Gibraltar-based Partypoker.com has more than 1 million registered users, said the company's general manager, Vikrant Bhargava. As with all of the larger poker sites, most players are U.S. residents, and can play for either real money or play money.
Online gaming executives say they would welcome legalization of their industry, with regulation and taxation so that they could operate more freely.
Citing the possibility of online poker rooms being used for money laundering, the Justice Department has pressured credit card companies to refuse to let players conduct transactions with the sites using credit cards.
Instead, U.S. players must use services that deduct or add funds to their checking accounts.
The Justice Department has told publications, Web sites and other media outlets that they cannot accept advertising from online gambling firms. One site is challenging the ban in a lawsuit in New Orleans.
So far, nothing has slowed the online poker juggernaut, which is transforming the tournament landscape that had long been the province of a relatively small circuit of professionals.
Last year, the World Series was won by the aptly named Chris Moneymaker, a Tennessee accountant who had honed his skills and qualified for the series by winning an online tournament. Moneymaker, an unknown in poker circles, became an overnight media sensation.
Online poker is minting a whole breed of young, aggressive players who are taking the sport by storm in part because they can gain experience quickly. Poker online moves fast, with time restrictions for considering bets.
With no waiting for a human to shuffle and deal, people often play more than 30 hands in an hour. Some play at multiple tables, using extra-large or dual computer monitors.
"In the 1990s, it would have taken you 20 years to get the amount of experience that it takes in a year now," said Annie Duke, who has been tutoring Affleck and is regarded by many as the top female professional in the game.
