• Legitimate Online Casino
• Legit Us Online Casinos Online
• Legit Online Gambling

As experienced gamblers always searching for new platforms where we can take advantage of our wealth of gambling knowledge, we built this site to discuss the legitimate online casinos that gamblers of all skill levels can visit online for a safe and professional gaming experience.

Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware, as well as a few other regions, now offer state-regulated online casino gaming. However, US players not located in those states, as well as players outside of the United States, are not able to access these offerings.

However, there are legitimate online casinos operating offshore that are licensed and run by reputable management teams that have been providing a secure and reliable internet gambling experience to American and International players for years.

Best US Online Casinos Online casinos have been a great source of entertainment in the United States since the introduction of internet betting in the mid-1990s. You are going to see recommendations from Legit Casinos Online that will give you the confidence to be able to sit back, hit the casino lobby and gamble to your heart’s content.

If this were the stock market, think of our recommendations like blue-chip stocks. We only endorse the most trusted and reputable casino brands in the industry that have proven to be extremely safe for players and always payout winnings quickly and reliably. As a matter of fact, many of the casinos we recommend offer same-day payouts when you use Bitcoin.

From one veteran gambler to another, you can count on us to shoot straight from the hip, and never sugarcoat our findings. If a casino is legitimate, we will praise them and explain why we consider them a good choice for players. If they are rogue, we will punch them in the mouth accordingly and explain why they are best avoided.

Bovada Casino is considered to be one of the most legitimate casinos in the business and is trusted by thousands of players. As a part of the Bodog gaming group, their security profile is exceptional, and because they employ the RTG software platform, you can rest assured that their software solution presents certified, legitimate, fair gaming technology.

Known for fast payouts and ongoing promotions that sweeten the pot, Bovada Casino easily became a favorite among players, particularly those attentive to the reputation, legitimacy, and quality of the gaming sites they visit.

We consider them to be a reliable online gambling option that reflects the best that the industry has to offer. They also offer sports betting, poker, and horse racing, which is very appealing to players who enjoy all types of gambling action.

Claim a 100% bonus up to $1,000 on your first 3 deposits.

Most Legitimate And Safe Online Casinos
Top 10 Rated Sites For 2020

Quick Note: I know it seems strange that most of our site rankings are 5 stars. This isn't because we take our site ratings lightly. The reason is simple, right now we are only reviewing the most trusted casinos in the industry which have been around for years and have proven themselves to be very reputable for players.

Once we get around to reviewing some of the lesser casinos in the industry, you will certainly see more reviews with 2 or 3 stars. We just wanted to throw that out there so our visitors understood that we weren't being cavalier about our recommendations. We actually take them very seriously and only recommend sites that we are willing to risk our own hard earned money at ourselves.

Which Online Casinos Payout Fast?

It goes without saying that payout speed is certainly a determining factor when assessing the legitimacy of an online casino. Operating an efficient, reliable banking suite with multiple deposit and withdrawal options for US players is not 'optional' in our opinion.

The following information on the payout speed of the top online casinos demonstrates a vital component in explaining why the legit brands featured on this page are among the most trusted in the industry.

How fast you can get to your winnings will depend on a few things, including what option you used to fund your account with, which in turn determines which online casinos payout the fastest and how long it takes to get your withdrawal. While legitimate casinos that accept Visa are convenient, processing times can sometimes frustrate account holders. If you are interested in same-day payouts, we recommend you fund your account using Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Zelle to Bitcoin or another accepted cryptocurrency option.

Bovada Casino Payout Speed

• Bitcoin: Same Day
• Bitcoin Cash: Same Day
• Check by Courier: 7-14 Days (usually arrives within 3-5 days)

SlotsLV Casino Payout Speed

• Bitcoin: Same Day
• Bank Wire: 3-5 Days
• Check by Courier: 7-14 days (usually arrives within 3-5 days)
• Direct Bank Transfer 3-5 Days (Canadian players only)

Cafe Casino Payout Speed

• Bitcoin: Same Day
• Bitcoin Cash: Same Day
• Check by Courier: 7-14 days (usually arrives within 3-5 days)

Ignition Casino

• Bitcoin: Same Day
• Bitcoin Cash: Same Day
• Check by Courier: 7-14 Days (usually arrives in 3-5 days)
• Wire Transfer: 3-5 Days

Roaring21 Casino Payout Speed

• Bank Wire: 3-5 Days
• Check by Courier: 7-14 Days
• Skrill: 24 Hours
• Ecopayz: 24 Hours
• Visa: 24 Hours

