Legal online casinos are currently available in New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. If you aren’t in those states you can play at sweepstakes casinos where you can play casino games for cash prizes.
USA Online Gambling
We only list legal gambling sites that are in compliance with state gambling laws
Welcome to PlayUSA! Legal gambling is exploding across the country, and it can be difficult to manage all the opportunities happening near you. This site provides you with the latest news, reviews and information on states that permit casino games, and those that are next in line.
PlayUSA also covers online casinos, sweepstakes and social casino sites. This allows you to compare the best sites in the US. You can try demos of popular slot games here, too.
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US sports betting updates
Updated: May 26, 2023
Illinois‘ legislature has approved a bill that would extend the ability to wager on in-state collegiate teams in-person at physical sportsbooks inside the state for another year. The existing provision was due to sunset in July 2023.
Online sports betting in Wyoming for the month of April produced $1.26 million in win for sportsbooks, who paid over $828,000 in taxes to the state for the month. That revenue figure represents a 25% increase from the same month in 2022.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority says online sports betting in multiple states helped it improve upon its financials for the second quarter of its current fiscal year as compared to the same period in the prior term. For example, the company’s net revenue sat at $405.8 million for the quarter, up 13.2%.
US casino updates
Updated: May 26, 2023
The new Golden Nugget casino in Danville, Illinois will open its doors to the public on May 27. The casino received its temporary operating permit from the Illinois Gaming Board on Friday and has been preparing all week for opening.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has recused herself from gaming compact negotiations with the Seneca Nation. The Seneca Nation expressed doubts that the governor would have been able to negotiate a fair deal giving her connections to the gaming industry in the state.
April gaming taxes in Nebraska came to almost $1.4 million, which is the second-highest such total for any single month in the state’s history. April was also the second consecutive month in which Grand Island Casino & Resort paid out at least half a million in tax dollars to the state.
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State-by-state legal gambling guide
Get the status of online gambling and sports betting in each state and the broader climate for legal gambling in each state with our Guide to Gambling in the US.
Legal
Pending
Sweepstakes only
Not legal
Legislation and Regulation
Tribal gaming
Commercial gaming
Sports Betting
Legal sports betting is currently active in these states: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, (most of) Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Washington DC, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Currently, Kentucky, Maine and Nebraska have also legalized with launches pending. Here is a complete guide on where to bet. Plus, find out which states are in the process of legalization.
US Online Lottery
While a majority of US states offer a form of lottery play, only a select few offer the addition of an online lottery. These states are Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Get a brief history of the online lotteries in these states and an overview of the types of games offered.
Online Poker
Legal, regulated online poker is available in Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New Jersey has the largest amount of poker networks, while Nevada’s only regulated online poker is through World Series of Poker (WSOP). Similarly, Delaware has one sole poker site, 888 Poker. As for Michigan and Pennsylvania, both states have multiple operators.
Horse Racing
Horse racing is one of the oldest forms of gambling and is legally available in most states. Not only can you go to racetracks around the US, you can also bet on your phone or online in more than half of the states in the country. Learn more about your options for legally bet on the ponies and how to wager.
Fantasy Sports
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators, such as DraftKings and FanDuel, are available for play in most US states. However, many states come with legal, gray areas and operators that only serve select states. More states, including New York, have gone through various DFS legal battles and/or have legislation in progress. Get a full rundown of where to play and new promotions.
More about legal online gambling options
Scroll down to the bottom of a casino site and look for the logo of your state’s gaming regulatory body. In New Jersey, this is the Division of Gaming Enforcement. In Pennsylvania, this is the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. If you don’t see a logo or mention of your state regulator, then you’re not playing at a legal online casino or sportsbook.
Some sites may proclaim to have regulations in other jurisdictions; this does not make those sites legal. If you have any question about the legality of an online casino or sportsbook, reach out to your local gambling regulators or feel free to contact us.
Remember, only state-regulated, real-money online gambling sites are legal. The rest are operating illegally, and you should not trust them with your money or personal information.
Online casinos offer many of the same games you’ll find in a land-based casino. All of the standard casino games, like blackjack and roulette, can be found online. You’ll also find almost all of your favorite slot titles online, including big-name slots like Deal Or No Deal and a wide variety of progressive jackpot slots. The same companies that make the land-based slot machines also make the online slot machines, so the gameplay, features and graphics are all the same as your favorite games.
