US Online Gambling
Gambling.org has been a trusted internet provider of gambling information dating back to1996. As one of the world’s oldest trusted online gambling news providers we’re here to best explain your options when it comes to wagering on the web.
For example, we can provide the best online gambling sites available to US customers, legit places to bet on baseball, or the top online casinos at which to play slot machines. While all of our trusted sites are both safe and reliable, some are better for specific activities than others. MyBookie – Widest variety of sports betting options online. Bovada – Most trusted brand in United States sports betting. BetNow – Lucrative bonus opportunities for US sports bettors. SportsBetting.ag – Real money betting offered in all 50 states in the USA. Rating: (4.9/5.0) MyBookie. Rating: (4.8/5.0) BetNow. Rating: (4.8/5.0) Bovada. Rating: (4.7/5.0) Las Atlantis. Rating: (4.7/5.0).
Listed below we’ve reviewed some of the top US online casinos and explained how legal online gambling in the United States of America works.
You need to take this topic seriously as gambling is a risky venture to begin with. Add to that the complexities of different, changing and difficult to interpret gambling laws that you have for people in lock down currently on our home planet earth.
Generally speaking, there is a huge wave of momentum in the United States of America with more states beginning to allow their residents to bet online.
On gambling.org we’ve been covering the internet casino gambling market over 20 years.
Browse our home page to get started learning about gambling sites today before you start gambling for real online.
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Best USA Online Casinos [LEGAL]
The team at gambling.org are specialists with learning the real deal on gambling site trustworthiness.
Top quality customer support services based on gambler’s feedback is a major rankings factor for the online casino rankings found on the gambling.org website. Other factors considered in our ratings process include average slots payouts (RTP) and quality of iGaming regulation.
Top 5 Rated USA Online Casinos for Real Money
These 5 legal USA online gambling sites have the betting entertainment action that you’re seeking.
Las Vegas Online Gambling
To the surprise of many, Vegas hasn’t embraced the online casino/sports gambling movement as feverishly as you might have otherwise thought. While Las Vegas online gambling in legal, USA players can only bet on poker online in Vegas and throughout the state of Nevada. Even still, online poker gambling is widely popular and accepted in Nevada and there’s some seriously high “high roller” action taking place.
The poker players in Nevada that play online are beyond highly skilled. Many of those guys are true masters of the game. Some of those poker players can play poker on such a high level similar to how I’ll play blackjack running circles around the table, players & dealers when I get deep in the zone. You don’t want to get against players like that because they’ll eat you alive.
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US States with Legal Online Gambling
There are currently around 15 states in the USA with legalized online gaming either already established and operating or with the legislation passed and the final regulation states being established.
The USA states that allow online gambling real money on sports games are:
- New Jersey
- West Virginia
- Delaware
- Maine
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- Illinois
- Indiana
- South Carolina
- Colorado
- Nevada
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- New Hampshire
Online Gambling in New Jersey: Casino, Poker, Sports Betting
The state of New Jersey earned the honor of bringing regulated online gambling sites to the United States of America. In 2013, NJ officials led by Governor Chris Christie won their case against the United States Federal Government for their right to legally operate online wagering websites.
Internet gambling that takes places in New Jersey are regulated by the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement.
For players betting from within the state, you have a good number of NJ regulated online gambling sites to play on.
Pennsylvania Online Gambling
Pennsylvania has the second largest USA regulated internet gambling market coming in right after NJ.
And also like it is in New Jersey but few other states, gamblers have the holy trifecta of online gambling available to then in PA, with regulations passed allowing for betting at online sports betting bookmakers, online poker sites and real money online casinos.
Bookmark gambling.org now and come back every week for more USA gambling laws news updates.
Offshore Regulated Gambling Sites for US Gamblers
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If you’re in a state without regulations passes then offshore licensed casinos remain the only option available to most United States gamblers. Since there are no regulations against internet gambling in most states, its not illegal to gamble online for the majority of Americans.
The issue is that the online casinos available to USA players are either licensed by countries other than the United States, or they’re not a licensed casino at all.