Cherry Jackpot Payout Speed

• Bitcoin: Same Day
• Check by Courier: 7-14 Days
• Bank Wire Transfers: 3-5 Days
• Visa (non-USA players only): 24 Hours
• Ecopayz (non-USA players only): 24 Hours
• Neteller (non-USA players only): 24 Hours
• Skrill (non-USA players only): 24 Hours

Casino Max Payout Speed

• Bitcoin: Same Day
• Wire Transfer: 3-5 Days
• Check by Courier: 7-14 Days

Why A Casino's Reputation Should Be Paramount To New Players

A casino's true reputation is a key indicator of whether you should or should not try them out. If a casino is behaving unethically, you had better believe that players spread the word about the nefarious actions they witness and the casino's reputation will soon be in the toilet, along with their business.

Rogue, predatory online gambling sites are designed to cause you harm and are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the legitimate sites at first glance.

If you have been a casino gambler, poker player and/or sports bettor as long as we have, you can quickly sniff out reviews and opinions that are less than truthful, and you will not find that here.

Our diverse team of experienced gamblers and analysts collaborate to discuss our findings in an honest and straightforward way. We want to make you aware of the casino's true reputation, qualities and/or misses.

You demand integrity, safety, and trustworthiness from your online casino as an active player, and it is our goal as discerning veteran gamblers and industry insiders to steer you in the right direction.

We cover all relevant elements that make a casino brand who they are and present our findings in honest online casino reviews that you can trust to provide accurate, unfiltered information on each brand's reputation, resulting in a recommendation from us or a warning to avoid them.

Before we investigate a casino's user interface thoroughly and identify the gaming software provider, we delve deep into the legitimacy and reputation of that site's management group. For instance, where is the site licensed? How long has the site been running? And even if a particular website is relatively new, does its management team have extensive experience providing online gaming options to Internet gamblers? Safe online casinos will generally be run by experienced online gaming providers who have lasted for years in the online gambling community.

The cold, hard truth is, there are some rogue and predatory operators running casino, poker and sportsbook websites in cyberspace. But there are also legitimate casinos that strive to provide exactly what gamblers are looking for, including reliable and extensive banking platforms, multiple gambling options, responsive and knowledgeable customer support, and generous player rewards. Efficiently executing these services directly affects a casino's reputation and is an indicator of their legitimacy.

The type of online gaming software used is also extremely important. For instance, when you see the RealTime Gaming (RTG) name attached to a particular website, that generally means you are at one of the more trusted and legitimate gambling sites. But that is not always the case, just because a casino uses RTG software doesn't make it a legitimate RTG casino. So you must do your due diligence and check out a website thoroughly, just as we do.

We will also include reviews for other top-level online gaming software providers that deliver a fluid and reliable experience as well, such as Playtech Casinos, which is a premium International online gambling platform. We have provided a comprehensive software review that includes a listing of legitimate Playtech casinos. We have also covered legitimate Microgaming casinos in our guide because they have proven to deliver a highly secure and overall pleasing online gambling platform for non-USA players.

Trustworthy virtual casinos always treat you with respect and provide an honest, dependable gambling experience, however you may be surprised to find that they do not always offer the largest welcome bonuses and player reward packages. You may wonder why the most reputable legitimate gambling sites often times have smaller bonus packages than their inferior competition.

The reason is simple. Rogue and predatory sites will advertise an almost unbelievable welcome bonus just to get you to open an account. They then make it nearly impossible to withdraw your money in a timely manner and make it incredibly difficult to qualify for your bonus match in the first place. They really just want to steal your money.

This sort of scam is obviously not the case every time you see a generous offer. There are some absolutely outstanding and safe casinos which use top-of-the-line software, offer speedy and reliable banking, and still provide extremely generous welcome bonuses. However, you need to be able to distinguish which types of offers are legit and which are scams. Our reviews help with this.

While some of the best online casinos and sportsbooks can have a very narrow focus when it comes to game selection, most players prefer one website which offers you multiple gambling options. All of the online casinos featured here provide a substantial game selection and many of them also offer additional gambling venues, such as sports betting, poker, and horse racing.

The gambler who sits down to each session expecting to walk away with a profit knows that one day their money might be made on the craps table, and the next day its video poker treating them well. Legitimate gambling sites, in our humble opinion, should offer a wide variety of gambling options, provide some type of realistic welcome bonus with attainable wagering requirements for opening an account, speedy and diverse banking options, reliable mobile casino access, and reliable software. The reputations of the casinos you find listed on our site are based on how well they check all of these boxes.

