What States Are Online Gambling Legal

Our guide to legal gambling by state will have you prepared to use any type of online gambling site or even gamble in person. We admit that we don't know all there is to know about the different laws in the various states around the U.S. and we're not going to pretend like we do. Instead, we provide a real-world perspective of online gambling in the U.S.; the laws can say one thing but the actuality/reality of those laws can really vary greatly.

Below, this guide will educate you on what we and other online gamblers have learned through years of experience. Before going any further, know that we are not legal professionals in any state. We started out just as many of you did... confused. But through trial and error, plus input from trusted contributors, we've managed to make sense of the whole thing so that you can know what you are truly risking when gambling online.

First and foremost: online gambling is legal in the USA. Gambling laws are constantly changing on a state-by-state basis, but here is what you need to remember: while running your own casino, sportsbook, or poker room inside the United States is not legal, individual U.S. Residents will not be prosecuted for making online bets. Legal Online Casinos In Oklahoma - Oklahoma has a thriving legal online casino gambling system. Every imaginable casino game can be found through these online casinos. Legal Online Casinos In Oregon - Oregon is another one of the states with an expansive list of legal online casinos.

As always, if you are still uneasy or uncertain about the gambling laws where you live and the legality of online gambling in your state, we recommend consulting a paid legal professional to answer your questions. Those with a bar license in your state are far more educated about the ramifications of gambling online, if any. This page is for informational purposes only and is in no way meant to be interpreted as legal advice/consultation.

Is Online Gambling Legal in My State? To find out more about the online gambling legislation in your particular state, click on your state in the map below. This will take you to more information on the topic. There, you will find out about online gambling, as well as the gambling laws that are in your state. Bovada accepts players from all other states, except Maryland. (source, section 2.3) (Probably Bovada can't get licensed in the three legal states because Bovada takes players from the rest of the U.S., where online gambling is usually banned by state law, and the some legal states don't want to sanction a rogue casino.

The only other state in America with legal online casino gambling is in fact, Delaware, and just like the state’s size, the list is quite small. The legal online casinos in Delaware are as follows.

Guide To Online Gambling By State

Below, we have a chart of which states actually have laws on the books that expressly forbid online gambling by its residents. States that do not have those types of laws on the books can be considered to 'legal' for online gambling as there is nothing from a legal standpoint to stop you as long as you meet the required age to gamble online. You may use this to reference whether or not your state has laws against the activity.

Do know that even if your state does forbid some type of online gambling, such as online casinos, that doesn't mean you will get into trouble and that certainly doesn't mean that you will not be able to play casino games for real money at websites.

We Suggest These Websites For Online Casino Games, Sports Betting, & Poker

Bovada - Industry Leader For Live Sports Betting; One Of Largest Online Poker Sites - Click Here To Visit

Without a doubt, Bovada is the best all-around gambling site for USA players... in 46 states. Unfortunately, Bovada does not allow new registrations from the state of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, or Nevada; for everyone else, this site is wide open for legal sports wagering, online poker plus casino games. In each of these areas, Bovada is considered to be an online leader and their product has become the benchmark that other sites strive to achieve.

Bovada will never disclose any of your information and it is very discreet for being such a big player in the industry. Players in the U.S. will find the deposit options at Bovada to be rather friendly which is good because you will want to deposit to take advantage of their many bonuses available for different types of online gambling activity.

BetOnline - Accepts Deposit Methods That Other U.S. Gambling Websites Do Not - Click Here To Visit

If you live in one of those three states excluded by Bovada, you may want to consider BetOnline (welcomes all U.S. users at least 18 years old) especially if you want to bet on sports or play legal online poker. We don't necessarily recommend their online casino, though available, because there are better options out there. Unfortunately, that would mean a different account at a site that is just for casino games but that is honestly the better route.

Besides the difference in software and games offered, BetOnline doesn't have as good of a bonus for casino games as what you would find with a dedicated online casino. While their 15% or 25% lifetime load/reload bonus is very generous (worth up to $900 on every deposit) when it comes to sports betting and poker, it fails in comparison to first time/new player deposit bonuses available from the site below.

