Regulated vs Unregulated Online Gambling Sites in the USA

With gambling regulations continuing to remain in a state of flux across the United States, it can be difficult to find regulated betting sites. There are plenty of unregulated options out there, but they can be risky to use for customers seeking a safe and legal place to have a bet.

After the landmark ruling from the Supreme Court, betting across America is slowly being legalised but the process is not happening at a fast pace. Being able to tell the difference between regulated and non-regulated online gambling sites is therefore a must.

Many Americans like to gamble and improvements in technology have made it easier than ever to have a bet, even when on the go or out and about. Mobile technology makes it simple to take a seat at the blackjack table or place a bet on the big game even when away from home.

There is a growing number of online gambling sites that are hosted and regulated in the United States but there are plenty of offshore sites that are used by Americans regularly as well.

On this page, you will be able to find all the information you need to know about the difference between regulated and non-regulated online casinos and other gaming sites.

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Regulated USA Online Gaming Sites

The number of states in America where online gambling sites have been given the green light is growing, but in most of the country it is still illegal to bet online.

Regulated online gambling in the USA therefore refers to the handful of states where it is possible to log into an online gambling site and have a legal bet or two.

Fully licensed and regulated online gambling sites might only be available in a handful of US states right now, but laws are being relaxed in various parts of the country right now.

For now, here is everything you need to know about regulated online gambling sites by state.

Regulated US Online Gambling Sites by State

There are currently only three states in America with regulated online gambling industries – Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware. Here is a list of the regulated remote or igaming sites offered by each of the licensed gaming firms:

Nevada Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Nevada Regulated Online Gambling Sites

It should come as no surprise to see Nevada as one of the states where some online betting is allowed. Las Vegas is widely considered to be one of the gambling capitals of the world, while betting is very popular in the nearby city of Reno as well.

Online gambling has been legal in Nevada for a few years, but it is only applicable for poker and online sports betting. The legal online poker sites in Nevada are as follows:

South Point Poker LLC

RealGaming.com

Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc.

wsop.com

Sports betting in Nevada is also available on special apps including:

B-Connected Sports | MGM Resorts | NV Sports | Station Casinos | South Point | Westgate SuperBook | William Hill | Wynn

New Jersey Regulated Online Gambling Sites

New Jersey Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Home to gambling mecca Atlantic City, the state of New Jersey has a lot of legal online gambling options for Americans to use. Online sports betting is allowed and there are numerous online casino options for people to try out as well.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

BorgataCasino.com | BorgataPoker.com | NJ.PartyPoker.com | PlayMGMCasino.com | PlayMGMPoker.com | ScoresCasino.com

Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey

CaesarsCasino.com | HarrahsCasino.com | WSOP.com | us.888.com | us.888Poker.com | us.888Casino.com

Golden Nugget Atlantic City

GoldenNuggetCasino.com | BetfairCasino.com

Resorts Casino Hotel

ResortsCasino.com | MoheganSunCasino.com | PokerStarsNJ.com

Tropicana Casino and Resort

TropicanaCasino.com | VirginCasino.com

Delaware Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Delaware Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Delaware was one of the first states to legalise online betting and gambling, but there are still only a handful of operators running in this part of America.

The licensed and regulated online casinos in Delaware run from the premises of three licensed ‘racinos’, which are race tracks with built-in land casinos.

Delaware Park

DelawarePark.com/igaming

Dover Downs

OnlineGaming.DoverDowns.com

Harrington

HarringtonGamingOnline.com

Pennsylvania Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Pennsylvania is one of the most recent states to open the door to online gambling. DraftKings, FanDuel and Unibet are among the operators running online sports betting facilities here. There are a few online casinos also running in Pennsylvania, including the following:

Hollywood Casino Online | Parx Online | BetRivers | DraftKings

West Virginia Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Online sports betting apps are available to use in West Virginia, while online casinos and poker rooms could be set to open in 2020 thanks to the West Virginia Lottery Interactive Wagering Act.

Rival companies FanDuel and DraftKings both run sports betting operations in the state.

Indiana Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Indiana is a little behind West Virginia, with no plans to offer online casinos and poker rooms at this stage.

There is a small group of online sports betting companies – DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetRivers – with others expected to enter this arena in the coming months.

Iowa Regulated Online Gambling Sites

It is a similar picture to Indiana in Iowa, where sports betting is the only possible online gambling allowed in the state at this time.

DraftKings, PointsBet and William Hill are some of the places people in Iowa can place bets online. However, people in Iowa who want to use these sites must register in-person to do so.

