How We Rate the Top NV Gambling Sites
Due to the sheer volume of Nevada virtual gambling hubs, identifying the finest choices can be an arduous task. As professional reviewers, we’ve developed a foolproof ranking system that grades sites on several benchmarks and ultimately sifts out the cream of the crop operators. Let’s take a closer look at some of the factors we consider when choosing the best NV gambling sites.
Regulation and Trustworthiness
While we may be willing to turn a blind eye towards other aspects occasionally, we make no compromises when it comes to the safety of our readers. Therefore, we only pick sites approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board and licensed to operate in the Silver State.
What’s more, we look at the security measures used by the operator. To pass our safety checks, Nevada online casinos must employ a minimum of 128-bit SSL encryption. If the site has TLS encryption and additional security measures in place, better still. In any case, your personal and financial details will be protected at all times, regardless of which Nevada online casino you choose from our list.
It’s also important that license and company info are transparently displayed across the homepage. This tells us that the gambling brand has nothing to hide and runs everything by the books.
Betting Selection
Each Nevada gambling site listed on this page features a full suite of betting options — from cash games and tournaments to a wide range of sporting events, you’ll be spoilt for choice at our recommended NV sites.
Bonus Variety
At our featured sites, Nevadan newcomers are welcomed with king-sized introductory offers, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Down the road, as you become a regular customer, you can take advantage of various rotating promos — bad beat jackpots, rebates, reload bonuses, you name it.
When grading Nevada gambling sites, we factor in both the size of their bonuses and the associated terms and conditions, most notably wagering requirements.
User Experience
This benchmark covers a broad spectrum of performance indicators, from functionality and optimization to loading speed and user-friendliness overall. We pick only Nevada gambling sites that are technically sound and provide a smooth gaming experience across all devices.
Banking
To earn a recommendation from our team, a gambling site in Nevada must accept a versatile range of payment methods. These include (but aren’t limited to) mainstream banking solutions like credit/debit cards, bank wire, checks and e-wallets, in addition to niche choices like bitcoin. Moreover, our top picks have fast turnaround times on payouts and won’t rip you off with cashout fees.
Mobile Play
Our recommended sites are optimized for mobile play and accessible via a wide range of iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. With most operators, you can choose between a mobile version of the site or the downloadable apps. Both options provide an equally enjoyable on-the-go gaming experience.
Customer Support
The final step in rating a gambling site is evaluating the customer service. The support system must be easily accessible and efficient. In that regard, Nevada gambling sites listed on this page are up to par and will deliver immediate assistance via several communication channels, including live chat.
Nevada Gambling Timeline
In its current form, legal gambling in Nevada traces its roots back to 1931. The drastic measure of legalizing commercial (wide-open) gambling was taken mainly to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression and generate the much-needed revenue for the state.
Very few could have possibly foreseen the long-term effects the stroke of Gov. Fred Balzar ‘s pen would have on the economic growth of Nevada and especially Las Vegas.
Let’s take a trip down history lane and check the key milestones that helped Nevada become the gambling juggernaut as we all know it today:
- 1869: The state legislature approves a bill to decriminalize gambling, overriding the governor’s veto. Gambling mostly constituted card and dice games played against the house at that time.
- 1910: Nevada lawmakers outlaw gambling. Despite the ban, gambling continued to occur in underground facilities and backrooms of Nevada saloons.
- 1931: Gov. Fred Balzer signs off Assembly Bill 98 (also known as the Wide Open Gambling Bill), legalizing all forms of gambling. At that point, bettors placed wagers at semi-legal turf clubs or illicit bookies. Popular turf clubs that accepted bets include Saratoga Club, the Derby Club, and the Hollywood Horse and Sports Book. Casinos in Vegas start to pop up, the first being the Meadows.
- 1949: Sports betting is authorized; Nevada becomes the first state with legal sports betting in the US (and was the only state to permit the activity until 2018). Licensed bookmakers were allowed to take bets on all professional sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, and the MLB) in addition to live and off-track horse racing.
