USA online casinos

The USA is the greatest English-speaking untapped online gambling market in the world. A first world country still struggling under obsolete laws that fail to properly address gambling.

Despite the laws making it illegal in most states to run an online gambling website based out of the USA, it is still very much possible to play at online casinos based elsewhere.

Because of the reputation of the USA and its global sway, most gambling bodies refuse to allow casinos they license to operate in this jurisdiction, for instance the Malta Gaming Authority and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, two of the biggest in the world, don’t allow USA citizens.

The following casinos are ones BettingPlanet.com personally play at and have relationships with. The bonus offers for signing up are clearly indicated and more details are available in each review.

Best USA ONLINE CASINOS

#1	Bitcoin Friendly Bovada Casino 100% up to $3000	Visit Bovada Bovada Casino Review

Best real money casinos for the USA

This is obviously subjective and the opinion of the author, but we firmly believe there is only a handful of online casino sites in non-regulated states worth investing your money at. This is for a number of reasons including reputation, reliability and other factors like payment options and how long it takes for withdrawals to be processed. You can read full reviews of all the casinos by following the links.

• Bovada: Is part of the renowned Bodog group founded by entrepreneur Calvin Ayre. Is the American-facing branch of the business which used to be licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission before the authority body agreed to no-longer market to the USA. Has a good selection of casino games from Real Time Gaming, Bodog Custom Games and Rival. Bovada review.

Are online casinos legal in the USA?

It all comes down to which of the 52 states you are in. Some have legal online casinos that are licensed by state bodies or operate under the same license a land-based casino does, but most do not.

The Golden Nugget Casino chain, with a branch in Atlantic City, also features an online casino that only accepts punters from New Jersey. It has only been in existence for a few years, but already it is very popular.

Other states are still navigating a plan and have no ‘legal’ casinos but don’t really interfere if people living there wish to play at ‘offshore’ casinos.

There is constantly talk of gambling in various faculties of American politics, and slowly there is a growing realization that “if you can’t beat them, join them”.

An instance of progress in gambling came in 2015 when Nevada opted to allow a Delaware poker site to join the same network people from that state play in. It was the first interstate agreement in gambling and the first step towards a national framework.

The two bits of federal legislation that you must be familiar with if you are concerned about whether gambling at an online casino is legal are:

• The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act – UIGEA was introduced in 2006 and pushed through without a proper discussion of its merits. It in short stops banks or other financial institutions from processing gambling transactions. In 2011 the US government clarified this Act to say it specifically applies to sports betting.
• The Interstate Wire Act – This Act makes it illegal to place bets using a wire communication facility. Originally introduced in 1961 it was aimed at curbing phone betting and in turn organised crime links. This law is often touted as the reason online casinos are illegal in the USA, although there is a lack of clarification.

Muddying the waters even more when gambling on the net is local laws, although these have little impact on the ability of USA citizens to wager at online casinos.

At present, there are four states where online casinos are legal:

• Delaware
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania

Several more states have new gambling legislation in the works, so expect this list to expand rapidly over the coming months and years.

Online casino games in the USA

Playing at an online casino mirrors the offerings that a land-based venue will have, although they generally have a bigger selection, or more variations of titles.

For instance at a land-based casino you might find blackjack tables with a a minimum of USD $20, which is out of the price range of some players. Online you will find live dealer tables for as little as $2 a hand.

Slots are prevalent at online casinos servicing the USA. Most of these are provided by games suppliers such as Real Time Gaming or Rival, who have no problems offering their services to a country where gambling laws are unclear.

If you are in one of the states where online casinos are regulated, such as New Jersey, you will find a great selection of games providers, with companies such as NetEnt popular with operators.

Other games like roulette, baccarat, video poker, Caribbean Stud, Craps and poker variations are also available in random number generated games.

American live dealer games

Every movie that you watch based in a casino shows the glitz and glamour of table games. This has been replicated online with many casinos servicing the USA including a live dealer offering.

This means you watch a live video feed of dealers plying their trade. While you place your wagers on a digital version of a card or gaming table. The functionality is very similar to playing at a land-based casino with dealer engagement and chat among the players also possible.

As long as your internet connection is strong, you will be able to play this variety of games no problem.

While much of the world now has access to some sensational mobile live dealer offerings, we have been left behind because those cutting edge companies are not allowed to market to the USA because of our laws. Standby though, because in a few years the floodgates will open.

Mobile online casinos

Playing at online casinos via a handheld device such as a mobile phone or a tablet is one of the most popular ways to access them. Basically the mobile websites are stripped backed versions of the casino’s desktop website. Games have been optimized to work on mobile and you simply follow the prompts that appear on the screen.

While it has improved dramatically in recent years, the amount of games is significantly less on mobile, than it is for desktop players. A quick scan of a popular USA facing site shows roughly 100 real money slots, several RNG blackjack games, roulette, baccarat and video poker all available.

Playing on your mobile data, as long as you are on a 4G connection, will be fine while as long as a 3G connection is on the faster side of it, you will have no problem with playing. If you are connected to WiFi you will have no dramas at all.

Our no.1 casino for mobile gaming in the USA is Bovada.

Payment methods at USA online casinos

This can be broken into two distinct categories; those of us who live in states with regulated online casinos; and, those of us who play at offshore casinos not based in the USA.

For those of us in states where gambling is regulated, depositing money into your online casino account is simple, with it done via a number of easy methods such as:

• Visa
• MasterCard
• ACH
• Online bank transfer
• Neteller
• PayNearMe – 7-Eleven
• Cash (some casinos offer cash deposits at their land venue)

The players who are in states where online casinos are not regulated will play at casinos licensed in other countries. This means deposits to these sites can be more problematic because of the UIGEA.

• Visa/Mastercard: The most popular deposit method can also be the hardest to get to work at times. This is because payments get blocked to gambling sites. If your card won’t work try a different bank card or another method. Overall though Visa and Mastercard transactions are now working more often than not to offshore gambling sites.
• Bitcoin: Full credit to companies like Bodog, who have embraced this cryptocurrency (Crypto gambling in the USA) from an early stage. Basically the government can’t stop you spending bitcoin how you want because of its largely anonymous nature. Some of the leading online casinos catering to Americans accept payments in bitcoin before converting your balance to USD.
• Check: This is when the user physically posts in a check to the gambling site they wish to deposit at. Can take a few days but is usually a fool proof method of payment.
• Western Union: Has previously been used at offshore sites, but is no longer being used to deposit at gambling sites. We’ll keep an eye on it and let you know if/when it starts to be used again.
• Pre-paid cards: Pre-paid Visas, Mastercards and other types are readily available at convenience stories like 7-Eleven and have a good reputation for getting past the nasty transaction blocking.

Online casino customer service

Gambling at online casinos is only fun if you can withdraw your winnings. It doesn’t matter how much you have won if you can’t make the withdrawal work and you can’t reach customer service.

BettingPlanet.com cannot stress enough that this should be one of the most important factors when signing up at a USA online casino – if they don’t have customer service and a good reputation steer clear.

The most common ways to contact customer service in 2017 is via live chat, email, phone and an online contact form. If you can’t see at least one of these options at the casino you are at don’t bet there.

Any casinos we recommend at this website we have existing relationships with and trust them explicitly, so let us know if you have any issues on [email protected]