Gambling in Nevada

Many of you know all about the various casinos located on the Las Vegas Strip and other parts of the state; maybe you’ve been lucky enough to visit them a time or two. But this portion of the page highlights the online gambling industry in the state. Let’s start off by providing recommendations for the very best Nevada online gambling sites:

Rank	VA Gambling Site	Deposit Bonus	Products	Get Started
#1	Las Atlantis	280% Up To $14,000	Casino	Visit Site
#2	Wild Casino	250% Up To $5,000	Casino	Visit Site
#3	BetUS	125% Up To $2,500	Sports Casino	Visit Site
#4	BetOnline	50% Up To $1,000	Sports Casino Poker	Visit Site
#5	Bovada	50% Up To $250	Sports Casino Poker	Visit Site

Nevada provides millions of people the ideal experience for real money gambling activities. And it’s well-known that there are few places that can rival what Nevada gambling offers its patrons. The state’s online gambling options even allow you to enjoy casino games from the convenience of a smart device.

When it comes to gambling in the United States, most people immediately think of Nevada, specifically Las Vegas. Before other states legalized gambling, the Silver State was one of the only places where you could gamble legally in the country. This is how Las Vegas established itself as a major gambling mecca. These days, the real money online gambling sites in Nevada provide the ideal companion to in-person gambling.

In the following article, we’ll provide you with an in-depth guide to every aspect of Nevada gambling. We’ll talk about both the casinos that populate the state and the online gambling sites that let you get your action from any location. Along the way, we’ll talk about gambling laws in the state, explain what makes certain websites better than others, and give our recommendations for the very best NV gambling sites. Keep reading to find out more.

Best Nevada Gambling Sites for 2021

Las Atlantis – Best Nevada Gambling Site for Bonuses

Las Atlantis is our number one rated site for online gambling in Nevada. Not only does this site offer an extensive collection of casino games, but they offer the biggest bonus offers out of our top Nevada gambling sites. If you’re interested in online casino gambling in Nevada, Las Atlantis is the site for you!

• Largest welcome bonus for Nevada residents.
• Over 240 casino games to choose from.
• Fastest payouts of winnings online.

Visit Las Atlantis

Super Slots – Best Nevada Online Casino for Slots

If you’re looking to play real money online slots in Nevada, Super Slots is definitely the site for you. SuperSlots.ag offers one of the widest selections of slot games that you’ll find anywhere on the internet. This site also provides users with the most options to deposit and withdraw funds from your account out of our top online NV gambling sites.

• Exclusive bonuses for cryptocurrency deposits.
• Over 160 real money online slot games.
• Wide selection of live dealer casino games.

Visit Super Slots

BetUS – Best Site for Online Sports Betting in Nevada

BetUS is our top-rated sports betting site for a reason. Their online betting experience is a step above all other Nevada gambling sites. They provide their users with one of the widest selections of sports betting and casino gambling options that you’ll find on the internet. If you’re looking for where to gamble online in Nevada, we can’t recommend BetUS enough.

• Sports, esports, horse racing betting offered.
• Over 120 casino gambling options.
• Monthly bonuses for loyalty members.

Visit BetUS

BetOnline – Best All-In-One Nevada Gambling Site

We’ve broken down online casinos and online sports betting sites for Nevada residents, but what about online poker sites? That is where BetOnline comes into action. BetOnline provides a complete gambling experience as they offer real money sports betting, casino gambling, and online poker. No matter what you want to bet on, BetOnline has you covered!

• Bonuses offered on sports, casino, and poker.
• Live sports betting options.
• Newly redesigned user interface.

Visit BetOnline

The Nevada online gambling sites we listed here ranked as some of the best among hundreds of sites in terms of the overall experience provided to gamblers. We know they ranked well because we looked at feedback from other gamblers. We also did our own research and checked out various Nevada online sportsbooks and casinos. You can trust that we looked into these options before suggesting them here.

For those who have already done some real money online gambling in Nevada before, you probably know what it has to offer for you in terms of convenience and ease. But for those of you who might be a bit wary about the online gambling experience, we’re here to help by going through every bit of the process. That way, you can take our recommendations or use the information below to make your own informed choices.

How We Rank Nevada Gambling Sites

When you gamble online in Nevada for the first time, your initial instinct might be to enter a few keywords into a search engine. And when you search for Nevada online gambling sites, you might be surprised at just how many results you’re going to find. It’s important to find a site that can be trusted, one that makes your experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible. To that end, we suggest that you check out the different qualities that we use to evaluate the best Nevada online casinos and online sportsbooks.