Top Ten Us Gambling Sites
Read these articles for more in-depth state-by-state US online gambling data analysis from gambling.org iGaming authority analysts and team of expert gamblers:
US players should NEVER BET with an internet casino that is unlicensed.
That’s a huge red flag to watch out for to anyone in unregulated America searching for an online casino gambling site to play on that’s USA-friendly.
However, the recent trend of 15+ states approving regulations to allow for online sports gambling I think a logical deduction that a wave of online casino regulation will swell shorty after this USA sports betting monsoon that we’re seeing come through now.
Gambling has been around for a good few thousands of years now. Ever since ancient times, humans have begun creating and participating in all sorts of gambling and betting activities. The more sports were born, the more options people had to wager money and other goods on their favorite athletes. One could think that after hundreds of years of “modern” gambling, new things don’t appear as often – but that is a mistake.
The technological revolution and movement to online and connected devices has greatly influenced the gambling business and shaped in into what it is today: a global, mature and strong industry with hundreds of millions, if not billions, of fans. And the gambling industry contains so many different things: take casinos, for example. In the last couple of decades, casinos have moved from those gigantic, brick-and-mortar buildings into the online world and have gathered even more fans than before.
Sports betting, another large branch of the gambling industry, has also moved online. More and more bookmakers are relying almost entirely on online betting portals in most countries around the world. Classic games such as poker, blackjack and slots now have online versions which rake in just as much money and fans as their real-world variants. Even bingo and other similar games now have moved onto the internet! And although all these parts of the betting industry have some fascinating stories, today we’ll be focused on the biggest two: casinos and sports betting.
Moving into the online realm hasn’t only come with benefits – it also brought companies a fair share of new challenges which they never considered before. The biggest one, arguably, is attracting new customers in this age of information. 10 or 20 years ago, the process to attract new people was fairly easy, and customers used to play with the same casino and bookmaker tens of years.
These days, people are quick to switch from one bookmaker to another and have lots of information about them for comparisons. This means that the best sportsbooks have to be on points about their offers, and also make sure that their customers get a comprehensive, full experience: good customer supports, lots of options and betting markets, great money management, and, arguably, the most important part: a bonus scheme.
Best Welcome Bonuses From US Gambling Sites
Types of Gambling Bonuses Explained
Bonuses are very important for new customers when it comes to choosing their gambling company of choice. These bonuses come in all shapes and sizes and in various forms, and are more often than not tied to the object of the gambling company, such as sports betting and casino bonuses, poker or bingo new account offers.
Sports Betting Bonuses: Free Bets, Enhanced Odds, Sign Up Offers
Sports betting bonuses also come in multiple forms. The deposit matching bonus is also present in the sports betting industry, so we won’t go into detail about it again. Among the other bookmaker sign up bonuses, the free bet is the one which we absolutely need to discuss, since it’s one of the most present across the industry. It doubles both as a welcome bonus and a bonus for existing customers.
Simply put, after you make a deposit, the bookmaker opts to give you a free bet of a certain amount – usually ranges from a few pounds to 20 or 30. If this bet is a winner, you get to keep the money. If it’s a loser, the bookmaker reimburses your initial wager, making it a great win-win solution.
Since sports betting is such a vast domain, bonuses in this area tend to become very specific as well. For example, we haven’t even mentioned betting offers like enhanced odds for certain games, or accumulator bonuses, or many other tools which bookmakers use to attract new customers to their site. We did, however, mention the two biggest bonuses in the sports betting industry, and that should be enough for now.
Casino Bonuses: Deposit, No Deposit, Matched, Free Spins
For online casinos, bonuses usually come in two large forms: deposit bonuses and free spins. Deposit bonuses, in turn, come in two big categories: no-deposit bonuses (weird, we know) and deposit-matching bonuses. They work quite similar. The bookmaker offers new customers an amount of bonus money (not real money) which they can access and withdraw after they’ve met a series of conditions.