As a bonus, online casinos are always adding slots. The largest legal online casino in New Jersey in games (the Golden Nugget online casino) offers nearly 600 different slot machines and adds almost a dozen new ones in an average month.
The payback is often as good or better than what you find in a land-based casino. This is especially true when it comes to games like blackjack and video poker. You can find high-payback versions of these games online at limits you won’t find in a typical land-based casino. That’s because the online casino doesn’t have to worry about making the most money per square foot the way a land-based casino does.
Online gambling customers also tend to be very price-savvy, meaning that online casinos have to compete in price to attract top customers. That leads online casinos to offer blackjack variants that pay nearly 100 percent back and the highest-paying versions of other popular games like roulette and craps.
Remember, the house still has an edge. But the smaller the edge, the longer you can play.
Several online gambling sites in the legal New Jersey market offer a full range of gambling choices, including poker, sports betting and casino. A few examples of operators that offer all three products include Caesars and FOX Bet.
As legal online betting continues to expand in the US, you’ll see more legal gambling websites open up a greater variety of products. The one that is likely to remain somewhat limited is online poker, as not all legal sites are making a choice to offer poker.
Yes. Welcome bonuses are common promotion at real-money online gambling sites in the US legal market. In fact, it’s a rare casino or sportsbook that doesn’t offer some type of welcome bonus.
For casinos, the typical bonus ranges from $10 to $25 and is available only for new customers. Different terms and conditions apply, so be sure to read the fine print. For sports betting, bonus bets range from $10 up to $50 and also are only for new customers. View current casino bet offers here and sports bet offers here.
Different legal gambling sites offer different deposit and cash-out options, but the most common options include credit/debit card, prepaid cards, bank transfer, PayPal and depositing at the casino. You can generally pick up your winnings in cash at the casino, request a check or get a bank transfer. Generally speaking, most transactions are settled within a few hours, but there may be some brief delays for your first deposit and your first withdrawal.
Advantages of legal online gambling sites
What is great about legal online gambling sites is they make it much safer to gamble online versus playing at illegal sites.
We discuss the advantages of legal online gambling sites versus illegal sites below.
But in a nutshell, here are some of the reasons why it’s safe to gamble online:
- You know the games are fair. They’re regulated and tested by the same agencies that oversee land-based casinos.
- You know your money is safe. Legal online casinos are required to safeguard your funds.
- You’ll get paid if you win. It’s always a fear that an illegal online casino will not pay you, because there’s little to make them do so. But legal online casinos are safe to play at because they are required by law to do so. Otherwise, their license is at risk, along with various civil and even criminal penalties.
Illegal gambling sites may tell you their games are fair and tested, but how do you know? With legal online gambling operators in states like New Jersey, the games are tested by the same regulators who test everything at the land-based casino. That should give you confidence that a slot machine is paying back what it’s meant to pay back, that a deck of digital cards is dealt fairly, and that every other aspect of every other game is on the level.
And games aren’t just tested — legal online casinos and sportsbooks are required to submit detailed reports of everything that happens within a game so that regulators can spot anything irregular. That record-keeping means that if you have a dispute with a casino, regulators will be able to solve it with facts. You can’t get that level of assurance at illegal gambling websites.
Many legal online casinos are operated by the same company and brand as a land-based casino, meaning that you have the opportunity to earn points via their online gambling site that can be used at the land-based casino. One example is Caesars, where you can use your online points for the casino, poker and sportsbook.
For those who get the value of rewards points, this is a significant advantage and one that you’re never going to get gambling at an illegal site. You can improve your status tier and earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of rewards by playing online, points that can add up over time.
An illegal casino could be run by anyone, anywhere. You have no idea what the revenue you help them generate ends up going. But with legal online gambling sites, you know exactly what companies you’re supporting, and they’re often companies that operate in your backyard — they may even be companies that employ people that you know. Let’s face it; most of us won’t come out winners at the casino, but it’s nice to know that the money we leave behind goes to supporting something we can feel good about, as opposed to contributing to illegal activity.
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