Reputation and History

History is a big part of the lure of Nevada gambling, as many of the casinos have been around for decades. But you might not realize that you should be looking for that same kind of longevity from the online gambling sites that you seek out. After all, a site that has been around for a while is one that has likely remained because of how well it treats its clientele.

As an example, let’s look at BetUS, which has been in the online gambling business since 1994. That’s only a few years after the internet was established, which means that the site has seen all of the technological changes and stayed on top of its field. When you sign up with a site like BetUS, you will have peace of mind knowing that it’s reliable. And you may not get that from newer sites that don’t hold the same kind of reputation.

Safety and Security

The key here is understanding that you’ll be doing real money gambling at the site that you choose. You’ll be providing both personal and financial information to the site. As a result, you’ll want to do your online gambling in NV at a site that protects all of your data.

There are sites that promise you a lot of frills that don’t really get to the heart of what’s important. Some unlucky gamblers sign up with sites that scam them out of their money or, worse, sell their information.

Variety of Gambling Options

When you walk into one of the top casinos in Las Vegas, just about all of your gambling needs can be satisfied in one place. Walk through the casino floor, and you’ll find everything from classic table games to popular slot machines. Then, you can take a detour to the sportsbook and bet on just about any event or sport imaginable.

You should demand that same kind of variety from Nevada gambling sites. For example, at BetOnline, you get the full casino experience, which includes real money poker tournament play. But you can also enjoy their online sportsbook, which means that you don’t have to go to any other site to get a complete gambling experience.

Lucrative Bonus Opportunities

Here’s one area where Nevada gambling websites have the advantage over land-based casinos in the state. While casinos offer rewards to players, they have to keep them relatively modest in order to pay for all the overhead of their beautiful facilities. But online gambling sites don’t have that issue, which is why they can be aggressive with the bonuses that they offer to players.

In terms of Nevada gambling sites, it’s hard to top what Las Atlantis provides its members. At the time of writing, they are offering a bonus where you can earn up to $14,000 in free wagers depending on the size of the deposit. Even the most lucrative casino club card can’t get you close to that kind of money in bonuses, which is one of the reasons why you should be considering real money gambling in Nevada online rather than in person.

Multiple Banking Methods Available

This is one of the areas of the online gambling experience that you might overlook when you choose a Nevada gambling site for the first time. But it’s something you should heavily consider because it could mean a better bottom line for you in the long run. The more flexible a site is with offering banking options, the better chance you’ll have of finding the method that makes the most sense in terms of convenience and cost-effectiveness.

As an example, Super Slots—a top NV online gambling site—offers you 14 different ways to make your banking deposits. That includes cryptocurrency, which can be extremely helpful if you’re gambling online because of the speed of payback and the privacy it affords. It’s all about having as much flexibility as possible just in case your chosen method isn’t available to you.

Fast Payouts

It’s nice to be able to gamble online for real money, either playing all your favorite casino games or wagering on sports events and games. But it won’t have quite as much impact when you win if you’re forever waiting for the payback to get to you. You have to insist that your Nevada gambling site gets you the winnings you’ve earned in as prompt a fashion as possible.

On that note, you should expect these Nevada online gambling sites to have clear guidelines when it comes to making withdrawal requests. From there, you should expect that they’ll follow these guidelines to the letter every single time.

User-Friendly Interface

If you’re going to be spending a lot of time at a Nevada gambling site, you’ll want one that’s easy to operate. That means you should be able to get from page to page efficiently. In cases where downloads are involved, the software should be intuitive and easy to navigate.

You’ll want to be confident casino games work as they are intended. The last thing you need is for a glitch to occur in the middle of something when you have money on the line. Browse through a few Nevada gambling websites before you sign up to see if they meet your standards.

Mobile Gambling Offered

Up to this point, we’ve talked about Nevada online gambling sites in terms of the websites that you can log onto from your computer. But we live in a world that is increasingly mobile. In other words, the top Nevada gambling sites have to give you the ability to gamble on the go when you need to do so.

Some of these sites for Nevada gambling online accomplish mobile capability through the use of mobile sites, which has everything the main site has except that it’s optimized for a smaller screen. Others give you the chance to download an app to your phone, tablet, or whatever other mobile device you happen to have. However they accomplish it, top Nevada gambling sites will let you take your wagering with you so that you never get shut out of a wager you want to make.

Customer Service and Support

Problems can always arise when you’re gambling online. Maybe you’ll experience technical issues with the site or the software, or maybe you feel that a bet wasn’t properly handled. Even the best gambling websites have issues now and again. What’s important is how the site handles them when they do happen.