How We Rate Online Casinos - Our Approval Process

The following criteria are used to vet each and every site we list on legitimatecasinos.com

First and foremost let us explain our rating icons so players fully understand what they are looking at. It's pretty simple, we offer a legitimacy rating throughout our site that ranges between 0-5 stars with 5 being the most reputable casinos and zero being the lowest. Obviously we recommend avoiding any casino with a zero star rating as this is definitely a rogue outfit that will steal your money with no intention of paying you.

Unfortunately the average online gambler assumes the casino they are using values honesty and integrity and is a reputable casino brand without doing much to verify that assumption. We thoroughly vet how honest particular websites are before we tag them as 'legitimate online casinos'. You can discover a website's level of honesty by reading their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) section and checking customer written reviews online. And comparing things like banking options and welcome bonus qualifications is good as well, but to truly get a feeling for whether a casino is honest or not you have to open an account and play there. That is what we do, and this is our first step in the review process.

Checking out the security profile that a casino offers goes hand-in-hand with the first step above, but is actually a little easier to do. Most legitimate online casinos will have a section on their website which provides a link to a discussion of their particular security efforts. We investigate what type of secure SSL and data encryption is used, are their random number generators (RNGs) frequently tested by an independent third party source, and which online gaming software is used. The answers to these questions provide valuable insight to the quality of the casino's security mindset regarding the sensitive information that comes through their banking suite and registration process. All reputable casinos spare no expense or effort to ensure that a sophisticated security footprint is in place to protect players. The casino security technology that any brand uses is certainly one of the most important components to determining their legitimacy.

Checking a casino's licensing and certification is another step which cannot be fudged or glossed over. Either an online casino is a licensed and legally certified brand or they are not. We verify that casinos are licensed by a respected governing authority and that they willingly subject themselves to fair gaming regulatory oversight with independent and official gaming commissions with authority in their respective jurisdictions. We do anticipate the addition of US based and regulated online casinos being added to this guide in the near future as the United States works on developing their own regulatory infrastructure to facilitate the online gambling industry legally entering the US market. In the mean time, most licensed casinos are located and regulated outside of the United States.

You can stay up to date on what is happening on the legal side of things in our gambling laws by country section.

We have found that a casino's reputation can be discovered by frequenting online gambling forums and chat rooms. This type of first-person information from veteran gamblers is like being offered a guaranteed win on a wager. This is unadulterated information which immediately points out those websites where experienced gamblers feel safe and secure, while also enjoying generous bonuses, multiple banking options and a wide range of wagering opportunities. We also subscribe to industry watchdog newsletters which have no affiliation with any particular online casino or software platform. We combine this information with our own extensive wealth of knowledge from having been involved in the online gambling industry for years. We know the prominent brands inside and out, and those casinos which we are unfamiliar with go through an extensive testing and evaluation period executed by a team of online gambling professionals before the verdict on their legitimacy is shared with our readers. Finding honest casinos and gambling sites that offer a high quality and secure gaming experience is our objective.

Finally, we use all of the above information to develop a sense of how safe we feel gambling at that portal. Whether enjoying casino table games, betting on a sports contest, placing a bet on a horse or playing poker, you want to feel safe. By actively opening accounts and playing at an online casino, making withdrawal requests and asking aggressive questions of customer support staff, we can quickly reach a confident opinion regarding a particular website as safe and legitimate or not. We also prefer to play at those casinos which are very open about their views on responsible gaming, helping problem gamblers, their privacy policy, bonus match wagering requirements and other major topics before we pronounce that site safe.

We have 2 additional websites that are part of our legitimate family. These include legitimate poker sites and legitimate sportsbooks. We may even develop one additional site to cover bingo sites. The idea here is to offer players information as to whether or not a particular gambling site is trusted based on their history with players. It's truly a monumental task to research all the different sites available to players, learn about issues and problems and update our legitimacy rating accordingly. But we hope you appreciate our efforts to provide reviews on not only the most reputable sites, but the bad ones as well so you can avoid getting robbed by any unscrupulous betting sites on the internet that exist to do nothing but steal and cheat from players.

There are so many real money casinos on the web that it can be difficult to know which one to choose. That’s why websites like this exist.

