Legitimate Online Casinos

Looking for legitimate online casinos? You’re in luck because there are plenty to choose from these days! 

Gone are the days when online gambling means playing at a shady offshore casino. Instead, feel satisfied knowing that your casino account funds are safe and customer support associates are standing by when you need help.

Discover our favorite legitimate online casinos, how to know which casinos are legit, and how to spot a fake platform. 

How do I know which online casinos are legit?

There are several ways to flesh out legit online casinos and avoid platforms that operate illegally. 

One of the major benefits of legalizing online casinos at a state level is that all casinos must be registered, verified, and regulated by state gaming boards. Before opening an account with an online casino or depositing any money into your casino account, we recommend reading reviews, avoiding offshore casinos, ensuring safe payments, and a few other tips. 

Read Reviews

One of the best ways to know which online casinos are legit is to read the reviews! Whenever you have a bad experience with an online platform, you can bet that you’ll leave a review detailing your experience — and other users do the same, too. 

We recommend only playing at casino sites that are verified, registered, and reviewed. All the online casinos we review are legit sites, so you don’t need to worry about if the platforms on our site are worth your time. 

You may also want to read reviews of online casino apps in the Apple Store or Google Store before committing to one over the other.

Avoid Offshore Casinos

Offshore casinos have gotten kind of a bad name within the online casino industry in the past few years.

These platforms were once the only way for Americans to place bets online (before online gambling was legalized by many states, back in the day). Now, you don’t need to head to these sites because there is a long list of legitimate online casinos stateside. 

Offshore casinos (as their name suggests) aren’t located in the U.S. Many of these sites are registered in Malta or other countries. While it wasn’t legal for these casinos to accept bets from U.S. residents, authorities didn’t go after offshore casinos for doing so, as it’s difficult to prosecute a company registered in another country. 

This means that it’s also difficult to prosecute an online offshore casino for mishandling account funds or winnings, too.

To ensure your money is handled correctly, we recommend only betting at legitimate online casinos that are registered and verified in the U.S. 

We recommend checking out our list of New Jersey online casinos and Michigan online casinos.

Check URLs

Some copycat online casino websites have been popping up online. These sites look like well-established brands’ sites (they use well-known casino names, such as Caesars, Golden Nugget, and others).

Always check the URL of the platform before depositing any money — just to be sure it’s not a copycat site. 

Ensure Safe Payments

All legitimate online casinos will offer secure payment options. The most common payments accepted by online casinos include Visa, Mastercard, debit card, ACH bank transfer, PayPal, Skrill, and the Play+ card.

You should also check to make sure the website is running on a secure platform (the site’s URL should start with HTTPS instead of just HTTP). Read the terms and conditions to find out more about the platform's money handling practices.  

Again, read online casino reviews to ensure others haven’t experienced mishandling of funds, delays in fund transfers, or other issues.

It’s also important to familiarize yourself with wagering requirements if you’re planning on playing with welcome bonuses. These requirements dictate how much of your own money you need to bet to become eligible to withdraw funds won with bonus money. 

ID Verification

All legit online casinos will require you to verify your identification before you can open and deposit money into your casino account.

While it isn’t always convenient to verify your ID online (you’ll probably need to upload a photo of your license, passport, or another ID card), all trustworthy online gambling sites will require you to do so. It’s done partially to ensure that all players are of legal betting age.

This is required not only by the site but by the gaming commission that oversees the site. If a platform doesn’t require this information, it could lose its license. 

Any online casino that doesn’t ask you to verify your ID isn’t legit and not worth doing business with. 

Mobile Playing Options

Pretty much online casinos now offer mobile playing options, such as a mobile-friendly site or a mobile app. The whole point of online betting is that you can do it on the go — in a restaurant, a sports bar, or a tailgate party. 

Online casinos want to ensure you have the ability to place bets whenever, wherever. They spend millions of dollars each year on their licenses so missing out on mobile betting would be a major financial loss. If a platform doesn’t offer mobile betting options, this should be a major red flag that it isn’t a legitimate casino. 

Welcome Bonuses

We’ll be honest: we don’t know any online casino that doesn’t offer a welcome bonus. 

It’s become the gold standard to offer these bonuses to woo new players to a casino platform. In fact, it’s pretty much mandatory to do so if a casino wants to succeed. 

If an online casino doesn’t offer such a bonus (even just a small one)? It’s probably not a legit online casino. 

Another red flag would be if a welcome bonus seems too good to be true. You’ll find online gambling sites that aren’t legit offer a ton of welcome bonuses or pie-in-the-sky promises for payouts. 

Again, just make sure the casino is listed on OddsSeeker or reviewed in the Apple Store or Google Play Store before depositing any money into your account. 

Is it legal to play at online casinos?

Yes! It’s totally legal to play at online casinos that are licensed, verified, and registered in the U.S. 

Real money casinos should be registered in a state where online gambling is legal, and free online casinos (also called social casinos or free sweeps casinos) should be registered at a federal level. 

You must be of legal gambling age to place bets (21 years or older for real money casinos and 18 years or older for free online casinos). You must also download geo-tracking software to prove you are located in an area of the country where online gambling is legal. 

Legitimate Online Casinos

Legitimate online casinos include real money casinos licensed in the U.S. and free online casinos. 

Real money online casinos are only legit in some states where online gambling has been legalized. Free online casinos are legal in every state except Washington State and every Canadian province except for Quebec. 

Free Online Casinos

Free online casinos are popular in the U.S. because they’re legal in nearly every state! You also don’t need to be 21 years old to place bets at a free online casino — only 18.

These platforms are legit because they work as free online sweepstakes instead of real money casinos.

Purchase virtual currencies, such as free sweeps and gold coins, and use that currency to place bets. When you’re ready to cash out your winnings, you can cash out real money prizes, gift cards, or other prizes (depending on the platform). 

You don’t need to pay to play at these online casinos. You simply need to collect your free sweeps and gold coins using the OddsSeeker link (and bonus code if necessary). Or, send a postcard to the address provided by the free online casino.

Some of the most popular free online casinos include:

• Luckyland Slots
• Chumba Casino
• Funzpoints
• Global Poker
• Bspot 

Real Money Online Casinos

Real money online casinos work similarly to land-based casinos. You don’t need to play with virtual currency here, and you need to be at least 21-years old to play. You must also be physically located in a state where online gambling is legal. 

Caesars Casino

Caesars is one of the biggest names in gambling — both on the Strip and online. This legend now runs online casinos and sportsbooks in several states. 

Right now, Caesars is offering our readers a first-deposit match of up to $2,000 by using the OddsSeeker link — and the promo code ODDSBONUSL. 

BetMGM

Another big name in betting is BetMGM — and it also happens to be another one of our favorite legitimate online casinos. 

Right now, BetMGM is offering our readers a no-deposit bonus of $25 and a first-deposit match of up to $1,000 by using the OddsSeeker link — and the promo code ODDSSEEKER. 

Tipico

Tipico is New Jersey’s newest online sportsbook. 

Right now, Tipico is offering our readers a risk-free bet of up to $750 and a first-deposit match of up to $750 by using the OddsSeeker link — no promo code needed! 

BetRivers

Another big name in gambling that has been more popular in Europe than stateside is BetRivers. 

Right now, BetRivers is offering our readers a first-deposit match of up to $250 by using the OddsSeeker link — and the promo code ODDSBONUS.