- 1951: The Federal Government imposes a 10% tax on legal sportsbooks in Nevada, forcing some operators out of business. Allegedly, the Act was supposed to combat illegal gambling and not generate revenue for the government.
- 1955: The state legislature creates the Gaming Control Board, which operates as a division within the Nevada Tax Commission. The agency was tasked with licensing and regulatory oversight of Nevada casinos. The regulatory framework formed by the GCB was the pillar of Nevada’s success and has served as a blueprint for states that have joined the legal gambling scene since the repeal of PASPA.
- 1974: Congress lowers the tax rate on sports betting from 10% to 2%, making sports betting a more lucrative business for Nevada casinos.
- 1975: Jackie Gaughan, a gambling mogul, opens the first sportsbook in the state. The betting shop was established at the Union Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
- 1983: The Federal Government rescinds tax on sportsbooks even further, down to the current 0.25%. Licensed brands are allowed to operate more than one sportsbook at a time.
- 1992: President George H.W. Bush signs PASPA into law. The Act forbade states from regulating (and taxing) sports betting. Nevada was fully exempt from the ban; Montana, Delaware, and Oregon received partial exemptions.
- 2010: The first sports betting app, Station Casinos’ STN, goes live in Nevada. Since then, numerous brands have entered the online sports betting market in the Silver State.
- 2013: The State legislature approves AB 114, legalizing interstate online poker and allowing Nevada to enter into state-to-state gaming agreements. Las Vegas-based online poker platform, UltimatePoker.com, goes live.
- 2018: PASPA act was overturned, ending Nevada’s 50-year monopoly on sports betting.
What Forms of Gambling are Legal in Nevada?
Every form of gambling is allowed in Nevada, with a few notable exceptions. Both games of chance and luck are deemed legal by Nevada gaming statutes.
Brick-and-mortar casinos can offer all types of gaming devices, including slots, blackjack, video poker, craps, roulette, and house-banked card games.
Live poker is also allowed. You can play live poker at either Nevada-licensed card rooms or home, provided the organizer doesn’t take a cut from hosting the games.
Charitable bingo is permitted through qualified organizations. The games are administered by the Nevada Gaming Commission and the Gaming Control Board.
Furthermore, Nevada is home to more than 50 retail sportsbooks, most situated in the Las Vegas area. Up until 2018, Nevada was the only state in the U.S. that allowed legal sports betting in any form.
Surprisingly, Nevada is behind the eight-ball when it comes to the lottery. The Silver State is one of the few regions in the country that don’t have a lottery system. The statutes allow charitable organizations to offer lotteries, but these are far from the multi-million, interstate games Mega Millions and PowerBall.
Online gambling is also on the table, albeit the sector isn’t as developed as in states like Michigan, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania.
We’ll tackle each type of online gambling separately in the following segments and discuss its legal status in Nevada.
Online Casinos
Although Nevada is known worldwide for its casinos, it may come as a surprise that the state hasn’t yet joined the online casino bandwagon. There are several reasons why online casino gaming was left out of AB 360, the legislation from 2013 which legalized online poker gambling. The biggest one is that major Las Vegas casino corporations widely believed that the competition from their online counterparts would threaten their business interests.
Furthermore, the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson launched a massive campaign against online gambling in 2014 and has spent millions of dollars via its anti-internet gambling lobbying group to hound the lawmakers in Washington.
These have been the biggest hurdles on the path to adding the third vertical to Nevada’s online betting market. Whether online casino gaming will arrive in the Silver State remains to be seen, but the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s hearings in May 2021 were a great stepping stone. Namely, the NGCB held a workshop during which it gathered public input on the proposed amendments to include online casino games in the state.
In the meantime, Nevada players can enjoy online casino games at sweepstakes platforms like LuckyLand and Chumba Casino.
A riskier alternative is offshore casinos, but we would advise against it. While you probably won’t get into trouble for accessing and playing on these sites, you won’t enjoy governmental protection either. Offshore casinos operate outside the reach of the U.S. government. So, if things go south, you won’t be able to turn to Nevada authorities for help.