That’s where customer service comes into play. You really should insist that they are top-notch in this department. If you need to get in touch with them, you should be able to do so in a quick fashion. And you should have reasonable expectations that they’ll get to your issues quickly and take care of them if at all possible.

Different Types of Nevada Gambling Sites

Some gambling websites in Nevada cater to all your gambling needs. Others might be a bit more specific in terms of the types of gambling they offer. Knowing the difference can help you make the right choice on a site when the time comes.

Best Nevada Online Casinos

The state of Nevada is known for the bustling casinos that can be found, not just in the gambling hub of Las Vegas but all throughout the state. When you use these real money online casino sites in Nevada on the page linked below, you’ll get that same kind of experience. And you can do it without having to beat the traffic and the crowds in order to settle in at your favorite machine or table game.

Best Nevada Online Casinos

Best Online Sportsbooks in Nevada

Again, saying you’re one of the top sportsbooks in Nevada is no small claim, considering that some of the top land-based sportsbooks in the world are available in the state. These Nevada online sportsbooks are outstanding in the way that they give you that same kind of experience. This means you’ll find a great variety of games to bet on, excellent odds, and all of the other great qualities we talked about above.

Best Nevada Online Sportsbooks

Best Nevada Poker Sites

Real money Nevada poker sites can bring you all the best tournament and cash-game action you can find online. They can also switch up the action from Texas Holdem to other variants of the game. These online poker sites in Nevada can even help you find the game that’s right for you in terms of your preferred betting limits, caliber of competition, and what you enjoy to play the most.

Best Nevada Online Poker Sites

The History of Nevada Gambling Laws

1861-1864

Nevada has a long and storied gambling culture, but betting hasn’t always been legal in the Silver State. Prospectors that came to the state looking for gold in the 1860s were known to participate in competitive games of chance, but the state’s first governor had a stark anti-gambling stance. James Nye, who was appointed by President Lincoln to serve as the first governor of the Nevada Territory, installed harsh penalties for those that ran or participated in any games of chance in 1861.

However, the ban was short-lived. After Nevada became a state in 1864, the legislature attempted to legalize gambling and turn it into a regulated industry. That measure wound up failing, but the state still relaxed penalties for those that wanted to operate or participate in gambling-related activities.

1869-1919

Less than a decade later, the state legislature was finally able to decriminalize some forms of gambling. Those laws remained largely unchanged between 1869 and 1909 when the Progressive Movement successfully got all forms of gambling banned in the state. However, things slowly started to trend back in the other direction. Before long, it became legal for some low-dollar social games and slot machines to operate.

By 1919, every county in Nevada housed licensed card rooms that allowed for games like bridge to be played for real money. Reno quickly became the biggest city in the state in the 1920s, and it actually preceded Las Vegas as the gaming capital of Nevada. The Roaring Twenties quickly gave way to the Great Depression, however, which is when Nevada finally opened its doors to all forms of legalized betting.

1931

In 1931, Nevada State Assemblyman Phil Tobin drafted Assembly Bill 98, which called for legal gambling statewide. Tobin argued that the best way for Nevada to rebound economically from the effects of the Depression would be to fully legalize all forms of gambling. The bill was signed into law in March of that year by Governor Fred Balzar. That legislation made card games and other forms of gambling legal throughout the state, and it effectively served as the starting block for the massive casino industry that exists to this day in the state.

1935-1947

After gambling became fully legal in Nevada, card rooms started to pop up all over the state. Reno continued to grow as the primary gaming destination in the state, and a number of lavish casinos were built in the city between 1935 and 1947. William Harrah, the founder of Harrah’s Hotel and Casinos, opened his first bingo club in Reno.

The Las Vegas Strip began to flourish in the early 1940s, shortly before World War II. Thomas Hull opened the El Rancho Las Vegas, while Benjamin “Bugsy” Seigel opened the Fabulous Flamingo in 1946. The Flamingo eventually became the standard for the modern casino resort, and a number of similar properties were developed shortly thereafter. The Golden Nugget (Downtown Las Vegas), the Tahoe-Biltmore Hotel and Casino (Lake Tahoe), and the Nevada Club (Reno) were all built in 1946.

1952-1970

By 1952, gambling surpassed mining and agriculture to become Nevada’s largest industry in terms of revenue. The Nevada Gaming Control Board was created in 1955 as fears of a potential federal ban on gambling grew. The 1950s was when Vegas started to gain its reputation as a glittery and glamorous vacation destination, even though the stigma around betting persisted across most of the rest of the country.

