Although online sports betting can technically be considered online gambling, we will just focus on states with legal online casinos and/or poker in this article. Online gambling has actually been legally available in the US for a decade now. Nevada was the first state to offer online poker, and New Jersey became the first state to offer a legal online casino, both doing so back in early 2013. Since then, residents in a select few states have been fortunate enough to use the best online gambling sites available in the US to play online casino games and/or online poker. Keep reading to find out which states offer online gambling and to what extent.
- Deleware – Online casinos & poker
All the way back in June 2012, the Deleware state legislature signed a pro-online gambling bill into law, making The First State, well, the first state to enter the world of legal online gambling in the US. With a relatively small population, Delaware isn’t considered to be a major player in the US online gambling scene, but it will always be known as the first. Online poker came to the state a little later, becoming legal in October 2013.
- Nevada – Online poker
It’s no secret that Nevada is a very pro-gambling state, being home to two of the most popular gambling destinations in the country, Reno and Las Vegas. Back on February 25, 2013, the state legislature passed House Bill AB 114, allowing certain gambling companies to offer legal real-money online poker to residents in Nevada.
- New Jersey – Online casinos & poker
Literally one day behind Nevada, New Jersey became the third state in the US to legalize online gambling. However, unlike Nevada, New Jersey was able to offer residents online casino games as well as online poker. Since then, the Garden State has been somewhat of a nationwide leader on the online gambling front, offering an extensive list of operators for sports betting, online casinos, and poker.
- Pennsylvania – Online casinos & poker
After an extended period of time of radio silence on the legal front for online gambling in the US, Pennsylvania ended the stagnation and was the next state to finally legalize online gambling, doing so in November 2017. Since then Pennsylvania has become another one of the top states in the US for online casinos, poker, and sports betting.
- Michigan – Online casinos & poker
On December 20, 2019, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an online gambling extension package into law, allowing for online casinos, sports betting, and peer-to-peer poker in the state of Michigan. Although the bill was passed in late 2019, it wasn’t until 2021 that online poker finally was available for use in the Wolverine State, with COVID-19 the culprit for the lengthy delay.
- West Virginia – Online casinos & poker
Although it took a fair deal of lobbying, West Virginia eventually passed pro-online gambling legislation in March 2019. While all three verticals – sports betting, casinos, and poker – are legal in West Virginia, only sports betting and online casinos are technically offered/available right now. Online poker is technically allowed under state law, however, because no operators have filed for that specific type of license, there are no online poker sites currently operating in West Virginia.
- Connecticut – Online casinos & poker
After reaching agreements with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes – two of the state’s largest operators of land-based casinos – Gov. Ned Lamont signed a bill to legalize online gaming in Connecticut back in May 2021. Similar to West Virginia, residents of Connecticut have access to online casinos and sportsbooks, however, there are no online poker options available as no operators have filed for that specific type of license yet.