Also, you may face difficulties getting funds to your offshore casino account since the US banks are forbidden from facilitating transactions to offshore casino sites, as per the UIGEA act.
Online Poker
Poker is huge in Nevada. Las Vegas hosts the annual WSOP and a few other major poker events. Live poker rooms come in spades across the Silver State, from Reno and Carson City to Laughlin, and finally Sin City.
Poker fans in Nevada can also get in on the action online and get a seat at the virtual table at any time. The state authorized online poker in 2013, making it legal to enjoy poker games on the internet, provided the player is within Nevada lines.
In 2014, Nevada made history by entering into the first-ever interstate gambling pact with Delaware. As per the agreement, the two states would share poker liquidity. New Jersey entered the network in 2017, forming the tri-state online poker liquidity pool.
As it stands, the lone operating online poker room is WSOP.com, owned by Caesars Interactive Entertainment. The platform is powered by software from international gambling titan 888, an online poker site in Delaware and has skin in NJ.
The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement between Nevada, Delaware, and NJ allows WSOP.com to generate larger traffic, host bigger tournaments, and a wider spectrum of cash games.
WSOP.com held WSOP circuit events during the pandemic, allowing players to earn huge paydays.
Online Sportsbooks
Nevada has the longest-running sports betting market in the country and was the pioneer of online sports wagering. Mobile betting apps went live in the Silver State in 2010, and several operators have joined the scene since. All of them are affiliated with one of Nevada’s many land-based casinos. In fact, every high-profile casino brand in Las Vegas runs a virtual sportsbook.
There are several caveats to online sports betting in Nevada that you should be aware of. For starters, the state utilizes a mobile-only model. In other words, online sports betting is restricted to smart phone casino apps only — it’s impossible to wager on sports in Nevada from a computer or a laptop.
Additionally, there’s an in-person registration requirement in place. This means that you must visit your sportsbook’s land-based facilities to sign up for an account and get started. Once you set everything up, you’ll be able to put a few bucks down on your favorite sports teams without ever setting a foot outside your doorstep.
Nevada Online Gambling
Are online casinos legal in Nevada?
The current online gambling legislature, AB 114, doesn’t cover online casino gaming. That said, there aren’t any online casinos in Nevada at the moment. Recently, there have been some talks about amending interactive gaming regulations, and it remains to be seen whether they’ll bear any fruit.
Can I play online casino games on offshore sites?
Yes, you can, although it could prove to be a highly risky endeavor. The Nevada Gaming Control Board doesn’t license these sites, and some of them are to be avoided at all costs due to their poor regulation and abysmal track record for payouts.
Is online poker legal in Nevada?
Yes, Nevada is the first state in the US to launch an online poker site. It’s only operating site, WSOP.com, shares liquidity with New Jersey and Delaware poker platforms.
Is online sports betting legal in Nevada?
Yes, it is, but only via mobile apps. As per the in-person registration rule, bettors have to travel to the affiliated retail betting shop to complete the sign-up process at their chosen online sportsbook.
Is daily fantasy sports legal in Nevada?
It’s not illegal, but it’s not available either. This is because of the DFS operator’s unwillingness to pay for licensing fees with the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum gambling age in Nevada?
It stands at 21 for all forms of gambling. This goes for both off- and online gambling.
Do I have to be a NV resident to play on state-regulated gambling sites?
No, just present inside the state lines at the time you’re submitting your real money wager. Gambling operators will use geolocation trackers to pinpoint your location and verify that you’re in Nevada when placing a bet.
How to gamble online in Nevada?
It depends on the type of gambling platform and the operator in question. For both online poker and online sports betting, you’ll have to download a dedicated client/app and sign up for an account. The registration process is simple and implies that you provide some basic details and the last four digits of your SSN.
Do I have to pay taxes on online gambling winnings?
No, because the state doesn’t levy income taxes.
How to make deposits on Nevada gambling sites?
You’ll have plenty of e-banking options at your disposal at pretty much every Nevada-based gambling site. These include credit/debit cards, PayPal, e-checks, online banking, and more.