Lucky Red Casino - Specializes In Real Money Casino Games; 18 Years Old To Play - Click Here To Visit

As far as dedicated online casinos that are legal for players in the US, it just doesn't get much better than what you will encounter at Lucky Red Casino. Beyond accepting anyone that goes through the proper steps for registration (extremely simple), this online casino is powered by the best games provider that USA online casinos can use... RTG or Realtime Gaming.

This casino is just a spoke in a larger wheel of extremely reliable online casinos. Of those casinos in that network, Lucky Red allows depositors to collect some of the biggest bonuses imaginable. Who doesn't like slots? Well, Lucky Red lets you play more of them when using the bonus code LUCKYRED400 which is good for a 400% (up to $4,000) match of your first deposit into the casino for playing online slots. A compliment to this bonus is a 100% to $1,000 table games bonus that is achieved with the bonus code LUCKYRED100.

WinPalace Casino - Exclusive Deposit + No-Deposit Bonuses For USA Players - Click Here To Visit

WinPalace Casino excels in the most important aspects of an online betting site for their players. WinPalace is a legal casino option for American players, so the good news is all 50 states can play legally here. The site offers over 120 fantastic casino game options under the direction of RTG online casino software. In a word, WinPalace is simply awesome.

What's even more for those reading this review on LegalOnlineGamblingSites.com is the fact that there is an exclusive bonus offered through WinPalace that gets you a ton of free cash that can be used for online slots. Get up to $4,000 in bonus cash simply by using WinPalace’s coupon code 4000FREE. It's that simple. This is given out following the deposit you make, which American players can use a Visa or Mastercard for efficient transfer of funds. Be sure to check out WinPalace today, and find out why it comes so highly rated.

Online Gambling FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Are There Any States That Have Regulated Gambling Sites?

Yes, the states of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Nevada have sent bills through their legislative branches which now allow those states to offer online gaming in a regulated atmosphere. Of those three states, Nevada was actually the first to have online gambling go live with the introduction of online poker in the 2nd quarter of 2013. Right now, the selection is still limited and that is why you will not see a lot of these sites listed here yet, but they soon will be as they begin gaining a larger foothold in the industry. As it stands now, using the gaming websites that were previously open to U.S. players is still the best option in many cases.

As a side note, the bill that was passed in Nevada, Assembly Bill 114, will allow the state to partner up with other states that have plans to regulate the industry for their residents. Who knows gambling better than Nevada? That is exactly what Nevada lawmakers are banking on when they established that clause.

Are There Any Federal Laws That Prevent Online Gambling?

Yes, but it depends on the type of gambling that you are thinking about pursuing. Know that the actual act of playing games at an online casino or a few hands of online poker is not illegal while activities like sports betting are in a gray area. Learn more about U.S. gambling laws by following the preceding link.

The main thing to take away from the laws that relate to online gambling is that penalties only exist for those who run or profit from owning a gambling site that operates within U.S. borders. That doesn't apply to the sites on this website and thus they will continue to operate and allow players from the U.S.

How Old Do I Need To Be To Gamble Online?

This is really a two part question that is best answered on our page about the legal age to gamble. You've got to consider the age in your state (for the type of gambling you're thinking about) and/or the minimum age to sign up for a new account at whatever site you choose.

If you want to be totally safe, meet both the age as set by your state as well as the age set by the gambling site although only the minimum age for the gambling site must be met to register and play for real money online.

Can I Get Into Trouble For Gambling Online?

Not likely. Despite what laws say (even in the states that express forbid gambling online), hardly anyone ever gets in trouble for it... on the consumer level. With that said, you are asking for a lot of trouble if you plan on opening or operating an online gambling site or an 'Internet Cafe' in the state you live.

Furthermore, the government has no way of knowing that you are actually participating in any online gambling activity as none of the offshore gambling providers will ever disclose any of your details to any authority. That means the government has no record of you playing and it also means that you will not pay taxes on any winnings as they are not reported to the IRS or anyone else.

Where Can I Get More Information About The Gambling Laws In My State?

Again, you should probably consult professional legal counsel or you could try to find a copy of your state's statutes online. Most states have them somewhere online but they can be hard to find sometimes. And when you find them, finding what you are looking for can be tough and of course it's all in 'legalese' so making sense of it can be tough too; just use patience.

Why Do Some Sites Exclude Users Living In Certain States?

