Updated Legal Online Casino Legislation by U.S. State

Between those permitted to operate on federally recognized tribal lands and state regulated facilities, land-based casinos are found throughout the majority of the United States. Meanwhile, the map of U.S. states with legal sports betting (on-premises and online) has grown with each passing year since the removal of the federal ban on the activity. Where gambling laws have been the most strict for America, is with respect to “real money” online casino gaming.

What exactly are real money online casinos? The term applies to websites and smartphone applications that register users of legal gambling age and provides them with access to digital-reproductions of games that one finds in traditional casinos. Games include online versions of slots, tables games (blackjack, roulette, et cetera), poker, keno, scratch cards, and more. Another category of real money online casinos are known as sweepstakes casinos, or social casinos. These platforms are touted as being free-play casinos in order to navigate the legalities of America’s strict laws against online casinos. However, sweepstakes/social platforms do contain a real money element that those who are vulnerable to developing a problematic relationship with gambling must be mindful of. The latter leads to the motivation behind the creation of this resource page.

As America’s leading problem gambling support provider, Kindbridge Behavioral Health has created the following “online casino legal states” map. The intent, is to ensure that vulnerable Americans remain informed about the select few states where online casinos are legal. This allows players to identify when they are using an unregulated offshore platform that presents a greater risk to their mental health. For example, given that real money online casinos are not regulated in Iowa, a resident who is using one within Iowa can quickly identify that the platform they are using is technically not legal. They should immediately close their account with the illegal operator. Meanwhile, this resource also helps at-risk citizens identify that their use of a social/sweepstakes casino may be occurring in a state that does not allow real money online casinos, which infers a call for greater mindfulness.