We know how difficult it can be to find a reliable, fair and trustworthy United States online casino, just like we know how impossible it is to find a casino that ticks all of those boxes but also offers a wealth of bonuses and other extras.
Top United States Casinos
However, we can confirm that top United States casinos do exist. They are out there, you just need to know how to find them. In this guide we will show you that, helping you to pinpoint the very best real money casinos online. These are casinos that offer everything you want and need, and casinos that are available to players in the United States.
Online Casinos in United States
There is a distinct lack of online casinos in the United States, and there is a reason for that. Many reasons in fact, and they all concern the US government and US law, as discussed in a little more detail below.
These laws apply as much to online casinos as they do to online sports betting. Even poker falls under this umbrella, because while it is considered a game of skill by many players and fans, it is considered to be a gambling game to the United States lawmakers.
This has upset a lot of players, as you might imagine. It never used to be the case, but things changed a few years ago, after which it became as difficult to find online poker as it did to find online casino games.
United States Online Gambling Laws
The US gambling laws are very strict. It might come as a surprise for a country that is home to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, but they have some of the most restrictive online gambling laws in the world.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find any online gambling sites in this country, because you most definitely can. The problem is, these sites are not as widespread, and because the competition is not as great, they tend to be smaller and they tend to offer fewer bonuses.
There are a few important things to note where online gambling is concerned:
- Illegal In the United States: There are no regulatory bodies that legitimize online gambling in the US—nobody that does the role that the Gambling Commission does in the UK. It is also illegal for companies based here to offer online gambling elsewhere.
- Legal in Central America: There are companies based in Central America that exploit loopholes to offer legal online gambling to players in the United States. But this is a very grey area.
- Banking Issues: The US government try to stop online gambling in this country, even when it is based outside of it. One of the ways they do this is to block certain financial institutions from using gambling sites. That’s why you can’t use credit/debt cards and have to stick with wire transfers. Web wallets like Skrill and PayPal also restrict use for online gambling in the US.
- Location Rarely Matters: You might think that because you’re playing at the tables in Las Vegas you can just whip out your phone and gamble online. But that’s not the case. There are different laws per state and county in the United States, but when it comes to online gambling it’s pretty much the same across the board.
Why Are So Many United States Casinos Based Overseas?
They are based overseas purely because they would be breaking the law if they were based in the United States. Unlike other countries, where online gambling companies base themselves overseas to avoid paying taxes and to keep the profits high, this is purely for legal reasons.
You often find many online casinos based in the Channel Islands, in Australia, in Malta and across Europe. But where legal United States real money online casinos are concerned, they are nearly always based in Central American countries like Panama.
Countries
How to Find Legal US Casinos
The first thing you need to focus on is whether or not the casino is actually legitimate. There are very few scam casinos out there these days as the regulators make it difficult for them to exist. But the ones that do exist tend to be concentrated in the United States, as US players are more willing to take risks because there just isn’t much out there for them.
If you are based in the US and you’re looking for a top United States casino then you should first make sure that they are regulated. Check to see whether or not they are regulated and licensed, and then look for information regarding security certificates and third-party audits.
Only when you have found all of this information and confirmed that the casino is legitimate should you look at other things. Of these other things, the software is the most important. Online casinos in the United States don’t always use Microgaming or Playtech, as it can be very hard for them to get a license. As a result, they may use software you have never heard of.
This is not necessarily a bad sign, but you should check to make sure that the software is safe and fair. If so, then there should be official audit data out there somewhere. If you can’t find that data and can’t verify it is legit, then you should probably give that casino a miss.
What Makes a Good United States Casino
One of the issues with United States casinos is that very few of them offer bonuses. That’s because the competition is not as intense as it is in Europe or Asia, so just by existing they are often doing enough to attract customers, There are a lot of laws to get around and a lot of work to do to become official and regulated. As a result, very few United States casinos exist, so the ones that do don’t need to do anything special.
If you find bonuses, therefore, then that’s usually a sign of a good casino. It means they are willing to offer their players something to entice them onboard, even though they probably don’t need to. This is especially true for loyalty schemes. These are even rarer than welcome bonuses and they are also rare in worldwide casinos. So, a US casino that offers one is like gold dust and should be appreciated for what it is.
Another good sign is a United States casino that also offers services to players in Europe and other countries. This often means that they are licensed and regulated outside of the United States as well as inside it, which in turn means they have to abide by more strict rules and regulations. And a casino that needs to stay legitimate in order to stay open is always a good thing.
What Makes a Bad Casino?
There isn’t much wrong with casinos that don’t offer bonuses to US players, because this is actually the norm. However, there is a lot wrong with casinos that do not have official security certificates or licensing/auditing information. As with the bonuses, many casinos just don’t feel the need to go the extra mile to offer these, but casinos that don’t should be avoided.
Legitimacy is the most important thing and really the main thing that you should be looking for. If the casino you are looking at is not regulated and doesn’t have that information on show, then avoid them at all costs.