Legal Online Casinos For U.S. Players - Play Casino Games For Cash. This page is dedicated to helping players from the United States find the best legal online casinos that welcome Americans. With that said, each of these sites listed here welcome players from the U.S. In a safe and legal atmosphere. A 15-year casino insider tests the best legal online casinos accepting USA players. Don't play for real money without this. The no-BS results right here.
Trying to understand the legalities surrounding online casinos can be downright confusing for most players. But we've got you covered! Our guide to playing online casinos legally will cover various aspects related to legal US online casinos and the laws that pertain to USA players.
Is Real Money Online Casinos Legal in the US? Most types of online gambling for real money are legal in the US, but there are some implications depending on the state you live in. As of now, you can play legally in New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. In other states, the notion of gambling might not be as clear so the providers can find. Is online poker legal in the United States? For USA players, the good news is that there is no federal law prohibiting US players from creating online poker accounts and playing for real money online. When it comes to state laws, the picture is much cloudier. Finding legal online casinos isn’t hard, you just have to know what you’re looking for and shop around a little. Comparing legal online casinos is a matter of first finding out if casino gambling online is legal where you live, then doing a little bit of work browsing online casino sites and comparing their features. Legal Online Casino Usa. Legalspecializes in the ranking and review of online casinos that cater specifically to United States players. Top-ranked international casinos are also featured, giving you access to the most comprehensive guide available worldwide.Online gambling (or Internet gambling) includes poker, casinos and sports betting.The first online casino was in 1994.
We break down everything so players will have a full understanding of the legal status of internet casino gambling in the United States, which federal laws impact your access to industry resources, and how to access US-friendly online gambling destinations that are legally regulated and licensed to provide their services to USA players.
This guide was created and developed by experienced gamblers who are also industry insiders - providing a perspective from both the player and professional point of view. Once you feel comfortable with the legality of online casino gambling, you can check out our online casino reviews section for insight into each of the brands we recommend.
Are Online Casinos Legal In The US?
Yes, several states have already legalized online gambling with many others on the brink of passing legislation. Also, there are no federal laws that prohibit Americans from playing real money casino games online in the United States. This means that players who reside in a region that has not legalized state-regulated online gambling can still legally play online with an offshore casino.
![Legal casinos in united states Legal casinos in united states](/uploads/1/2/5/1/125186956/997040256.jpg)
Bovada is our preferred brand for US friendly online casino gambling. They offer a generous welcome bonus that is worth up to $3,000 free to play both slots and table games.
All in all, they are an excellent choice for any casino player looking to play with the biggest and most reputable USA friendly brands around. Their payouts are processed fast and efficiently, and they deliver an overall exceptional online gambling experience.
Pros
- US Friendly
- Bovada Casino accepts players from most US states
- Owned and operated by the Bodog network
- Successfully supports US credit card deposits
- Accepts multiple forms of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
- Fast and reliable payouts guaranteed
- Generous $3,000 sign up bonus
- Mobile friendly games
- Most Trusted And Reputable USA Online Casino
Cons
- They only accept U.S., Mexico And Brazil players - no other countries allowed
- Excluded States: NV, NJ, DE, MD
Site | Review | Bonus Offer | USA | Visit |
---|---|---|---|---|
Read Review | 100% Max $3,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 200% Max $1,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 100% Max $1,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 500% Max $5,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 300% Max $9,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 200% Max $20,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 200% Max $10,000 | Play now |
Online Casino Regulation And Legality
Online casino gambling made its debut in the early 1990s, and the industry has been booming ever since. The current legal online gambling climate differs from country to country. In the United States, it can even differ from state to state while in countries outside of the US, legal online casino gambling is prevalent and welcomed.
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In the US, only a handful of states have actually authorized state-regulated online casino gambling, including Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey, who were the first to do so. There are also several other states which have adopted friendly and legal state-based online gambling legislation for their residents and visitors. Additional states are in the process of creating or passing legislation to allow them to enter the domestic online casino market in the United States.
There are still restrictions that come into play, but by and large, United States citizens without access to state-sponsored US Internet casinos can still legally enjoy the web's version of the physical Las Vegas experience by playing at legitimate and legally licensed offshore casinos. There are no federal laws prohibiting offshore online casino gaming.
Best Usa Online Legal Casinos
Online casino betting legality is, however, a frequently changing picture as we've seen through the state-licensed online gambling platforms that are emerging. The FAQ section below will address a host of elements concerning the online casino gambling industry as it pertains to USA players to ensure that American residents have all the information they need to make informed decisions regarding their involvement in real money casino gambling on the Internet.
