Not legal advice. This is a summary of public law and ClubGG's terms as read on 31 October 2026. Laws change and how they apply depends on your situation. If it matters, ask a lawyer in your country. We don't explain, and won't help with, getting around geo-blocks, store restrictions or payment blocks.
Read this table in three columns
Each market raises three separate questions: is the app in the App Store, how is play-money poker treated, and how is real-money online poker treated. Real-money club deals are never part of ClubGG's service; see is ClubGG real money?
| Market | App Store (31 Oct) | Play-money poker | Real-money online poker |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Present | ClubGG's home market. Some states are excluded by the terms (below). | Not covered in this guide |
| United Kingdom | Absent | Gambling Act 2005 s.6: a prize must be “money or money's worth”. The Gambling Commission has said that winning more chips isn't a prize. | Needs a Gambling Commission remote operating licence |
| Netherlands | Absent | Wok art. 1 needs “prijzen of premies” (prizes). No Ksa guidance on social poker. | Ksa licence only. Art. 1(1)(b) also bans promoting unlicensed games. |
| Germany | Present | GlüStV 2021 §3 needs an “Entgelt” (fee) for a chance to win | GGL licence only |
| Spain | Present | Ley 13/2011 art. 2.2(a) excludes pure leisure games with no transfer of economic value | DGOJ licences |
| Norway | Present | Pengespilloven §2 needs a “premie av økonomisk verdi”. Rules on gambling-like elements in games are under consultation. | No legal domestic offer. A consultation on Norsk Tipping online poker closes 29 Nov 2026. |
| Romania | Present | OUG 77/2009 needs material, usually monetary, winnings | ONJN remote licences |
| Israel | Present | Riskier: Penal Law §224 counts “money's worth or a benefit” and needs no stake. No ruling on free apps. | Illegal |
| Vietnam | Present | Restricted by Decree 147/2024 (see below) | No online licence. Penal Code arts. 321–322. |
| Mainland China | Absent | Card games need NPPA approval, and chips can't be redeemed for money | Illegal. Criminal Law art. 303. |
| Mexico | Present | No specific rule found | SEGOB permit regime (Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos) |
| Brazil | Present | No restriction found | Not covered by Lei 14.790/2023. Treated as a skill game and unregulated, according to a 2024 legal guide. |
The App Store listing was also present in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, and absent in South Korea (checked 30 October). We haven't checked Google Play availability country by country.
US states, Canada and Australia: the terms' own list
ClubGG's terms (§10(d)) name these as Prohibited Jurisdictions, with the wording “include, but not be limited to”:
| Country | Excluded |
|---|---|
| United States | Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Louisiana |
| Canada | Quebec |
| Australia | New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory |
- US players must be US citizens or resident aliens with a US address, physically in an unrestricted state.
- Embargoed countries: residents of US-embargoed countries are barred.
- Everyone must be 18 or older, or the legal age where you live if that's higher.
- Outside the US: the company “makes no representation” that the software is appropriate or available there, and using it from abroad is at your own risk.
- Geo-filtering: ClubGG says it uses filtering to limit access from ineligible places.
Trade press reported that ClubGG pulled its subscription service from Michigan in October 2024, citing state law changes.
Notes on the stricter markets
Vietnam: Decree 147/2024
Decree 147/2024/ND-CP, in force since 25 December 2024, bans online games with “content and scenarios resembling prizewinning games in casinos” and images of playing cards. It also bars trading virtual items for cash, and law-firm commentary says cross-border online games remain prohibited. On that reading, even play-money poker apps aren't lawfully offered without a local licence. The app was still in the Vietnamese App Store on 31 October. We don't know whether the decree is enforced against foreign store apps.
Mainland China: Criminal Law art. 303
Article 303 covers gathering people to gamble, opening a casino, and, since March 2021, organising Chinese citizens to gamble abroad. In Guiding Case No. 105, the Supreme People's Court treated recruiting gamblers into online groups and running betting for profit as “opening a casino”. That describes agent-run real-money clubs closely. The app isn't in the Chinese App Store.
Israel
Israel's definition covers winning “money, money's worth or a benefit” and needs no stake, so it's broader than EU definitions. No court has ruled on free apps.
Norway
Two consultations are open: one on letting Norsk Tipping offer online poker (closing 29 November 2026), and one on gambling-like elements in video games, which could later cover apps with purchasable chips.
The paid-qualifier question
Pure play money is the easy case. The harder one is paying for WSOP+ to enter qualifiers that award $1,700 event tickets. ClubGG runs these as US-style sweepstakes with a free mail-in entry. In the UK (prize of “money's worth”), Spain (contests with a paid entry) and Germany (a fee for a chance to win), a payment plus a valuable prize could be judged differently from free play. That's our reading of the statutes, not a regulator's finding. ClubGG's footer says it “operates within the States and Territories in which it is legal to do so”.
Before you install: a quick check
- Is the app in your official store? If not, stop there. Don't sideload or change regions.
- Are you in a jurisdiction the terms exclude? If yes, don't sign up. Prize claims need ID and proof of residence.
- Will you only use play chips? If anyone offers money for chips, read is ClubGG legit? first.
- Our install guide lists the official sources for each device.
Questions people ask
Is ClubGG legal in the US?
Is ClubGG legal in California or Texas?
Why can't I find ClubGG in the UK or Dutch App Store?
Is ClubGG legal in Australia?
Is playing for money in a ClubGG club legal anywhere?
Where these facts come from
Checked against these official pages and store listings on 2026-10-31. If ClubGG changes something, its own terms win.
Read next
clubgg.poker is an independent handbook. It is not the ClubGG website and has no connection to ClubGG, NSUS Group or GGPoker. Install the app only from the App Store, Google Play or ClubGG's own site.