Surfshark also does a lot to protect users' privacy and security. It follows a strict no-logs policy by using only RAM servers, which cannot store user data. Everything is automatically wiped out each time the server restarts. To prevent your information from spilling out in real-time, Surfshark uses a kill switch and various leak protection features. There is also powerful AES-256 encryption that will prevent hackers from stealing data from your outgoing traffic.

Rather than relying solely on their words, we always look for independent audits done on the VPN in question. In this case, Surfshark passed them all with flying colors. For example, Cure53 completed a pentest on its browser extension, and the results were impressive.

Surfshark Features

• CleanWeb – A premium ad blocker that eliminates trackers and malware.
• Dynamic MultiHop – A fully customizable version of double VPN servers.
• NoBorders – Allows you to use Surfshark without restrictions even from countries that employ censorship. This is one of the reasons why this is a top  VPN for UAE and Dubai.
• VPN Proxy – A powerful browser extension that prevents identity leaks and stops you from going to suspicious websites.
• Smart DNS
• Kill Switch 
• Obfuscated Servers
• VPN Split Tunneling
• Nexus technology – Switches your IP periodically or every time you visit a new website. This can further boost your security but is slightly inconvenient.

See all Surfshark features here >

Surfshark is available on various devices, including all platforms from which you can play online poker. If you want to protect multiple devices in your household, simply install it directly on your router. This VPN allows unlimited simultaneous connections, so you can protect every device your heart desires. Thanks to its intuitive and minimalistic interface, even beginners can easily navigate Surfshark.

Subscriptions start at $3/month, making Surfshark one of the best cheap VPN services available. Customer support is available 24/7 and will quickly solve your technical difficulties. You don't risk anything by trying Surfshark, as you are protected by a 30-day refund guarantee.

To learn more about it, check out our Surfshark review. 

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ExpressVPN – Classic VPN Service with Airtight Security

ExpressVPN is another reliable poker VPN service with a decade of experience. It has a worldwide network of 3,000+ servers in 105 countries, including many locations that allow you to gamble online. ExpressVPN allows you to choose between solid VPN protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP/IPsec, and Lightway – a direct alternative to WireGuard.

Although our ExpressVPN vs Surfshark comparison showed us that Lightway is a lot slower, it is still good enough for playing poker online. Under the best conditions, our speed was around 330 Mbps.

Now, it's time to examine its privacy and security. Luckily, things seem better in this department. ExpressVPN uses AES 256 encryption to protect your financial data from third parties. Kill switch and split tunneling are also available. This is a true no-logs VPN and, as such, relies solely on RAM servers.

Multiple independent audits cemented ExpressVPN's industry status. Cure53 conducted an extensive pen test on the Lightway protocol, which showed that its security is excellent.

ExpressVPN Advanced Features

• VPN Proxy – An excellent browser extension that makes ExpressVPN one of the best VPNs for Chrome.
• Smart Location – Automatically connects you to a close server that will give you the best performance.
• Device Groups – Lets you connect each device on your network to a different VPN server.
• Obfuscation
• Leak Prevention (IPv6, WebRTC, DNS)
• Split Tunneling
• Kill Switch 
• Media Streamer 
• Threat Manager 

See all ExpressVPN features here >

ExpressVPN is available on all kinds of modern platforms, ranging from computers to smartphones. By installing it on your router, you'll be able to protect multiple devices on your network without having to install it on each device separately. 

ExpressVPN is able to hold eight connections simultaneously. If you want more, we suggest that you take a look at Surfshark or IPVanish. Lastly, this VPN also provides 24/7 support through live chat and has a 30-day refund policy.

Get more information by checking our full ExpressVPN review.

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IPVanish – Cutting-Edge VPN for Poker

IPVanish is a high-end VPN for poker based in the US. Although it has fewer servers than other services we've mentioned (2,200+ in 50 countries), it more than makes up for it in other departments. IPVanish works with three VPN protocols: IKEv2, OpenVPN, and WireGuard.

By using WireGuard, we were able to achieve some of the fastest speeds yet. According to our IPVanish and NordVPN comparison, both services achieved similar performance, although NordVPN was more consistent on remote servers.

To keep you secure and private on your digital poker table, IPVanish uses a combination of AES 256 encryption and a no-logs policy. Although this VPN doesn't yet provide RAM servers, they are working to quickly resolve this challenge. Although IPVanish is based in the United States, a member of the 5-Eyes alliance, independent audits haven't found evidence of it disclosing personal information to the government.