Luckily, our team of experts has decades of experience in the industry and is trained to spot rogue casinos as well as world-class ones.

We’ll explain to you how we pick the best online casinos for real money to recommend, how the various games work and your chances of winning them, whether or not you can gamble for real money for free, and we’ll answer some frequently asked questions about real money gambling.

The casinos listed below all have:

• Top-Quality Graphics and a Large Variety of Games Available
• Excellent Ratings for Safety and Security
• Proven Real Money Payouts

Best Real Money Casinos by Location

If you’re unsure if the above accept players from your country, don’t worry; we still have lots of top-rated online casinos for real money which we can recommend to you. There are also some we definitely won’t recommend, and we want you to be aware of those, too.

It’s crucially important to pick a real money casino which accepts players from your country for a few reasons.

First, it’s possible that your government has some sort of minimum standards a casino needs to meet. That’s definitely the case if you’re from the UK or some other European countries.

Second, you don’t want to face unnecessary restrictions such as not being able to claim bonuses, not being able to play some games, or not being able to sign up at the given casino you have spent time researching.

Finally, this will help you stay on the right side of the law. Some countries prohibit players from their countries from signing up at anything other than state-sanctioned online casinos. While these laws are difficult to enforce, they do exist in some countries.

Take a look at some of the regions listed below. If you’re from there, click on the relevant button to see a list of online casinos for real money which accepts you.

Beating the House Edge

Every online casino game has a house edge. This is the casino’s built-in advantage and means that it’s mathematically guaranteed to make money over a long enough timeline.

In the long run, you honestly can’t beat it. It’s pure mathematics. Ever heard the saying “the house always wins”? Well, it does!

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t win in the short term. If everybody lost at online casinos constantly, it wouldn’t be long before people stopped playing at them. The fact is, some people do win real money at casinos.

While the majority of winners will simply double or triple their money and walk away after having had a great time, there are some crazy stories of life-changing wins that enter the realm of the almost unbelievable. If they weren’t documented, they might seem like fiction.

A Spin from Heaven

One such example is the story of the biggest online slots jackpot ever won. A British soldier playing Mega Moolah slot won £13,200,000, which shattered all existing records and hasn’t been topped since. Best of all, he won it with a £0.25 spin.

That’s just one headline story. There are many more, and it’s no coincidence that video slots are involved in many of them. If Lady Luck is going to visit you and then change your financial destiny, there’s a good chance that this type of huge win will come while playing slots.

These colossal wins aside, we’ve all heard stories of people winning enough to buy a house while playing poker, paying off debts after a great night at the blackjack tables, or going on a roll while playing roulette and buying something they’ve always dreamed of afterwards.

Even when these insane wins happen, the casino still makes money because of house edge. The majority of players won’t win, and you can be sure that over the long run the casino makes a percentage no matter what.

Not All Games Have the Same Edge

It’s important to recognize that house edge is not a fixed number across all games. Different games have different math involved in them, and understanding this can be the key to winning more often.

It’s widely accepted that some variants of video poker have the lowest house edge, whereas keno and lottery games have the largest house edge, meaning the worst odds for you as a player.

We’ll talk a little later about the odds of various games and their pros and cons. For now, just be aware that not all games are mathematically equal. There are some you have a much higher chance of winning than others, and there are some in which you have a greater degree of control over the outcome as compared to games of pure chance.

Safety and Legality

It’s essential to know how to stay safe while gambling online. There are a few potential pitfalls which you may not be aware of if you’re not an experienced online gambler.

Luckily, you have us to show you the ropes. Here are some of the things you have to be aware of to gamble safely online.

Risk Associated with Sharing Financial Details

Sharing your credit card, debit card, or bank details with any online merchant carries some degree of risk. If that merchant is untrustworthy, you could find yourself in a world of trouble quickly.

You can immediately find out if a casino site is trustworthy by reading our reviews.

Take the time to look around, and you’ll see that we certainly don’t recommend every site we review, and we aren’t afraid to call out scam casino sites when we discover them.

Financial predators are everywhere online, and sadly the casino industry attracts its fair share of them. Stick with expert-recommended real money online casinos to avoid falling into their clutches.

Predatory Terms and Conditions

There are real money online casinos which aren’t direct scams in that there are real games to play and you can win actual money.

However, they can make it extremely difficult for you to get your money out when the time comes to do so, even if it’s technically possible. The idea is to make you give up and go away without collecting.

