Gambling has a deep seeded history in American culture, with the USA being the birthplace of the first liberty bell slot machine that paved the way for the electronic slots that we know and love today.
From Atlantic City to Las Vegas, there is no shortage of glitzy land based casinos for American punters to throw some coin around in, but what about when you just want to kick back in your sweatpants and place some real money wagers without leaving the house?
Luckily there are some great online casinos catering to players from the USA, so we’ll take you through the best sites, the deposit options and games that are available and the security regulations that are in place to ensure your safety when gambling online.
Best real money casinos accepting players from the USA
While American’s may not have as many online casinos to choose from as players from Europe or the UK, there are some great sites available that accept USD and offer a range of safe gaming options. These two casinos tick all the right boxes for USA players:
- Bovada – sign up to receive up to $3,000 in welcome bonuses
- Slots.lv – sign up to receive a $25 no deposit bonus plus up to $5K in welcome offers
Both Bovada and Slots.lv offer varied game catalogues, secure deposit options and are regulated by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. Both sites are protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) digital encryption security, support responsible gambling practices and use gaming software that’s fully certified by Gaming Associates, one of the industry’s leading game regulators. If you’re looking for a safe USA casino to play at, look no further than our safe recommendations.
Browser based software for instant play
Bovada and Slots.lv are browser based casinos, which means that all games are available for instant play with no downloads required regardless of whether you’re using the desktop or mobile sites.
These sites are available to all players in the USA with a solid Internet connection and relevant HTML5, Flash or Java software. To ensure you’re fully protected when gambling at a web based casino, ensure that your browser is up to date as outdated browsers may cause some websites not to work properly.
What online casino games are available for US players?
One of the great benefits of playing at an online casino as opposed to a land based casino is the much bigger range of game variants on offer. Online casino games also typically come with a smaller house edge than brick and mortar casinos, meaning your odds of winning are slightly increased.
Computerised games at regulated casinos are tested by regulatory bodies to ensure that random number generated (RNG) games are producing fair and unbiased results, so you don’t need to doubt the integrity of online games.
USA players can expect to find the following real money casino games at regulated sites like Bovada and Slots.lv, with a condensed offering of the main desktop game catalogue accessible at mobile casinos using your smartphone or tablet:
- Slot games including progressive jackpot slots, video slots, classic slots and 3D slots
- Blackjack
- Roulette
- Video poker
- Craps
- Baccarat
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Pai Gow Poker
- Vegas Three Card Rummy
- Tri Card Poker
- Bingo
- Keno
- Scratch cards
- Virtual sports
- Mini games
Another benefit of playing online is that you can try these games for free first in demo mode, so if you’re not familiar with a certain game variant you can hone up your skills and try out some strategies before committing to make a real money wager.
Bovada is also home to a horse racing site and comprehensive sports betting site that allows you to wager on NFL, soccer, baseball, UFC, basketball, tennis and many other sporting events. There is also a separate Bovada site dedicated entirely to real money poker, with many exciting poker tournaments happening around the clock. You can access all of these sites with the one single Bovada membership.
USD deposit options for American players
Players from the USA are restricted in their deposit options at online casinos, but the few options that are available are safe and easy to use so this shouldn’t be a deterrent. The main deposit options are:
Visa – while some American banks will block transactions made to online casinos, Visa credit card and debit cards are happily accepted at Bovada and Slots.lv and you can expect transactions to be processed without any issues. Deposits will be limited by any daily transaction limits enforced by your financial institution and naturally you will be restricted by the line of credit you have available. Visa payments may be subject to a processing fee.
Wire Transfer using MoneyGram or Western Union – the alternative to a Visa payment is to make a wire transfer using MoneyGram or Western Union. Both are safe deposit options but require the additional effort of making the cash transfer in person at a Western Union or MoneyGram office, which are located all over the USA. These wire transfers also come with transaction fees, generally around 5-10% of your total deposit when using MoneyGram or as high as 6-15% of your total deposit when choosing Western Union. If choosing this option, make sure to sign up for an account with Bovada or Slots.lv first and contact the customer support team for the further details required to complete your wire transfer.
Customer support for players from the USA
If the concept of playing at an online casino is daunting to you due to any uncertainties, our recommended regulated casinos are fully backed by dedicated support teams who are on standby to help you in any way you need. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for in the detailed FAQ section, there are email contact forms, live chat and phone help lines you can access 24 hours 7 days a week.