IPVanish Security Features

• SOCKS5 Proxy – Get an even faster connection but lose encryption. This is convenient when you want to use this VPN for torrenting. 
• DNS and IPv6 Leak Protection
• Kill Switch
• Obfuscation (Scramble)
• Split Tunneling

See all IPVanish features here >

This is an ideal VPN if you want to play poker on multiple devices, as IPVanish supports pretty much every VPN-friendly platform. Router installation is also available. Aside from being very affordable, IPVanish will allow you to hold unlimited simultaneous connections.

If you encounter difficulties, just contact its 24/7 customer service through live chat. An annual subscription makes you eligible for a 30-day money-back guarantee.

For more insights, we recommend checking this IPVanish review.

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Benefits of Using a VPN for Poker

Subscribing to a premium VPN service will profoundly impact your privacy, security, and online freedom. Here are our most important reasons to use one:

• Protection from Hackers – High-end VPN apps for poker utilize advanced AES 256 encryption to protect your private information, like credit card data. They will also stop all hacking attempts dead in their tracks. These services also provide many leak protection tools, a kill switch, and split tunneling. Combining them will significantly boost your security and ensure your identity doesn't leak.
• Access Blocked Poker Websites – Poker and gambling, in general, are prohibited or heavily controlled in many countries and US states. A VPN allows you to connect to a foreign server and fool the algorithms into thinking you are physically located in another country. This will lift restrictions and allow you to play online poker from anywhere.
• Remain Private – Premium VPNs come with advanced features that will allow you to play online poker while also preserving your identity.
• Get Better Connection – Your ISP may slow down your speed if it concludes that you are using a lot of bandwidth. You can prevent this by using obfuscation on your VPN, which will hide your internet traffic.

Criteria for Finding Ultimate Poker VPN

Determining which VPN services provide everything you need for securely playing poker online can be challenging. We have decided to make this easy by providing a definitive list of features that you should be looking for:

• Worldwide Server Network— We focused on premium VPNs with healthy networks and thousands of servers in key locations around the globe. This way, you will easily find an optimized connection that allows you to play online poker without restrictions. For example, each VPN on this list has many servers in New York, one of the best gambling US states.
• No Logs Policy & RAM Servers – No-log VPNs won't gather your sensitive information, keeping you private at all times. Many of them also use RAM servers, which are wiped out every time they restart.
• Cross-Platform Support – Best services will provide apps that are compatible with all VPN-friendly devices.
• Secures Your Whole Network – We looked for high-end VPNs for multiple devices, as they allow you to create many simultaneous connections. Ideally, you will be able to protect your entire home network with a single subscription.
• High-End VPN Protocols – Every service we have mentioned relies on advanced protocols to provide fast and secure connections. Depending on your VPN, this will be WireGuard, NordLynx, or Lightway.
• Reasonably Priced – We made sure that all poker VPNs come with an affordable annual subscription and contain many advanced features that will improve your online experience.

Improving Your Poker VPN

While these VPNs work great without any adjustments, we recommend some tips to improve your security and connection quality further. After all, who doesn’t want additional security when it comes to money? You should always make sure to:

• Make Sure Your VPN is Updated – Hackers will always try to find a weak point in security to capitalize on. Keeping your VPN updated ensures any such exploits are fixed and could also further optimize your speed.
• Always Use the Best VPN Protocols -This guide includes services with exceptional protocols, such as Lightway, WireGuard, or NordLynx. They offer the best connection and military-grade encryption, so you should always use them over any other protocol.
• Turn On All Security Features – As with any activity involving money, playing online poker carries various risks. Your kill switch and any leak protection features should always be on while playing. For additional security, you can also use split tunneling to make a secure tunnel for accessing gambling websites.

To get the best protection while playing poker online, use NordVPN.

How to Stay Safe While Playing Poker with a VPN

• Use Popular Poker Sites – It's important to check if the website you want to bet on has valid license. This will tell you that it is operating legally and has security methods in place to protect its users. You should also ensure that the customer support is readily available.
• Don't Withdraw Large Amount of Money – This is risky as it can trigger KYC verification, which will require you to reveal your identity. In the worst case, your account may get frozen.
• Pay Anonymously – Look for websites that allow you to play poker with cryptocurrency, as this doesn't require you to reveal your identity. Some of the most popular sites are Stake, BetFurry, and Bombastic.

Popular Poker Websites

It can be hard to determine whether online poker sites are legit. To save you the time, we've created a list of vetted platforms you can use to play cards.