Usually, a site will state in its terms and conditions that withdrawals can be held for no reason, that the casino can drag its feet before paying, or that they can simply void winnings on a whim without justification.

Believe us; we’ve seen it all in our years of reviewing real money online casinos. This type of casino site preys on the fact that nobody takes the time to read endless pages of legal jargon before registering.

Once again, having experience in dealing with casinos online can solve this problem.

Our experts know exactly where to look in the terms and conditions, and our casino reviews show you all of the deposit and withdrawal methods and any good or bad sides to the terms and conditions of the sites we review. If a site is going to try to screw you, we’ll let you know.

Fixed or Pirated Games and Software

As you gain experience in playing at real money online casinos, you get to know more about the software companies that provide the games. In time, you’ll know instantly by looking at the range of games whether or not you can trust an online casino.

This can help you avoid the fixed games which are run by some rogue software companies in order to fleece you.

However, it takes a little bit of more time to get to know how to spot pirated versions of legitimate games.

By assessing a real money casino’s licenses and looking at some other factors, our experts can instantly tell if the games on a casino site are pirated. By playing the games and assessing them against the published return-to-player figures, we can quickly figure out if they’re fixed.

You probably don’t have the time to figure this all out for yourself, and by the time you realize the games are fixed, it will likely be too late.

Once again, that’s where we come in. It’s our job to figure this out, so you don’t have to.

The Legal Situation in Your Country

While online casino gambling is a global phenomenon, each country is still sovereign and has its laws and regulations. This can confuse the matter of whether or not it’s illegal to gamble online in some places.

You can check out our gambling laws page for the latest and most up-to-date information on the legality of gambling in your country.

You won’t only have to contend with the authorities if you get caught, but scam artists know you have no legal recourse when they hustle you out of your hard-earned cash.

After all, if gambling is illegal in your country, you can’t exactly go to the police and report that you lost money to a scam artist while gambling on the internet.

Keeping things legal is one of the keys to gambling safely online.

Online Casino Bonus Offers

There are a few different types of real money casino bonuses available to new and existing players. We have an entire page dedicated to explaining the differences between these bonuses. Check it out by clicking the button below:

There are pros and cons to taking casino bonuses. Let’s start off by looking at the reasons you might want to take them before turning our attention to why they might not be suitable for you as an individual player.

Whether casino bonuses are right for you depends on what your goals are.

The Positives

You Can Test the Waters Without Risk

It’s nice to be able to play the games available in an online casino and to be able to check it out in general without having to make a financial commitment.

While some bonuses do require you to deposit to activate them, there are many which don’t. These are known as no-deposit bonuses and are the ideal way to test an online casino without risking your own money.

Once you’re sure you can trust the casino site and have decided you would like to play the games, then you can start playing for real money.

Some Bonuses Can Increase Your Chances of Winning

In the casino bonuses and promotions page we linked to above, we explain the concept of wagering or rollover requirements. Bonuses which have these attached make it difficult (without serious luck) for you to withdraw the bonus amount and are designed to allow you to simply test the casino.

However, there are plenty of casino bonuses with no wagering requirements available online these days. If you take these, you’ll more than likely be required to make a deposit, but they increase your chances of winning by giving you free spins or free games with no strings attached.

They may only slightly increase your chances of winning, but hey, any increase in the chance of winning is always welcome.

The Negatives

You Can Become a Marketing Target

If the casino figures out that you are a bonus hunter or that you like a particular kind of bonus, they might decide to pitch you regularly.

This can be a good thing if you like taking these offers, but if you sign up at multiple casinos, take the bonus, and don’t play, you can expect your email inbox, and sometimes your cell phone, to be bombarded with offers. The more accounts you create, the more intense this will become.

Some unscrupulous casinos will sell your information on to other operators who will pitch you, too. This can become a serious annoyance, and so if you’re going to take bonuses with no intention of becoming a real money player, we suggest setting up an email address specifically for that purpose.

Most Bonuses Have Terms Which Favor the House

If a real money casino bonus has rollover or wagering terms, there’s a very little chance you’ll ever be able to withdraw it or anything you win while playing with it.

You have to remember that bonuses are a promotional and marketing tool. The casino doesn’t want to let you play with house money and walk away with the multimillion-dollar jackpot. They also don’t want you to take the free casino chips and walk away without playing. That wouldn’t be very good business, would it?

Rollover requirements are explained in greater detail on the casino bonuses page linked to above. Basically, they mean you have to bet the bonus cash a number of times before you can withdraw it. For example, if a bonus has 20x wagering requirements, then you need to bet the total amount 20 times before you can withdraw it or anything you win while using it.

