Online gambling from the United States is a challenge. Many of the well-known, trusted sites don’t operate in this region, as they prefer to focus on Europe and other parts of the world. This certainly limits the options for US residents. Of those that are US friendly, it’s not always easy to tell which ones are reputable and trustworthy.
Your safety is of absolute importance when gambling online, so you do need to be selective in terms of where you do your betting and gaming. Luckily, we’re here to help. Based on extensive research and thorough testing, we can recommend the following options. These are all safe places to deposit your money. We’ve ranked them based on several key attributes, and we can confidently say that these are currently the best US gambling sites on the internet.
The main reason why US residents find online gambling more challenging than people in other parts of the world is a direct result of the legislation regarding gambling in this country. It’s very complex, and much of it is open to interpretation. This makes operating a gambling site that accepts US customers something of a minefield. As a result of this, many of the leading sites have decided it’s easier to simply not accept US customers than it is to have to deal with all the legalities involved.
This is obviously not great for gamblers from the United States. However, even though several big brands have stopped operating in the region, there are still several options. There are lots of people living in America who want to gamble online, and there are plenty of companies in the world that recognize this fact. You need to choose carefully when deciding where to join, though, as it’s very important to use the right site for your online betting and gaming.
That’s why we’ve compiled the above list of sites. We want to help our American readers decide where to gamble online and make sure that they know the right places. We’ve carried out our research into a large number of sites, and spent a great deal of time testing the US-friendly options. Having taken several factors into account, we believe that our recommendations genuinely reflect the best options currently available. If you are looking for a site to join today, then you really can’t go wrong with any of the ones we’ve listed here.
About These Recommendations
- Are they safe? Yes
- Do we trust them? Yes
- Are US customers welcome? Yes
- Are they licensed and operating legally? Yes
- Are there US-friendly deposit options? Yes
- Do they process cashouts quickly? Yes
We only list sites that we have complete confidence in and are comfortable using ourselves. Please rest assured knowing that all of our recommendations are reputable, trustworthy, and perfectly safe to use. Most of them not only accept customers from the US, but they focus specifically on catering to them. These sites all perform consistently well in all the key areas, and you can look forward to an all-around positive experience at each and every one.
Not ready to sign up just yet? Then we suggest taking the time to read the reviews we’ve provided. These provide in-depth information on exactly what each site has to offer, and covers both the things they get right and the areas they could improve on. These reviews can be accessed by clicking the relevant buttons in the table at the top of this page. Alternatively, you can take a look at our complete list of gambling site reviews.
We’ve also ranked the best sites for US gamblers in a variety of other categories, such as the best for betting on sports, and we’ve explained exactly why choosing the right site is so important. We’ve also provided some details on the subject of online gambling laws in the US, and also touched on the subject of the morality of online gambling.
More US Casino Onlines
When compiling the rankings for this page, we try to include “all-in-one” gambling sites. These are sites that offer a range of gambling activities, which is good for people who enjoy different forms of betting and gaming. It’s nice and convenient to be able to do everything at one site, from one account, without having to deposit at several different places.
A lot of people focus on just one form of gambling, though, and they might be better served by using a site that’s particularly good for that specific type. That’s why we also rank the best sports betting sites, casinos, and poker sites for those living in the US. We again take great care to ensure that these recommendations only include places that are safe and reliable, offer US-friendly deposit options, and meet all the other important criteria. We also include some additional factors in our ranking process, based on the relevant category.
Here’s a look at a small selection of those factors, along with links to these additional recommendations.
- Range of Sports and Events Covered
- Variety of Betting Options
- Odds and Lines Available
- Quality of Software
- Selection of Games
- Bonuses and Rewards Available
- Standard of Opposition
- Range of Stakes Available
- Game Variety
Why Your Choice of Site is Important
Choosing the right gambling site is important wherever you live, but it’s especially important if you live in the United States. There might be slightly more limited options than for people in other parts of the world, but there are still plenty of places to choose from. There are, unfortunately, a significant number of US gambling sites that aren’t very high in quality. Even worse, there are some that flat-out can’t be trusted.