Caesars Palace, Tropicana, Sahara, and Riviera were among the noteworthy casino resorts to come into existence during this period. Unfortunately, organized crime also infiltrated the Nevada gambling scene, particularly in and around Las Vegas. Some unfortunate casino operators got involved with racketeers and other criminals, but the gambling industry continued to flourish well into the 1970s.

1975

Gaming revenues topped $1 billion for the first time in 1975, while nearly half of the state’s budget was boosted by gaming tax revenue. MGM Grand Las Vegas, and Imperial Palace are among the popular destinations to establish themselves in the ’70s, while Harrah’s Entertainment became the first gambling operator to appear on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Sports betting also grew in the 1970s after the state lowered its sports betting tax.

1980-2000

By the time 1980 rolled around, the state was among the fastest-growing in the country. Nevada became No. 1 in that regard in the 1980s, with over 3,300 people moving to the state every month. The Mirage opened doors to all sorts of fanfare in 1989, and it instantly became the top casino resort destination on the Las Vegas Strip.

The US Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988, which formally allowed Native American tribes to begin operating casinos around the country. That would be a slight hit to the Nevada gambling industry, but business as a whole continued to boom into the 1990s. Circus Circus, The Venetian, Paris, Bellagio, and Luxor all opened in the ’90s as the Strip exploded into the most popular gambling destination on earth.

While Las Vegas was growing, Reno struggled a bit as a result of the IGRA. The ability of Native American tribes to operate casinos of their own negatively impacted Reno’s tourism. With some forms of gambling now legal in the vast majority of states around the country, Nevada was no longer alone in that regard.

2013 – Present

Nevada’s gaming industry was able to endure the Great Recession of 2008, but the rise of online gambling in Nevada began to threaten the state’s tourism industry. In 2013, the Nevada State Legislature voted in favor of Assembly Bill 114, which granted Nevada the right to enter agreements with other states in order to offer online poker and other internet-based gaming options.

That move effectively helped Nevada fend off any potential issues that may have been introduced by the rise of online betting options. Nevada remained the only state in the US with a fully legal sports betting industry until 2018, when the Supreme Court voted to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Since then, more than 25 states have voted to legalize and open their own regulated sports betting industries.

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Current Nevada Gambling Laws

United States federal laws, such as the Wire Act and the UIGEA, have proven to be obstacles to legal gambling in other states. But those laws don’t have much effect in Nevada, where gambling has been legal for almost a century now. Read on to check out which forms of gambling are legal within the state’s borders and what the current status is of Nevada online gambling laws.

• Casino Games: Legal
• Sports Betting: Legal
• Poker: Legal
• Racing Betting: Legal
• Lottery: Illegal
• Bingo: Legal
• Charitable Gaming: Legal
• Social Gambling: Legal

Casino Gambling Laws in Nevada

Obviously, all you have to do is walk down the Las Vegas Strip and you will see that casino gambling is very much legal. The year was 1931. The state of Nevada beat all of the others to the punch and legalized games of chance for money by passing the bill AB98.

Even though the rest of the country is now following suit after seeing the massive potential revenue, it seems likely that gambling in America will continue to have its place in Nevada. We’ve included below the total casino gambling revenue in Nevada from the past ten years so you can see how large the industry is in Nevada and how important it is to Nevada’s economy.

“‘Interactive gaming’ means the conduct of gambling games through the use of communications technology that allows a person, utilizing money, checks, electronic checks, electronic transfers of money, credit cards, debit cards or any other instrumentality, to transmit to a computer information to assist in the placing of a bet or wager and corresponding information related to the display of the game, game outcomes or other similar information. The term does not include the operation of a race book or sports pool that uses communications technology approved by the board pursuant to regulations adopted by the commission to accept wagers originating within this state for races or sporting events.”

NRS 463.016425 (2) goes on to explain that using computer data networks and other means to offer gaming is illegal:

“As used in this section, “communications technology” means any method used and the components employed by an establishment to facilitate the transmission of information, including, without limitation, transmission and reception by systems based on wire, cable, radio, microwave, light, optics or computer data networks, including, without limitation, the Internet and intranets.”

Nevada Sports Betting Laws

There’s a reason why most of those big-time casinos have sportsbooks located somewhere inside. As a matter of fact, Nevada was the only state in the US where you could legally bet on sports for a long time. Many more states have joined them since, but there’s still nothing quite like a big sports day spent in a Nevada sportsbook.

Currently, there are over 140 land-based sportsbooks in Nevada to choose from but with the upward trend in the popularity of sports betting, we could see these numbers increase back to how they looked in 2019 before the world health situation.

Laws on Online Poker in Nevada

You can find poker rooms in a large majority of the casinos in Nevada because it has been legal to play the game ever since gambling in general became legal. As a matter of fact, the World Series of Poker—the most prestigious of all poker tournaments—is held each year in Nevada. You can find no shortage of cash games and tournament action at the casinos.