New Hampshire Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Online gambling is very new in New Hampshire, which like Iowa and Indiana has yet to give the green light to online casinos.

It is possible to bet on sports online in the state, though DraftKings is currently the only operator.

Oregon Regulated Online Gambling Sites

While Oregon has moved to legalise online gambling after the Supreme Court ruling, progress in the state has been slow so far.

The Oregon Lottery’s Scoreboard is currently the only place to bet online from within the state.

Colorado Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Online sports betting has been live in Colorado for a while, with BetMGM and BetRivers quick to launch in the state.

However, there are no legal online casinos or online poker sites available in Colorado just yet.

Rhode Island Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Sports betting is proceeding in Rhode Island, but there does not appear to be a great rush.

While moves to legalise online sports betting have been completed, no sites have launched yet.

It is expected that the first online sports betting site in Rhode Island could launch during 2020.

Montana Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Online sports betting is also legal in Montana, but operators are yet to move into the state.

Lottery company Intralot is set to stay in control of sports betting activities in Montana for the foreseeable future.

Michigan Regulated Online Gambling Sites

It was only recently that online gambling got the green light in Michigan.

No online casinos, poker sites or online sports betting companies have opened in the state yet.

Virginia Regulated Online Gambling Sites

2020 could be the year the first online gambling sites open in Virginia.

The state has legalised online gambling but this happened so recently that operators have not had a chance to launch their sites here at this time.

Tennessee Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Another state where 2020 is expected to be a big year for online gambling is Tennessee.

Here, online betting laws have been rubber-stamped but a large license fee is thought to have put operators off from moving into the state so far.

Despite this, rival sportsbooks FanDuel and DraftKings are thought to be eyeing up Tennessee.

Illinois Regulated Online Gambling Sites

Like in Iowa, people who want to bet online in Illinois will have to register in-person at first.

Online sports betting has been legalised here but the cost of licenses to run sites is even higher than in Tennessee, which explains why no operators have moved into the state yet.

Is Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Considered Gambling?

Is Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Considered Gambling?

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) is a very popular derivative of traditional skill-based fantasy sports games in the United States conducted over briefer periods (like a day or a week) as opposed to an entire season
So popular is this category that the world’s leading DFS platforms – DraftKings and FanDuel – are billion dollar companies. However, their huge success caused lawmakers to question if DFS is skill-based (as both firms claim) or another form of online gambling?

In answer, most US states do consider DFS a non-gambling skill-based activity, some of which are proposing laws to cement Daily Fantasy Sports as a permitted online activity. A handful of states, however, have categorized it as gambling and banned it.

Here is a list of US States where DraftKings and/or FanDuel are available (as of July 2017):

State DraftKings FanDuel
Alabama    
Alaska X X
Arizona    
Arkansas X X
California X X
Colorado X X
Connecticut X X
Delaware    
Florida X X
Georgia X X
Hawaii    
Idaho    
Illinois X X
Indiana X X
Iowa    
Kansas X X
Kentucky X X
Louisiana    
Maine X X
Maryland X X
Massachusetts X X
Michigan X X
Minnesota X X
Mississippi X X
Missouri X X
Montana    
Nebraska X X
Nevada    
New Hampshire X X
New Jersey X X
New Mexico X X
New York X X
North Carolina X X
North Dakota X X
Ohio X X
Oklahoma X X
Oregon X X
Pennsylvania X X
Rhode Island X X
South Carolina X X
South Dakota X X
Tennessee X X
Texas X  
Utah X X
Vermont X X
Virginia X X
Washington    
West Virginia X X
Wisconsin X X
Wyoming X X

Is Online Betting Permitted in the United States?

Is Online Betting Permitted in the United States?

No. While it isn’t illegal for American residents to place sports bets online, it is for US-based sportsbooks to accept interstate sports-related wagers remotely (via phone, the internet, TV or radio) as interpreted by the Wire Act of 1961, which is still valid today.

There is no federal law stopping US citizens from betting at offshore online sportsbooks. If their US bank or financial institution sees they’re making online gaming-related payments, they could forfeit their winnings, and/or have their account closed.

USA Unregulated Online Gaming Sites

There are two types of unregulated online gaming sites in the context of the United States; those that are unregulated in the US but licensed and regulated in recognised and reputable offshore online gambling jurisdictions, and those that are not licensed in any jurisdiction.