• FanDuel (take a look at our guide on the best VPNs for FanDuel)
• bet365
• BetMGM
• 888poker
• PokerStars

Where to Play Poker?

Since online gambling is restricted in many countries, it is crucial to know local regulations. If you are located in or near Europe, you will want to use a VPN server in one of these countries:

• Spain
• The Netherlands
• France
• Italy
• UK

Things are equally tricky if you want to use US VPN servers, since playing online poker is legal in 19 US States.

• California
• Delaware
• Florida
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• West Virginia

By the way, it is also completely legal to use VPN in all locations we've mentioned.

Fixing Poker VPN Technical Difficulties

You may experience technical difficulties even while using premium VPNs. So, it would be smart to learn how to solve the most common problems. That way, you can quickly get back to playing poker without waiting on customer support.

1. Unable to Connect to a VPN Server

If you are on the PC and can't join a VPN server, the problem likely lies in your firewall. To test out this theory, you’ll just have to temporarily disable it and try connecting to a new VPN server. If that works, you’ll have to make a firewall exception for your VPN before you can use it to play Poker. We’ll show you how to do this on Windows.

1. Click on Start, then go to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Defender Firewall.
2. Go to Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall > Change Settings and find your VPN on the list.
   
   Make sure to tick the box that says Public. If your VPN app isn’t there, click on Allow another app and Add your VPN.
3. Click on OK, and you are done.

Mac users can solve this by following Apple's firewall guide.

2. The VPN’s IP Address Isn’t Working

This means that your real IP address is leaking. A good first step is to go to VPN’s Settings and enable all Leak Protection features. Disable all background applications you don't need, as they can accidentally show your real location.

Next, you will want to remove your browser’s tracking cookies. They are used to generate ads tailored to your preferences, so they are closely tied to your identity. Clearing your cookies and cache is simple, but the process varies for each browser. You can follow these guides for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Playing Online Poker with a Free VPN

If you’re thinking about using free VPNs to play poker, we advise you to think again. Such services usually have a bad track record and cause more trouble than they’re worth. They might not even work, as poker sites frequently use sophisticated geo-blocking algorithms. Here's a full list of reasons why you should choose a premium service instead:

1. Outdated VPN Protocols

The best premium VPNs use top-of-the-line protocols like WireGuard, NordLynx, and Lightway. Meanwhile, free VPNs rely on older protocols, such as PPTP, which offer significantly slower connections and weaker security.

2. Small Server Network

Online poker websites are restricted in many countries, so it's important to have a VPN with many servers around the world. Free VPNs are limited both in number and scope. Finding a good server will be hard, and it will usually be swamped with other users, which can impact your speed and even get you disconnected.

3. Bandwidth Limitations

While premium VPNs offer unlimited bandwidth and let you play as much as you want, free service frequently puts limits to lessen the load on their servers. With only a few GBs of bandwidth at your disposal, you may only be able to play poker a few times a month.

4. Risk to User Privacy and Security

Besides the danger of losing money due to poor connection or limited bandwidth, free VPNs are often a hazard to their users. Just take a look at the findings of this study done 270+ free mobile VPNs:

• 18% of the services lack encryption.
• More than 38% of free VPNs include malware.
• 75% of the apps contain trackers.
• 66% of free VPNs have inadequate leak protection.

The real reason why many VPNs are free is because they make money from extracting user data. Many services use malware and trackers to obtain as much information before selling it to the ad agencies.

If you’d still like to try your luck, we recommend using one of these best free VPNs. However, it is best to use one of the top free trial VPNs.

Summary

Online poker websites are restricted or heavily regulated in many countries. However, you can  unlock them and start playing cards by using a premium VPN service. It will also keep you anonymous and protect your outgoing data from hackers.

After careful research, we have concluded that NordVPN is the ultimate poker VPN. It provides a high-end encryption to secure your data and has a global network of servers in many countries where you can play online poker. NordVPN also follows a strict no-logs policy and provides smooth connection on remote and close servers.

Other VPN Gambling guides:

• Best VPNs for Gambling Online
• Best VPNs for bet365
• Best VPNs for FanDuel
• Best VPNs for Online Casinos
• Best VPNs for PokerStars
• Best VPNs for PrizePicks
• Best VPNs for Sports Betting
• How to Unblock Stake
• Best VPNs for Stake

Poker VPN FAQ

This guide on the best VPN for online poker was last updated on May 26, 2024.