Real Money Casino Apps

Mobile casinos have become a huge deal in the past several years. Real money casino apps and mobile casino sites can now boast that they serve the majority of players. This trend will undoubtedly continue for years to come, at least until something comes along to replace mobile devices (chips in the head, perhaps?).

We’ve written an entire page to help you decide which casino app is right for you. Check it by clicking the button below.

Online Casino Games for Real Money

New players are often bamboozled by the vast range of casino games on offer and how to play and win them.

We’ve created game-specific pages on each popular real money casino game to show you how to play, how to give yourself the best chance of winning, and what the rules of each game are.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the games listed below. Click any of the buttons, and you’ll be transported to a wealth of information on that specific game.

We also cover a bit about each game in the “which casino game is right for you?” section below.

Playing Free Casino Games to Win Real Money

Is it possible to win real money playing free casino games? The short answer is no.

A casino is a business, and usually, it’s a very profitable one. You can’t expect a casino to let you play real money games and assume all of that risk without getting anything in return.

It’s true that some bonuses will allow you to play real money casino games for free. However, these bonuses will have terms and conditions which favor the casino and make it almost impossible for you to withdraw all that money. See the page about bonuses for further details.

We’re telling you straight that if anyone tells you that you can win real money without any risk, they’re lying to you. They might be scam artists waiting to empty your wallet, or they may have merely misunderstood a bonus offer they read about online. There is no such thing as a free lunch. That’s an old saying for a reason, primarily because it’s always correct!

With that said, it is possible to play free casino games to win things like virtual points and virtual money. These can be enjoyed at social casinos, and sometimes the points can be traded in for prizes. Just don’t expect to cash out real money jackpots, or you’ll be disappointed.

Which Casino Game Is Right for You?

There are lots of great online casino games to choose from. They may be digital variants, but they’re not that different from what you would find at a real Vegas casino, or a casino anywhere else, for that matter.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular casino games you might be interested in playing. We’ll look at your chances of winning them, how fun they are, and some other things you might want to be aware of.

Hopefully, by the end of this section, you’ll have a better idea of which game you would like to play.

Please note that the “house edge” figures listed below can vary depending on how you play the game, the game variant, and the casino itself.

Baccarat

This is a fun card game with a simple objective – bet on either the player or the banker to get closest to nine, or bet on a tie between the player and banker. If you place a bet on the banker hand to get closest to nine and the banker does so, you win your bet for that hand.

It’s fast-paced, fun, and you just bet on the outcome, rather than actively participating.

• If you bet on the player, the house edge is 1.24%
• If you bet on the banker, the baccarat house edge is 1.06%
• If you bet on a tie, the house edge is 14.36%

Don’t bet on a tie! Also remember that if you bet on banker and win, the house can take a 5% commission.

Blackjack

This might be the most popular card game in the world. It’s a game with some degree of skill involved, and there are professional blackjack players out there. Entire movies and books have been made about this game.

The objective of blackjack is to get a hand totaling 21, or as close to it as possible without exceeding it. You play against the dealer, and whoever has 21 (or the highest hand not exceeding 21 in cases where neither has 21) after all the cards have been dealt wins.

Going by Vegas rules, the house edge is a tiny 0.28%. This will change if you play another variant of blackjack such as Atlantic City rules or Suit ‘Em Up.

The tiny house edge is what makes it possible for some people to make a living playing blackjack.

Keno

This is a fun lotto game, but it’s known for having the worst odds in the house. The objective is to pick between one and ten numbers from a pool of 80, and then wait for the draw.

The house edge in keno can be between 25% and 29%, depending on the variant and the casino itself. This game is okay for switching off and having a little fun, but it’s highly unlikely you’re going to win money playing keno, at least in the long run.

Roulette

This is one of the most fun casino games, period. The objective is to predict where a ball will land on a spinning wheel when it stops.

You can pick a color or a number between 1 and 36 (or the zero) if you want to make basic roulette bets. It’s also possible to select clusters of numbers, rows, or entire columns as you gain confidence and learn to understand the game.

• If you’re playing American Roulette (Double Zero), the house edge is 5.26%
• If you’re playing European Roulette (Single Zero), the house edge is 2.7%

You have a decent chance of winning roulette, but you are guaranteed to have a lot of fun whether you win or lose.