Always stay away from the latter whether you live in the US or anywhere else. We do not feature or recommended unlicensed or unregulated sites. We only highlight reputable and lucrative USA-friendly casinos that welcome US dollars and, in some cases, Bitcoin.

The Impact of UIGEA on Online Gambling in the USA

In late 2006 the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was signed into law, making it illegal for US banks and financial institutions to process online gambling-related payments.

The subsequent difficulty in making deposits and withdrawals is why so many US players stopped playing at offshore sites, and why said sites stopped accepting players from the US.
Since then there’s been a resurgence in US-friendly offshore sites including poker rooms (e.g. InterTops.eu), bingo halls (e.g. SouthBeachBingo.ag) and sportsbooks (e.g. Bet365.com) and casino sites that accept Americans and US dollars, like those we feature.

Our Featured US Casino Sites are Licensed and Regulated

All of our featured US online casino sites are 100% licensed and regulated by one or more of the world’s most respected online or remote gambling jurisdictions. These include the UK, Alderney, the Isle of Man, Antigua and Barbuda, Kahnawake (Canada( and Gibraltar.
These sites are closely monitored by their jurisdictions and accountable for amongst other things, their conduct, game quality, game suppliers (software vendors), random number generator (RNG) software, security levels and protocols, and 24/7 support facilities.

American Online Casino Sites Deemed Safe and Secure

When it comes to selecting the premier American-friendly online casino sites, our team of reviewers have a clear and concise brief; only seek out online casinos that are 100% safe and secure that being completely trusted by US players.

They do this is by rating every casino using a tried and tested range of criteria. Only online casinos that match all of these criteria are reviewed and featured on No Deposit Kings – no exceptions. Those that do not are ignored.

Here are some of the key criteria we use to rate the best American online casino sites:

  • Accept US-based players – Premier American online casinos accept players from the United States no questions asked provided they are of legal gambling age.
  • Belong to ‘online gambling watchdog’ organisations – Many reputable US casinos are endorsed and monitored by the likes of eCOGRA, Interactive Gaming Council, Online Players Association or The Gambling Commission to ensure they (and other online gambling-related entities) operate using the best practices.
  • Offer US$ as currency – Most of the world’s premier online casinos offer US dollars as one of their currencies, and United States online casinos are no exception.
  • Are accessible on desktop and mobile devices – Every USA casino site worth its salt can be accessed on PCs, laptops, notebooks, smartphones or tablets regardless of the operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Blackberry). All they need is fast and stable internet connection via WiFi, 3G, 4G or LTE.
  • Offer no download instant play games – While there still a few US online casinos with downloadable games, most offer browser-based HTML5 fun + real games for any platform, from desktop to mobile devices – just click to open and play.
  • Powered by the best software developers – Top USA online casinos are powered by many of the best, most reputable and fairest gambling software developers like WGS Technology, Realtime Gaming (RTG), Top Game Technology and Rival Gaming.
  • Big game selections – The best US casino gaming sites have hundreds of top quality games that range from classic slots, video slots and progressive slots to video poker, blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, scratch cards, bingo and much more.
  • Attractive bonuses and promotions – Only the most frequented American online casinos offer the best and most generous welcome and reload bonuses and worthy daily, weekly or monthly promotions with big benefits and rewards.
  • Wide range of banking methods – When it comes to funding and cashing out their US casinos accounts, the casinos we promote offer a broad range of US-friendly payment options that are proven to be safe, reliable and secure.
  • 24/7 casino support facilities – Without exception, all top American casinos online offer players fast and efficient support facilities that are available around the clock via phone, email, Live Chat and in some instances, comprehensive FAQs.

Regulated vs. Unregulated Online Casinos – Pros and Cons

Whether you play at a USA regulated online casinos or the best US unregulated casino sites featured on this site, you should have an entertaining experience at both provided you play responsibly and always within your means.

Here are a few pros and cons of each:

Regulated Online Casinos – Pros

  • They are sanctioned by their respective US state
  • Many of them also offer online poker games

Regulated Online Casinos – Cons

  • There are relatively few of them in just three states
  • They are only available to residents of their states

Unregulated Online Casinos – Pros

Unregulated Online Casinos – Pros

  • They are not endorsed in the United States
  • Player disputes aren’t dealt with on US soil

Published on: 2017/09/29

About the Author

Hi, I'm Courtney, the Webmaster at No Deposit Kings - We provide visitors with free and easy access to real money casino gaming thanks to no deposit casino bonuses offered by our hand-picked selection of online casinos.