The difference between them is that some companies offer these bonuses just for opening an account, without any deposit – typically, these bonuses are much smaller than the deposit matching ones, and only amount a few dollars or tens of dollars at max. By contrast, deposit matching means that the bookmaker offers you a bonus, ranging from 50% to 200% of your first deposit. If you made a $100 deposit and have a 50% bonus, you get another $50 you can use on the website.
Free spins work a lot easier – the casino offers you a limited amount of free spins, ranging from a few tens to a hundred or so, usually in some of their games which need more players. These are great for the fun of the game and can bring some nice winnings, but you have to carefully check the pay ratio of the game they’re given in. If it’s less than 47-48% on average, just use your free spins and then move the rest of your money elsewhere. More on these bonuses later, but we hope you got the main idea – they’re not very complicated.
Poker Bonuses
Top 5 Online Gambling Sites
Poker has known an enormous rise in popularity since more and more people started playing it on the internet. Before, only the best were able to compete at events, and for most of them, it wasn’t a very profitable affair. Nowadays, millions of players register for the biggest online poker events, and a lot of them use bonus money to do so. Just as in other domains, online poker companies offer their new players bonus money to begin their journey, and even a free buy-in at certain tournaments – and they get to keep all the winnings, too. Usually, the companies who only deal with poker have better bonuses than “all-in-one” gambling sites.
Bingo Bonuses
Bingo bonuses are a thing too, especially since bingo has moved in the online realm as well. It doesn’t have the same popularity as other online gambling areas, but it still deserves a mention. First deposit bonuses (like the ones we’ve described above for online casinos or bookmakers) are the most common type of bonus in the business, while other, more niche-like bonuses tend to get stuck in second place.
We’ve mentioned “all in one” gambling sites above and want to offer a bit of a clarification. There are two main categories of gambling sites which you should be aware of: the first category is the “dedicated” websites. They’re either an online casino, or a bookmaker, or a poker room, with little to no interaction with other gambling disciplines. They’re usually great for expert players who are looking for top-notch solutions and bonuses, but no so much for the average gambler who might be looking for more fun.
Bonus Money vs Real Money
For this category, you have the complex sites: which are both a casino, a sports betting website, and which offer other games as well. Nowadays, due to more and more technology and money being invested in the gambling industry, the quality difference tends to fade – more and more “all-in-one” gambling sites now offer top-notch services across the board.
One thing has to be remembered about all the mentioned bonuses, though: in most cases, the winnings you receive come in the form of bonus money, not real money. This means that certain terms and conditions have to be fulfilled before this bonus money can be withdrawn from your betting accounts. Ergo, knowing these terms and conditions before you opt in for any kind of bonus is extremely important.
About The Terms of Gambling Promotions
Most first deposit bonuses have a playthrough condition. If you receive $100 in bonus money with a betting broker, you have to bet at least 3 or 4 times the money before any bonus money you still have left over can be withdrawn. When it comes to free bets, only certain types of bets qualify: usually, with odds greater than a certain value or only on a handful of sporting events. These are all things which can be found on a gambling company’s website, and we strongly recommend reading them before opening an account with a new betting site.
Account Opening: The Steps
Speaking of opening an account, are you familiar with how the process looks, between selecting a broker and opting in for a bonus, then making your first play? Quite easy!
A) First off, choose your gambling partner. This can be an easy task (compare the 2-3 which you already know), or a daunting one, which requires a good few months of analysis.
B) Open your gambling account. The entire process takes a few minutes, because financial details also need to be submitted.
C) Opt in for any welcome bonus the gambling company has. Be very careful to read the terms and conditions of the bonus BEFORE opening your account. Some gambling websites have very easy opt-in solutions, while other are a bit of a hassle and require some studying before.
D) Make your first play! Either hit a slot game, or place a sports bet, or even sit at a poker table. Time to put your money to work!
Choosing The Right Online Gambling Site
Nowadays, this entire process takes between 5 to 10 minutes, tops – that is, considering that you’ve done your homework regarding your gambling partner. That process can be very easy for some people, but the more serious you are about gambling, the more time and effort you need to invest in choosing the right gambling site. If you’re uncertain about what the major points which you should look out for are, look no further:
Security and Licenses
Playing with a website which is regulated and working under the laws of a certain country or region is the standard in this day and time. Make sure that your website of choice has all the necessary approvals and settle for nothing less than 100% legal.