Video Poker

This is a machine-based game based on 5-hand poker. There are many different variants with different pay tables and slightly different rules, but the aim is always to make as valuable a hand as possible according to poker hand ranks. No matter the variant, a Royal Flush will always pay the most.

Covering some popular versions of video poker, you can expect the house edge to be:

• 0.46% when playing Jacks or Better with an optimal strategy.
• 0.71% when playing Deuces Wild with a perfect strategy. In this case, you as the player have the advantage.
• 0.64% when playing Joker Poker with perfect strategy. Once again, you have the advantage here.

If you are patient and want to make money playing casino games, video poker is your best bet. You’ll need to develop skill, though, and learn video poker strategy first.

Don’t expect to have the advantage when you’re new to video poker and don’t know what you’re doing. Even in these cases, though, the house edge is significantly lower than in most other casino games.

Video Slots

These are probably the most-played casino games online. There are tens of thousands of video slots ranging from simple 3-reel games with no features to 5-reel new slots with bonus rounds, free spins, and progressive jackpots.

They’re fun, highly entertaining, and if you’re lucky, you can win a fortune playing slots.

The house edge depends on the game in question. It can range from 2% to 15% – that’s no small difference! Knowing this, it pays to do your research on which slots have the best RTP.

A Quick Summary Before Moving On

Which casino game is best for you ultimately depends on your goals as an individual player.

If you want to real money playing casino games, then pick the games with the best odds and lowest house edge.

If you just want to have a little fun and relax, then any of the above games will do.

Choosing the Right Real Money Casino

If you already know what games you want to play, then it’s time to look at picking an online casino. If you’re new to playing casino games, there’s a lot more to this than you might initially think. As you’ll see, most of the top real money casinos have some things in common.

Consider the following factors before registering at any casino site.

1 – Reviews

Are there reliable, trustworthy casino reviews on the site? If so, what do the experts say?

It pays to pay attention to these reviews. If a casino expert says a site sucks, there’s a great chance you’ll want to avoid it.

If you were looking for a new car, you would probably talk to someone who knows a thing or two about cars before making a decision, or at least read a few reviews on various models, wouldn’t you? The same should go for choosing an online casino. There’s more to it than you might think, and reading a review can be a great way to get all the information in one place.

Be suspicious of reviews which are overly positive, though. Sometimes there’s an agenda at play. If a review site gives a real money online casino a glowing review, check out some of the other reviews, too.

If they’re all overly positive, that could be a warning sign. If the reviewers throw some terrible casinos under the bus, you’re probably dealing with an honest casino review site.

2 – Legality

Is this casino operating legally with a valid gaming license?

If so, what jurisdiction is the license from? Believe us when we tell you that not all casino licenses are equal. UK, Malta, Alderney, Gibraltar, Curacao, and Puerto Rico licenses are all respected and are good indicators that a real money casino can be trusted. Others, we don’t have that much faith in.

Also, make sure the casino isn’t accepting players from your country even if it’s illegal to do so. If they’re willing to break the law, what makes you think they’re going to be honest with you?

3 – Safety

A valid license is one way to make sure you’re dealing with the safest real money casinos.

There’s more to it than that, though. We advise checking that the website is operating on a secure, encrypted connection. You can do so by looking at the web address. If you see HTTPS:// in front of the domain, you’re dealing with a secure casino. If it’s just HTTP:// (no “S”), then the connection might not be protected.

Also look for published game payouts verified by third parties. This is a hugely positive sign, and it means that it’s highly likely this is a safe casino site. If the games are verified by eCOGRA, you’re in safe hands.

4 – Preferences

It would be a shame to go through the registration process only to find out the casino doesn’t offer the types of games you want to play or doesn’t offer very many of them.

Make sure the exact games you want to play are offered, make sure the casino accepts the types of bet you want to make regarding size, and check which betting services are provided. For example, some casinos also offer Texas Hold’em poker tournaments or sports betting as additional services, whereas others don’t.

We would also suggest taking some time to familiarize yourself with the site. If you like how it “feels,” that’s a great sign. A user-friendly website likely means the operator actually cares about its players and has invested time in figuring out what makes you happy. That’s likely to show across the casino as a whole.

5 – Bonuses

First, you’ll need to figure out if the online casino offers real money bonuses at all. Most do, but some don’t.

After that, you’ll need to look into exactly what types of bonuses are offered and their terms and conditions.