In 2014, Nevada and Delaware led the way into the legal online poker world when they decided to share player pools. This means that players in Nevada could play real money online poker against players from Delaware on the same site. The Governor of Delaware at the time, Jack Markell, stressed these the following conditions when signing this agreement:

• It authorizes online poker operators in Delaware and Nevada to open up their games to players in both states. Revenue will be distributed evenly based on the location of the player that generated the rake.
• Players from Delaware will be subject to its state laws and regulations and players from Nevada will be subject to Nevada laws and regulations.
• It has created a structure that makes it easy to add additional states.

Racing Betting Laws in Nevada

There aren’t any active horse racing tracks in Nevada. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bet on all your favorite horse racing action—Thoroughbred, harness racing, or flats. Most top sportsbooks and Nevada online gambling sites include a simulcast area where you can legally wager on your favorite horse races and watch all the action as well.

NV Lotteries Laws

Nevada state law, NRS 462.105, defines lottery as:

“Lottery” means any scheme for the disposal or distribution of property, by chance, among persons who have paid or promised to pay any valuable consideration for the chance of obtaining that property, or a portion of it, or for any share or interest in that property upon any agreement, understanding or expectation that it is to be distributed or disposed of by lot or chance, whether called a lottery, raffle or gift enterprise, or by whatever name it may be known.

In one of the oddest contradictions in US law, Nevada does not sanction a state lottery despite the fact that every other form of gambling has long been legal. This is the law according to the state constitution. In addition, lotteries from other states cannot be sold within state lines. Basically, you’re out of luck if you’re looking to win big with a lottery ticket in the state.

Laws on Playing Bingo in Nevada

Although there are regulations about how the game must be conducted, you can legally play bingo for real money in Nevada. Many people play it locally without the need to go to a casino. But you also can play bingo at top Nevada gambling sites.

Nevada’s Charitable Gaming Laws

Again, you have to follow the proper regulations, either if you’re the one conducting the games or the one playing them. But charitable gaming is legal in the state of Nevada. In a state where it’s so easy to gamble in casinos, you’ll be glad to know that you can also play for a good cause when the opportunity arises.

As you’ve read through the laws regarding the different types of gambling in Nevada, you probably notice that there isn’t much difference between these and the lottery laws. If you are confused, please refer to the infographic below that was provided by the Nevada Gambling Control Board.

Social Gaming Laws in Nevada

Although social gaming hasn’t quite caught on with the same intensity as real money gambling sites, it is still available in Nevada. These social gaming sites allow players to win prizes without putting anything at stake. (If, by the way, you’re talking about gambling among friends at home as in an informal poker game, that is legal as long as the person hosting doesn’t take any kind of cut as profit.)

Regarding social land-based gambling, as stated by NRS 461.0152, social gambling is legal in Nevada:

“[Gambling] does not include games played with cards in private homes or residences in which no person makes money for operating the game.”

List of Nevada Casinos and Sportsbooks

Gambling Online vs. Gambling in a Casino in Nevada

Having a hard time deciding if you should be gambling in a land-based casino or at a top gambling site in NV? We’re here to help you choose. Take a look at the advantages of each gambling method.

Nevada Gambling FAQ

The Future of Online Gambling In Nevada

We’ve talked at length about what online gambling looks like right now in the state of Nevada. But what might it look like in the future? Here are some ideas about what might be happening soon in the state.

• More shared player pools: This will really come into play for those who like to play at poker websites. As more and more states around the US legalize online gambling, it allows for these sites to offer cross-state play among poker enthusiasts. That means more online games, bigger pools and purses, and more competitive and enjoyable play all around.
• More attention on the online sphere: The boom in online gambling within the last year was due in part to more people staying home. And once they got there, they realized that they could play online without having to make too many adjustments. As a result, more and more sites could pop up, both within the state and overseas, that cater specifically to Nevada players.
• Casinos giving up the fight: In the United States, some of the biggest opposition to the spread of legalized online gambling came from casino owners, which was understandable. But legal decisions seem to keep coming in for the online gambling side of the equation, making it seem like it might have some irreversible momentum. As a result, casinos will have to try to make peace with their online counterparts or risk losing business in the long term.

Final Words on Real Money Gambling in NV

As this article shows, Nevada gambling sites have come a long way in a short time. Although they likely aren’t going to eclipse the popularity of long-standing casinos, they certainly can coexist with them. As a gambler, you should learn as much as you can about these top gambling sites so that you can take advantage of all that they have to offer.