Frequently Asked Questions About Legal USA Online Casinos
The following information addresses the most commonly asked questions concerning legal online casino gambling in the U.S. We attempted to answer them all with thoughtful, in-depth answers to leave no room for misunderstanding the concepts associated with the online gambling industry and your options as a USA player.
Are Online Casinos Legal in the United States?
In a nutshell, there is nothing at all illegal about playing at an online casino if you live in the United States. Prohibitions in US federal laws have historically targeted those seeking to operate an online casino within the United States, and until 2011 when the DOJ re-interpreted the reach of the Federal Wire Act, nobody was allowed to do so. It has never been illegal to access or play real money games at an offshore online casino that is operating legally within its residing jurisdiction and the industry as a whole.
There are two states that do prohibit online gambling in general, regardless of its source, those being Connecticut and Washington. Though the restrictions are not enforced in these two states, we suggest players in those states follow the rule of law.
As mentioned above, there are multiple US states that have launched a state-licensed and regulated online casino gambling platform for their residents. Players who are located within those states have access to state-sanctioned online gambling. Anybody located outside of those regions must either rely on land-based gambling destinations or consider visiting legally licensed and regulated offshore casino websites.
What Laws Pertain To Online Casino Gambling In America?
The Federal Wire Act was relevant to state-regulated online casino gambling prior to 2011 when the DOJ deemed the law to only apply to US-based sports betting. However, since the repeal of PASPA in 2018, the primary function of this law is to restrict interstate wagering, or in other words, prohibit bets from crossing state lines. This has caused some conflict with states that have entered into interstate gaming compacts to share player pools - so those details are still being hammered out.
The UIGEA law does not prohibit US residents from participating in gambling at legitimate online casinos that are regulated and located outside of America. In fact, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is not directed at players at all but rather targets online casino operators and payment processors, administering regulatory oversight regarding how online gambling transactions can be processed.
There are no federal laws that make it illegal for U.S. residents to participate in offshore online casino gambling at destinations that are operating within the industry legitimately, meaning they are legally licensed and regulated by a respected governing jurisdiction or they are owned and operated by a parent company that holds licensing credentials for one or more jurisdictions. Therefore you are not violating any US laws by enjoying real money casino gambling on the Web as long as you are restricting your gameplay to legitimate websites.
What is the Legal Online Gambling Age in the US?
This is one instance where state law takes the driver's spot. Most American friendly online casinos accept players as young as 18 years old. However, most states mandate that players meet a minimum age requirement of 21 years old before they can legally engage in gambling entertainment. The laws in your state will dictate the legal age at which you may access legal online casino destinations.
Players who live in a state without an established gambling age cannot gamble online at a reputable online casino prior to turning 18. Anyone participating in underage gambling is subject to criminal prosecution by state or local law enforcement. The legal gambling age in the United States varies by state.
Are Online Casinos Located Offshore Safe?
As long as you restrict your involvement to only those casino websites that have been verified to be legally licensed and regulated by a legitimate governing jurisdiction, then yes, enjoying online casino games online is perfectly safe. If you waiver on legitimacy even slightly, you risk landing at a dangerous, questionable or low quality casino destination. The sites we recommend are audited for fair gaming practices by third party agencies.
Each of the casinos you see recommended in this guide have been vetted by our team of professional analysts to ensure they hold legitimate licensing (or are owned and operated by a parent company that does) and are subject to genuine regulatory oversight from a respected governing authority.
We also closely examine their security protocols and technology to ensure that any brand included in our guide is able to adequately protect your sensitive data. In order to be considered for inclusion here, each casino must employ a security profile that exceeds licensing requirements and industry standards to provide protection that is comparable to world-class financial institutions.
What Types of Games Will I Find at US Friendly Online Casinos?
The online casinos recommended in this guide all provide a substantial selection of casino games in their menu. Flash technology, cutting-edge 3-D graphics, video, and animation mean very realistic Vegas style versions of popular casino games like slots, baccarat, blackjack, roulette, video poker, Let It Ride, Keno, and craps. You will find that some of these casinos also offer additional platforms, such as sports betting, horse racing, esports and poker.
Am I Required to Download Software in Order to Play Real Money Casino Games Online?
Most reputable online casinos offer an option for instant play casino games or a downloadable suite of casino games. In some cases the downloadable option provides an expanded selection of games and features, however, I personally use the instant play casino games option more often than not, and I've never been disappointed with the performance or selection. Downloadable games are becoming fewer and far between as technology advances.