Don’t just look at the welcome offers, which are always emphasized to attract new players. Look at the ongoing weekly and monthly offers, too. These will give you an insight into what kind of casino you’re dealing with.

Also look at the terms and conditions of any bonus offers. Pay attention to minimum deposits and wagering/rollover requirements. If they’re excessive (40x or more), think twice about taking the offer.

If you like playing slots on weekends, it makes sense to find a casino which offers free spins on weekends, doesn’t it?

6 – Service

Everybody likes to feel like they matter, casino players included. It’s essential that a casino has top-notch customer service if you’re going to enjoy your experience playing there.

Check the number of customer service options available. Email and live chat are a necessity, but if a real money casino also offers telephone support, that’s an excellent sign.

Don’t be afraid to test the customer service if you wish. Ask a question or two. You’ll soon see how fast the responses are and how helpful (or unhelpful) the customer service agents are.

You know that old saying that goes “When someone shows you who they are, believe them”? That applies here. If an agent is slow to respond, avoids answering questions directly, or acts in an unhelpful manner, move on.

7 – Banking

You wouldn’t believe how many people register at online casinos for real money without considering the most important thing of all – withdrawing your money!

Most casinos will make it as easy as pie for you to deposit, but only the best real money online casinos make it as easy for you to withdraw.

Look for a roughly equal number of deposit and withdrawal methods, low (or no) fees, and fast withdrawals.

The last thing you want is to be sitting around waiting for weeks to get your money, or worse, never getting it at all!

Feeling Overwhelmed? Don’t Worry!

If all of this makes your head spin and you wonder how on earth you’re going to go about finding all of this information out, don’t worry; we have plenty of top casino reviews where you can find the information all in one place.

We don’t want you to think that all real money casino sites are scams out to get you. There are lots of world-class online casinos worth playing at. It’s just that you have to wade through a fair deal of not-so-great ones to find them.

Our job is to make that as easy as possible for you. If you see a casino on this site that you like the look of, there will be a full, in-depth review attached.

Other Real Money Sites to Consider

While playing at real money casinos is arguably the most fun way to gamble, there are other ways to have fun gambling and hopefully make a little money in the process.

Betting on sports, playing poker, playing bingo or lotto games, and even betting on financial markets are all possible thanks to the global connectivity the web facilitates.

Why not check out some of the other options? We have sections dedicated to each form of gambling. If you want to know more, click any of the buttons below.

Real Money Online Casinos FAQ

Q. Will I need casino bonus codes to claim the bonuses offered by online casinos?

A. In most cases, you won’t need a casino bonus code, but where one is required, the casino will make it abundantly clear before you register.

Sometimes casinos run temporary promotions which do require bonus codes. In these cases, the codes are often emailed directly to you or are listed in the terms and conditions of the offer. If in doubt, ask the customer service agents.

Q. Do real people win the slots jackpots, or are they fixed?

A. Real people most definitely win slots jackpots from time to time. Big slots software companies like NetEnt, Microgaming, and IGT are independently audited, and random number generators control the games. There is no possible way that these games could be fixed.

It’s unlikely that you’ll become a millionaire playing slots, but you never know! Many more people win hundreds or thousands, and you never hear about them. This is a far more likely outcome.

Q. Is it illegal to gamble online as an American player?

A. This is somewhat of a grey area. The relevant regulations (UIGEA – 2006) make it illegal for financial institutions to facilitate real money gambling online, or for casinos to accept deposits from US-based players.

That does not make it illegal for you to gamble online. There are still many casinos which do accept deposits from US players.

Legitimate Online Casino

Don’t worry; nobody wearing a S.W.A.T. vest with a machine gun is going to come through your door and shoot your dog before arresting you just because you played a little blackjack online.

Q. Are there any real money casinos which accept Bitcoin?

A. There are indeed. In fact, the number of casinos accepting Bitcoin is growing by the day. You could say Bitcoin is trending in the online casino world. It’s becoming a hugely popular way to make deposits and withdrawals quickly and safely.

If you’re looking for a Bitcoin casino, we have reviews on several. Feel free to check out our real money Bitcoin gambling sites page.

Q. What’s the number-one sign that a casino is a scam site?

Legit Us Online Casinos Online

A. Having no valid gaming license is a big warning sign. Having had a permit in the past, but having had it stripped for some reason is even worse.

Legit Online Gambling

We don’t recommend casinos to you which don’t have valid and legal gaming licenses. Without them, it’s the Wild Wild West, and casino operators can do whatever they want without fear of repercussions.