Now, using a site that’s simply not very good is not a complete disaster. Once you discover that you’ve picked a bad one, you can just withdraw your money and try elsewhere. The problem with that is, if you don’t choose your site carefully, you might end up with one where there’s a risk of not getting your money back. This is quite unlikely, but it’s a risk nonetheless. This alone is a good enough reason to be very selective when deciding where to join.
It is absolutely vital that you only use reputable sites that are licensed and regulated.
We put a lot of effort into compiling our rankings, and we are EXCEPTIONALLY careful about making sure that we only ever recommend sites that we are 100% sure can be trusted. That’s why we spend so much time on our research and testing. If they’re not sites that we ourselves are comfortable using, then there’s simply no way that they’re going to make it into our rankings.
In addition to this issue, there are several other benefits to using our recommendations. We mentioned earlier that we look at a range of factors when ranking sites, and this is to ensure our rankings reflect which places have the most to offer on an overall scale. Here’s a small selection of the other things we consider.
Ease of Use
Loyalty/VIP Scheme
Sign-Up Bonus
Customer Service
We should point out that the sites we recommend aren’t the ONLY good sites out there. Please feel free to do your own research into the different options available before deciding where to join. We really cannot stress enough just how much you will benefit from being selective, though, and you absolutely must make sure that you only ever use sites that are definitely reputable and trustworthy.
Where you go for online betting and gaming is ultimately your decision, but we do genuinely believe that the sites we’ve listed on this page are the top performers and provide the best all-around experience.
US Gambling Legislation and Regulation
It wasn’t that long ago that online gambling as a US resident was a straightforward exercise. You just picked a site that you wanted to play at, deposited funds with ease, and away you went. Then, in 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed into law. This is largely what we were referring to earlier when we mentioned the complex legislation that few people understand.
The UIGEA changed the entire landscape of online gambling in the US
It was after the passing of this act that many of the biggest and best gambling sites stopped accepting US customers. This was because, among other things, the UIGEA made it illegal to process financial transactions that were related to online gambling.
The UIGEA didn’t make it illegal for Americans to place bets or play gambling games over the internet. However, a lot of people were worried that it did. As a result, many US citizens have chosen to stay away from online betting and gaming.
While we are not legal experts, and our opinion should not be considered legal advice, it is our view that any Americans wishing to use the internet to bet or play games for money can do so without having to worry about the legal issues. The UIGEA targeted the operators of gambling sites and financial institutions who facilitated payments to and from them, not individuals making a conscious decision to spend their money on an enjoyable form of entertainment.
The fact that several states have recently introduced legislation that legalizes and regulates online gambling would appear to support our view. If you’d like to read more on this subject, you should read our guide to US gambling laws. It includes more information on the UIGEA, plus information on the various legislation and regulation in place in each state.
Morality of Online Gambling
The subject of online gambling in the US splits opinion. Those who support it being fully legalized and regulated typically argue that adults should be able to spend their own money in any way they please (within reason, of course), and that they’re not doing anyone any harm. They have a point, in our view.
Some of those who are against it for moral reasons also have valid arguments, to be fair, but their voices are often lost. The people who speak out the loudest against online gambling are typically those who are simply protecting their own interests. It’s difficult to take anything they say very seriously, as they’re simply not being objective.
The biggest moral problem with gambling of any kind is that addiction can be an issue for some people. This should be taken seriously, but if anything, it’s an argument for having a strictly regulated environment. In such environments elsewhere in the world, sites are obliged to take measures to prevent problem gambling. These measures include offering the option to self-exclude and set deposit limits.
It should also be noted that studies have shown that access to betting and gaming on the internet has not increased the likelihood of addiction.
In any case, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling, less than 2% of Americans suffer from gambling addiction. While that’s not an insignificant number, it’s comparable to the number of people that suffer from alcohol addiction. Anyone of age is, of course, free to spend their money on alcohol throughout the US.
Ultimately, many people who are against online gambling will never be convinced that it’s anything but immoral. It is, of course, their right to have an opinion. However, those who wish to gamble online have the same rights. So if they see online gambling as a perfectly reasonable way to spend their money, why shouldn’t they be able to? After all, state governments spend an awful lot of money on advertising state lotteries, so they can’t be troubled by the idea of gambling too much.
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