All of our recommended gambling destinations also offer a mobile casino app to play their games from your smartphone or tablet, and 99% of the casinos do not require a download of any kind in order to access and enjoy the games.
How Do I Make Deposits and Withdrawals
Most US friendly internet casinos support cryptocurrency deposits such as Bitcoin, credit card deposits and check or money transfer withdrawal options. You will also occasionally see additional US friendly deposit and withdrawal options such as secure payment vouchers, and prepaid cards.
The selection of funding methods varies from brand to brand. You can log into a casino's banking suite for more information, or speak to customer support for assistance. We recommend everyone become familiar with Bitcoin and signup with one of the recommended legal Bitcoin casinos we review. Bitcoin is the future of online gambling, online shopping, and money transfers, so it will benefit you in more ways than one to learn about it.
What are the Most Important Considerations that Every Player Should Pay Attention to When Selecting an Online Casino to Play at?
Here are our number one requirements that determine if a brand is worthy of further scrutiny for possible inclusion in our guide. Our process is of course much more in-depth, but these elements will immediately rule out the questionable brands:
Legality – does the casino (or its parent company) hold legal licensing and are they regulated by legitimate governing authority? This is the first thing we look at. A casino that can't meet this requirement is definitely off our list. Most reputable brands are fairly transparent with this information and proud to share documentation that validates their compliance with industry regulations.
Security – We have very stringent standards when it comes to the security profile of any online gambling site. We require the presence of advanced data encryption technology, sophisticated fraud prevention and antivirus protection, and a trained professional technical team for monitoring these systems around the clock.
Reputation – we reach out to other industry professionals and players to see what a casino's reputation is like throughout the online gambling community. While we don't make any decisions based solely on this information, we do take it into consideration and compare it to our own experiences when testing and examining the site ourselves.
Performance – we require a high end, a feature-rich performance that is free of glitches and software triggered interruptions. Because consistency is a key indicator, our testing period is significant in order to return legitimate results.
Customer Support – incompetent or non-responsive customer support is a deal-breaker for us. We aggressively test their competence, responsiveness, and ability to deal with issues from simple to complex. Anywhere that you consider investing your money has got to provide a high-quality customer support staff or your money will always be at risk.
Banking Suite – we must find successful support of US friendly deposit methods and withdrawal options. After all, if you can't get your money in and out of the casino, what good are they? They must also process transactions timely and efficiently.
If a particular online casino scores high on all these elements, we take them to a deeper level of testing and put them on the potential list for inclusion in our guide.
Are Online Casino Bonuses Legit?
The answer to this question depends on where you are playing. If you are visiting one of our recommended casinos, then yes, the bonus offers and promotions are legitimate and are accompanied by reasonable wagering requirements and terms. Most of these offers are structured as match deposit bonuses in which casino site agrees to match a certain percentage of your initial deposit or group of deposits. For example, if a casino offers a 100% match up to $100, they are saying they will match your initial deposit up to a maximum of $100.
On the flip side, the questionable online casinos use attractive bonus offers to lure in unsuspecting players with no intention of honoring the agreement. This is another danger that can be alleviated by relying on expert input regarding which online casino brands you should consider playing at.
What do land-based casinos, riverboat cruise ships, some internet cafes and your smartphone have in common? They all offer legal slots betting for real money, albeit with unique advantages and disadvantages. The traditional 'one armed bandit' which can still be found in abundance in brick and mortar casinos worldwide is known as a 'slot machine' in the US, 'fruit machine' in the UK, 'the slots' in Canada and a 'poker machine' or 'pokie' in New Zealand and Australia. And this incredibly simple game is also unbelievably thrilling and enjoyable, with a mere push of a button or pull a lever dictating a chance outcome. What makes slots so popular and a far cry from poker is that you really don't need to have any refined skills to enjoy and do well at slots games either online or offline. And with enticing bonuses and promotions available to USA players, it's no wonder this is the most popular casino game around.
Is Playing Online Slots For Real Money Legal In The US?
We understand how confusing it can be for USA residents to make heads or tails out of the legal online gambling climate. Unless you have a law degree, it's down right confusing for most people. But that's one of the main reasons why we've created this website, to help players understand the legalities of gambling online in the United States, and which if any laws might apply to them.
To put it as plainly as possible, there is nothing illegal about playing online slots for real money in the United States. Most of the confusion comes from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act of 2006, also known as the UIGEA. This law actually targets the banks and financial institutions that process gambling related transactions, but does not have any language in it whatsoever that targets the players themselves.