Reputation and Ratings
The internet is a wonderful thing sometimes – meaning that you are now able to see the real-world feedback from hundreds of thousands of players about a certain gambling site at any given time. Take a few minutes to read through them, explore our sportsbook reviews pages too, and choose a partner which other people love to play with. Pay attention to those who have long-term relationships with a gambling provider – those are usually great signs of quality.
Sign Up Bonuses and Promotions
Nowadays, you should never settle for anything less than a great bonus scheme. This doesn’t only mean a big signup bonus. Try to find out about how often they treat existing customers with bonuses, and how these bonuses look and feel.
Bankroll Management
Financial management has gone a long way since brick-and-mortar shops and casinos, where you only needed cash. Nowadays, the modern gambling website has to have quick deposits and withdraws from lots of different providers: credit cards, online wallets like Paypal or Skrill, prepaid cards, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are just a few. You can find out more about each deposit and withdrawal method bellow:
Customer Support
Customer support becomes increasingly important. The option to have live chats with a representative of the betting company is always handy, together with an e-mail and phone call. Remember that some bookmakers only offer support between office hours.
Website Features and Mobile Apps
Website & app performance. If all the other things are in order, but the website or mobile app that you’re using is slow and crashes often, you’ll quickly become frustrated and be on the lookout for a new partner. In this age of technology, you shouldn’t settle for anything less than top performance.
Games, Odds and Betting Markets
Quality of games/odds. Last but certainly not least, remember that gambling is a number’s game: make sure you’re receiving close to the best odds or games the market has to offer.
While these are all great general pieces of advice, there are some particularities which should be investigated in every country or region, depending on local traditions, market type and regulations. Let’s give a few examples of what we mean.
Summary and Final Thoughts
In the end, we hope this gambling guide was a useful starting point for a long and fruitful experience with the gambling industry. We recommend setting realistic expectations, in accordance to what you want to get out of the gambling market: if you’re looking to have fun and spend some money here and there, don’t expect to become a millionaire overnight.
Even if you’re a seasoned gambler, remember that gains are made over long periods of time, and overnight success is luck and nothing more. That being said, remember to take the games with a mix of relaxation and seriousness, and contact your local gambling hotline if you have any issues with addition. These games can provide endless hours of profitability and fun, if you treat them responsibly and with the seriousness they require.
FAQ
- To make finding the best US gambling sites and choosing the one that meets your requirements easy and fast, we have reviewed and listed them on this page. The most important signals gamblers are looking for are betting options, markets, casino games and bonuses the operator offers for new and already registered players. Other very important features are fast payments, deposit and withdrawal methods, safety and mobile compatibility.
- Yes. Online gambling sites in the USA have many types of bonuses for players. When players check out the bonus section of US gambling sites, they’ll find out their welcome, deposit and no deposit, reload bonuses and, of course, free bets and spins. There are also loyalty bonuses for players who registered long time ago and can’t benefit from welcome or sign-up bonuses. It’s very important to mention that any bonus has wagering requirements, so players should read and understand them well before claiming them.
- Almost all online gambling sites offer free games to give players a chance to test the games before playing for real money, but it depends on the jurisdiction they are based on and the country’s gambling legalization.
- Is it safe to open an account in US online gambling sites and start playing?+In general, yes, it is, if you register and gamble on safe and trustworthy site. Any player must do their own research before opening an account and playing on a particular US gambling site. In this page players can find a list of gambling sites that have proved their safeness for many years and even decades. Any gambling site that’s considered safe must provide encryption for data safety, license from some trusted gambling authority, and, of course, quality money management options.
- In our age it’s difficult to imagine a website that isn’t mobile compatible. Many gambling operators have their own apps for Android and iOS smartphones. These apps can be downloaded and installed from the particular gambling site’s or from the app stores.