Legal US Casinos Online
Legal online casino gaming is still in its infant stages in the United States. Only a few states have licensed online casinos of their own, and many players are still unaware of the huge number of online casinos from all over the world that are available to them. Legal online casino players in the United States can enjoy nearly every benefit that retail casino players do (along with a few that retail players can’t), and they can do so from the comfort of their own home. There was a time when online casinos were nothing more than poor attempts to emulate the retail casino experience, but now they have surpassed their brick-and-mortar counterparts in many regards.
We aim to provide gambling fans with all the information they need to have a successful, enjoyable time gambling online. This website covers topics like the best mobile apps for online casino players, live dealer casino gaming, online slots and blackjack, and the federal and state laws regarding online gambling. Even if you don’t happen to live in one of the three states that offer legal, state-licensed online casinos, there are still online casino gambling options for you, and we have all the information you need to get started.
Top Legal Online Casinos Apps for 2020
While the federal government and most state governments have not been receptive to online casinos, U.S. players can still access a wealth of online casinos from countries that take a more enlightened view on gambling. These international online casinos cannot offer downloadable apps on American app stores, but they all feature mobile sites that are optimized for touch screen devices and offer access to their full array of gambling types. Unlike local online casinos, these websites accept players no matter which state a player lives in. For the state-regulated accounts, those betting at an online New Jersey casino must still be located within New Jersey state lines.
Live Dealer Casinos Online
While online casino gaming is a huge step up in terms of convenience for players, there is a personal element that is lost when games are moved outside of a traditional casino setting. Live dealers attempt to remedy that by connecting players via a live video feed to a real dealer. Different sites have live dealer options for every casino game you can imagine, but the most popular are blackjack, baccarat and roulette. Live dealer casinos choose their dealers for their experience in the retail casino industry, and they always respond verbally to player comments and interact with users in a way that mimics the experience of a real casino.
Legal Online Slots
Online slots, like physical slot machines, are the most popular and accessible form of online gambling. Players anywhere in the United States can legally play online slots via global online casinos. Unlike real slot machines, online slots cost almost nothing to host, so the selection of slots online is vastly superior to the machines you would find in a retail casino. One website can host hundreds or even thousands of different slots because online slots only require code and bandwidth rather than thousands of dollars’ worth of hardware. The best part about online slots is that you can play at any time and collect your winnings within seconds.
Legal Online Blackjack
Online blackjack works just like real blackjack, with a player and a dealer competing to build a hand with a value of 21. There are two primary variations to online blackjack: computer dealer and live dealer. As you might expect, live dealer blackjack connects players to a real-life dealer, while in computer blackjack the virtual runs via an algorithm that mimics the rules of behavior a physical dealer follows. The main draws of live dealer blackjack are the human-to-human connection and the transparency of a physical deck of cards. Legal online blackjack players can often feel cheated with the randomization algorithms don’t fall their way, but they rarely feel the same way when they get a losing hand from a physical deck that they can see.
Legal Online Video Poker
Video poker is not like regular poker. It functions more like a slot machine with three or five-card draw rules. A video poker machine deals out five random cards after a bet is placed, and the player has the option to discard any (or all) of their cards. After the player discards as many cards as they want, a video poker machine pays out based on the value of the player’s finished hand. Rarer hands payout at higher rates. Legal online video poker is functions similarly to online slots in that the rules of video poker are easy to code and hosting a video poker machine costs almost nothing compared to expensive video poker machines.
Specialty Games At Online Casinos
‘Specialty’ games encompass all games that wouldn’t normally be considered traditional casino fare—things like war, sudoku, scratch-off games, and bingo. Specialty games at online casinos mostly run on Flash, and function much like Flash games or instant play games that players might be familiar with. Specialty games will always offer explanations of their rules, which players should read carefully before playing. The ‘specialty games’ category can be considered a ‘miscellaneous’ category of gambling types but is often home to some veritable gems.
What States Have Regulated Online Casinos?
Attitudes toward gambling, especially online gambling, have been unfavorable for a long time, and those decades of animosity are only now beginning to change. More states will likely legalize online casinos in the years to come, but for many players, the lack of available in-state options severely dampens their enthusiasm. Thankfully, every state in the union has access to the best legal casinos, so long as they are based outside of the United States. Federal law restricts the transmission of gambling information across state lines, but it has no such effect on gambling transmissions across international borders.
These international online casinos are all regulated in their country of origin, but major brands are held to strict standards to ensure that they treat players fairly and protect valuable personal and financial data. These standards include things like security encryption for player account data, thresholds of payout rates to ensure a fair number of players are winning, and dedicated resources for helping players who exhibit tendencies associated with gambling addiction. In other words, while international online casinos aren’t as tightly controlled as American online casinos, they are still well-regulated to ensure that they remain safe for consumers.
There are only three states with full state-licensed and regulated online casinos:
Laws That Impact Online Casino Gaming
Every state has its own laws on online casino gaming. Most states either explicitly ban in-state operators from offering online casino gaming or interpret older gambling laws to include such a ban. The most important laws for American online casino gamblers to know are two federal laws: the Wire Act of 1961, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006. The Wire Act was passed before the invention of the internet, but it has since been interpreted to apply to internet gambling. It prohibits the transmission of gambling information across state lines. There is an ongoing judicial debate about whether it applies to all online gambling or just online sports betting. The UIGEA does not prevent online gambling but prevents banks and other payment processors from processing payments related to online gambling. This is why you see so many gambling websites use cryptocurrency as their preferred banking method.
Are Real Money Online Casinos Safe?
Yes, real money online casinos are safe, as long as you use trusted, well-regulated brands. Player loyalty depends on trust, and online casinos can’t succeed long-term if they don’t have the loyalty of their players. For this reason, online casinos take many measures to ensure that all player data, from payment info and bank account numbers to personal data like names and birthdays, are kept secure and encrypted at all times. They also offer fast and dependable payout options for player winnings, and any potential hurdles (like processing delays or withdrawal limits) are always clearly outlined. You can trust real money online casinos just as much as you could a state-licensed retail casino, if not more.
Bitcoin Casino Bonuses
Bitcoin is the easiest, fastest, and most secure way to transfer money to or from an online casino. It is also a big scary buzzword that many consumers might not be familiar with. To incentivize players to try it, many online casinos offer special deposit bonuses for deposits using Bitcoin, including deposit matches where a casino adds additional money to a players’ account based on the value of their deposit. While there are deposit bonuses for other deposit methods as well, Bitcoin deposit bonuses are usually more robust because Bitcoin transactions are simpler for both casinos and players.
If you intend to gamble using online casinos, it will behoove you to begin using Bitcoin to take full advantage of available bonuses. It takes only seconds to purchase Bitcoin using a traditional credit/debit card or e-wallet service and using Bitcoin can reduce processing times for deposits and withdrawals with online casinos from a few days to a few seconds. Some online casinos also accept other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum or Litecoin, but Bitcoin is by far the most popular and ubiquitous. Whichever online casino you choose to play with, be sure to check out their deposit bonuses, including Bitcoin bonuses before you make a deposit.
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