These questions are among the most common that our writing team has encountered through the years. We provide the best possible answers according to our collective knowledge and experience. We will update the answers whenever we become aware of changes in the verifiable facts.
1- Is Online Gambling Legal in the United States?
Online gambling is in fact legal in some states. It is your responsibility to determine if you are legally permitted to gamble online. State laws vary and we hope to provide a more detailed guide to which states permit online gambling.
Of course, many players ignore the law and gamble online anyway. We do not encourage you to break the law. You have to decide for yourself if you should do that.
However, some online casinos allow visitors to play their games for free and that is perfectly legal in all 50 states and US territories. Since no money is exchanged no laws are broken. You may find that playing these games is as enjoyable as risking your money at a land based casino.
2- Are Online Casinos Scams? Do They Cheat Players?
There are over 2,000 online casinos in operation today. To the best of our knowledge the vast majority of them are licensed by one or more government authorities. Licensed casinos are required to use only certified gaming servers that are tested and reviewed by independent organizations. A casino risks losing its license if it does not comply with the laws and regulations of its host country and licensing authority.
To be honest, no casino needs to cheat you. All casino games are designed to provide a mathematical “house edge” to the casino. That means that as players gamble a small percentage of their wagers is shifted to the casino by the laws of probability. This is legal and everyone who gambles for real money is expected to understand that the casino keeps some portion of player wagers for itself.
There are two main types of gambling games: the games where you gamble directly against the casino and the games where you simply gamble against random chance. In the former type of game the casino keeps every wager that you lose. The game of blackjack is an example of a game where you play directly against the casino. In a slot game or lottery game you simply buy an opportunity to win a random prize from the casino. The casino is not playing directly against you. It just owns or licenses the game you choose to gamble on.
A 3rd type of gambling game is one like poker, where you play against other people and the casino simply takes a small cut of the players’ stakes. That is called a “rake” or “vig” and it is treated as a broker’s commission or table fee.
We only review and link to licensed casinos that, to the best of our knowledge, operate according to the laws they are directly subject to. We do not link to or write about online casinos that are unlicensed or known to be operating outside of the law.
3- How Do I Play for Real Money at an Online Casino?
Although each casino has its own procedures and banking requirements, they all require you to register a user account. You must verify your identity by providing them with government issued ID and you may only use the banking resources they stipulate in their terms and conditions.
Every online casino has a “Cashier” page or section of their downloadable app. The Cashier page tells you which funding sources the casino accepts and how it makes payments to players when they withdraw their funds.
It is your responsibility to read all the terms and conditions each casino sets for its members. You should not assume they all use the same rules.
Once you have created and funded an account with the casino they allow you to play their games for real money. In some cases you may fund your games directly from your casino account but a very common practice among online casinos is that you transfer some of your casino balance into a game balance and only play from that game balance for each game.
4- What Are Casino Bonus Codes and Promotions?
The online casino marketplace is very competitive and all the casinos know that their players can move on to other casinos at any time. In order to build trust with players and earn their retention most casinos offer a signup or welcome bonus and subsequent weekly, monthly, or seasonal promotions.
These promotions may be provided in the form of free credit, free chips, or free games. You usually have to comply with certain rules to earn the bonus credit. You may not be able to withdraw any or all of the bonus credit but if you win money using that credit you can usually keep some or all of your winnings.
5- How Long Does It Take To Get My Money Back from a Casino?
This naturally varies by casino but it also depends on how much money you have in your casino account and what banking methods you have available. For small sums of money competitive online casinos strive to transfer the funds to players within a matter of hours. However as your balance grows into the thousands of dollars you may find that casinos have rules restricting how much money you can withdraw on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You should read their terms and conditions carefully.