This can be for multiple reasons but it is unlikely that it is because of the laws. More often than not, exclusions occur when users start running into problems with not being able to make deposit or in some cases, not being able to cash a payout check or receive a bank wire, etc... When it becomes too much of a hassle and it starts hurting their reputation, they stop offering services to those users living within the areas that are affected.

To remedy the frustration caused by exclusion, we only provide gambling sites that welcome players in the U.S. with the one exception being Bovada. Normally we would cast them aside but they are such a high quality operator that they cannot be ignored even if Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Nevada residents aren't allowed to sign up.

When it comes to United States Online Gambling Laws, the water is a little bit ‘murky’ to say the least. There has been some legislation put in place which restricts credit card use in regards to online gambling transactions, however specific directives prohibiting online gambling at large are not in place that span the United States as a whole. This fact is actually one of the motivations for this site. It quickly became clear that the individual states were going to need to address how they feel about online gambling within their own borders.

Most USA gambling enthusiasts don’t have a problem with the ‘states’ rights’ approach on the topic as it is likely to lend more viability to a variety of solutions, allowing the people in each state to have a voice in the matter. While this may not guarantee that online gambling will be legal in every corner of the United States in years to come, it does make it more likely that those people who want access to it will have the opportunity to keep it or make it legal where they reside. Likewise, it gives those opposed a voice in rejecting the venue. After all, this is the American way. But when it comes to down brass tacks in the here and now, there are no United States online gambling laws which completely prohibit it. The many ‘gray’ areas and non-specific language have left the real focus on payment methods, and not the actual participation in online gambling itself.

What States Are Online Sports Betting Legal

Below you will find a listing of our favorite online casinos which adhere to USA Online Gambling Laws while providing a safe, secure, exhilarating and rewarding online gambling experience. They have all been examined by a team of highly trained online gambling experiences who know precisely what to look for when determining the value and legitimacy of any online gambling site. You will also find information on their current bonus offers to help you get the most bang for your buck!

Gambling Laws By State

USA Gambling Laws

The Federal Wire Act – This US federal laws was passed in 1961 to target illegal gambling operations being run by organized crime syndicates. The law has now been applied to Internet gambling and effectively prohibits US based online sports betting. This section of our guide provides insight into the application of this law and how it affected online gambling in the United States.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) – This law was passed in the early 90s as an effort to curtail the expansion of legal sports betting in the US. It effectively banned physical sportsbook businesses across the country. There are four states that were exempted from the restrictions of this law, including Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon. On May 14, 2018, PASPA was ruled to be unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court, who lifted the ban on US based sports betting. This page of our website provides insight into PASPA and the states that are challenging the constitutionality of it.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) – This law really has nothing to do with gamblers themselves, but rather is directed at gambling business operators and payment processors. This laws does not prohibit any type of online gambling and was passed to provide regulatory oversight concerning gambling related transactions and how they are processed. This page will explain the intent and application of this law and how it impacts the US gambling market.

Popular USA Online Gambling Sections

USA Online Casinos – Specifically for USA online gambling enthusiasts who love an exciting casino gaming experience that is also safe, secure, and delivers the optimal gaming platform performance, we have developed this section to ensure you have all the information you need to engage in an online casino gambling opportunity that exceeds your expectations!

USA Online Poker – Online poker has become incredibly popular over the last few years, and has become one of the most successful online gambling venue out there. We have developed a guide specifically for the discerning poker enthusiast who refuses to compromise on the quality of their poker game platform, and who demands a standard of excellence from their preferred USA online poker sites.

USA Online Sportsbooks – All sports betting buffs will love this section that highlights information information regarding the USA online sportsbook industry, as well as provides one click access to the top USA online sportsbooks on the Web!

USA Online Bingo – If its the thrills and frills of online bingo you seek, then this USA online bingo guide will become your most valuable resource for finding the highest quality, most riveting, and most rewarding online bingo action out there!

Legal Online Gambling – Get all the information you need to enjoy Legal Online Gambling, whether your gaming preferences lie with casino games, poker, sports betting, or bingo – we’ve got you covered by providing information on the best legal USA online gambling sites.

What States Are Online Gambling Legal

Online Gambling Laws – Get the 411 surrounding online gambling laws for your state. Find out which online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, or bingo halls are available for you to enjoy an exhilarating online gambling experience that is also legal!!