They most definetly are not. Most of the banks the US poker sites use are located in Puerto Rico. They then use diffrent banks in the US for the paperwork. I do not know about the taxes in the US. But for me living in sweden, I have to tax my winnings. But there is always places you can invest you money so they do not show up in the system.My tip is to use NetEller has worked for me for 2 years now without a problem.