So the bottom line is Americans can still access legal and reputable online slots casinos sush as those recommended on this page, as long as those operations have been licensed and certified in the jurisdictions known to offer legitimate online gambling licenses. All of the casinos listed on our website are in fact legally licensed and regulated.
Cafe Casino offers one of the best slot bonuses in the industry which includes a 500% matching bonus up to $5,000 on your initial deposit. There is a 35X rollover requirement for this bonus and a 10X max cashout term attached.
Alternatively players can choose their 100% bonus up to $1,000 which only has a 25X rollover requirement and no max cashout rule attached to the promotion.
Pros
- They accept USA players from 45/50 states
- Part of the most trusted companies in the industry 'Bovada/Bodog'
- Easy US friendly deposits via Bitcoin and Credit Cards
- Awesome 500% deposit bonus up to $5,000
- Mobile friendly games
Cons
- They only accept U.S. players - no other countries allowed
- Excluded States: NY, NV, NJ, DE, MD
Best Online Slot Bonuses For U.S. Players
Some of the slot bonuses listed on this page might seem too good to be true. I can assure you everything is legit and the casinos offering these incredible promotions are legally licensed and reputable in the industry. Because competition is fierce in the online gambling arena, every casino needs to find unique and creative ways to attract new players. So they offer these bonuses in hopes that you will signup and play with them instead of Joe Blow next door.
However keep in mind that there are terms that require players to rollover both the deposit and bonus a certain amount of times in order to be eligible to cashout winnings. This is just to ensure that players don't abuse the promotion and give the casino a fair shake in terms of action. I can assure you that the sites listed here are some of the most trusted USA friendly casinos around and will pay if you win.
Following is a list of our favorite casinos offering legal US online slot games, each of which has been personally vetted by our team of legal online gambling experts. You'll find generous bonus offers, top rated gaming software, and extreme payout potential at any one of these high quality online casinos.
Site | Review | Bonus Offer | USA | Visit |
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Read Review | 100% Max $3,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 200% Max $1,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 100% Max $1,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 500% Max $5,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 300% Max $9,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 200% Max $20,000 | Play now | ||
Read Review | 200% Max $10,000 | Play now |
The Popularity Of Slot Games In America
Much of the popularity of playing online slots legally is that simplistic enjoyment. There are no convoluted rules to remember, odds to calculate, or physical cards or dice to possibly mishandle. You select the amount of your wager, tap a few buttons or pull a designated lever, and multiple reels spin on either a physical or virtual display, with only a couple of seconds wait needed to discover if you have won or lost your bet. Legal USA online slots for both American and International players also offers the benefit of allowing you to play in a private and comfortable surrounding such as your living room, and offers access any time of the night or day on a smartphone or computer with an Internet connection.
Online slots betting that is legal also requires a very small time and money commitment. As is the case with physical slot machines, their virtual counterparts allow you to legally bet slots online for as little as $0.05 or $0.10. And you needn't invest a lot of time, as you can fire up your favorite PC and enjoy the exciting Las Vegas rush of spinning reels whenever you have 5 or 10 minutes spare time. In much of the United States, as well as in other countries around the world, legal slots betting is offered at Internet cafés, meaning you do not have to make a time sensitive and costly trip to a full-fledged casino to enjoy a themed slot experience.
With a game like Cleopatra's Gold or Texan Tycoon, you can enjoy an interactive storyline that caters to a particular interest or subject. One benefit that has become standard fare on the Internet when you play legal slots betting online is the appearance of generous welcome bonuses. Unlike when you play at a brick-and-mortar casino, Internet café, or oceangoing casino boat, U.S.A. friendly legal online casinos will actually award you free bonus money simply for opening an account on their website. This instantly improves the size of your bankroll before you spin the first virtual reel, and many websites even reward you when you have friends sign up as well.
Since playing slots legally online is the same 'player vs machine' experience as in a land-based environment, the visual and auditory experience delivered is virtually the same. Companies like Real Time Gaming (RTG) provide incredible 3-D graphics, animation, video and sound using the latest software, and random number generators create a safe and fair play environment. A physical trip to a Las Vegas style casino in the U.S. is highly recommended for many reasons, but for the slots lover that has neither the inclination, time nor money for enjoying a land-based legal slots betting experience, betting slots legally online from the comfort and privacy of your favorite PC any time night or day delivers some excellent benefits, and the same reel spinning excitement.
Other Casino Games Available To United States Players
Slot machines are not the only thrilling casino game to play online. Use these quick links to access our pages on additional casino games that US players can play online legally: