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Or perhaps horse racing is your game. Yup, the best online casino real money in the USA to win online is the sports book at Bovada, handicapping all the top tracks from around the world, all while in the comfort of your home in the good old USA! Bovada covers all the major sports. They offering straight bets, teasers, if bets parlays, futures, and props on just about any sport. This makes Bovada one of the best Online sports betting sites. BetOnline is great for sports gambling online in many ways, but especially with baseball.

The best online sports betting sites reviewed ranked and listed giving you the very best rated USA Sportsbooks where Americans can play with no restrictions.

When you key in the words ‘Best Online Sports Betting Sites‘ into the Google search bar, the search engine spews out a bunch of sportsbooks that look ‘reliable’ to the untrained eye.

The question is, how does one know when a sportsbook is top-notch? It must offer you the best juice, superb bonuses, numerous ways to bet, a variety of sports, fast payouts, professional support, must have a proven track record and it must accept virtual currencies like Bitcoin.

Best Sports betting Sites

Choosing The Right Sports Betting Site

There are many sportsbooks, and not all of them can be trusted. Based on our professional online betting experience, only 14% of the sportsbooks we looked at are completely trustworthy.

Any online sportsbook worth its weight in gold must protect your personal information with the necessary encryption tools (called Security Software Layer software, or SSL). And, the site’s support staff must be dependable and know their products. Our top list of U.S sportsbooks does exactly this.

Top USA Sportsbooks

MyBookie

MyBookie was established in 2014 and is the top Bitcoin betting site for bettors from the United States. It covers live betting on sports, mobile betting, and offers cracking bonuses to new and loyal depositors. VIPs receive rebates on their previous day’s losses, extra comps, birthday gifts and they’re invited to special events.

XBet

With plenty of exciting offers lined up, XBet is recognized for paying its winners on time. This USA-friendly bookie excels at prop bets on multiple sports, offers a start-up bonus of 100% up to $500 to newbies and remains one of the fastest-growing sites for American bettors.

Bovada

Bovada offers die-hard bettors from the United States a Bitcoin bonus on deposit, low minimum bets, Moneyline, Totals, Spreads (Asian Handicaps), Team Prop Odds and a range of exciting perks. It has a Casino that offers the best Betsoft instant play casino games.

5Dimes

5Dimes has been online since 1996, it’s our most reputable sports betting site. Exclusive bonuses are given to mobile bettors, rebates on losses are on offer, and it accepts Bitcoin and other cryptos. Withdrawals get cleared within a few minutes up to 24 hours!

Betnow

Betnow is another safe and trustworthy online betting site for U.S. players. It covers NFL, Baseball, Live betting in-play, spreads, and totals. Loyal depositors receive a reload bonus of up to 50% that can be used to wager on horse racing, and sports bettors can cash in on a weekly rebate of 8%. Progressive jackpots at the Casino has paid out millions of dollars over the years, and real money casino depositors also receive a 10% weekly rebate.

BetOnline

BetOnline sportsbook is a top site for all things American. First-time visitors are in for a treat with a range of banking methods that includes Bitcoin and other virtual currencies (Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Ethereum, and Litecoin). It’s primarily known for its lines on American sports, politics, bets on entertainment, and mainstream bets.

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GTBets

GTBets gets down to business right away with its slogan ‘It’s Game Time’. Not only does it accept customers from America, but it also lists virtual currencies like Bitcoin that allows the user anonymity and faster cashouts. It covers pre-match betting on numerous American leagues and provides excellent odds during all the major sporting events.

Sportsbetting.ag

Sportsbetting.ag is one of the largest bookies within the U.S. betting industry. American bettors can ply their trade with a sportsbook bonus of up to 50% on their first deposit, crypto bonuses of up to 100%, and casino bonuses of 100%. All slots casino bonus. There’s a bonus for each and every bettor! It’s a multi-faceted betting site with a Live Casino, eSports, a Racebook and Casino.

Tigergaming

Tigergaming online sportsbook is another cracking online betting site to players from the United States and Australia. It offers bets in real-time on the most popular sports in America, big deposit bonuses, decent odds, plenty of lines per game and it covers International leagues.

How Our Online Sports Betting Ratings Work

•Track Record: Veteran sports bettors know that the longer a sportsbook has been in business, the more reputable it is.This is why we’ll tell you in which year the site was established and who the owners are behind the company. Some transparency and a good reputation go a long way, doesn’t it?

•Licensing: All our best sports betting brands operate out of Costa Rica, Panama, or they are licensed in Curacao. At this point in time, they are the best licensing administrations for American and Australian bettors.

•Mobile Betting: The future of sports betting lies with mobile devices. This is why sportsbooks like Bovada and MYB accept bets on mobile phones. Thanks to mobile devices, players know exactly what is happening in the sports betting world, no matter where they are.

•Diversity: The top sports betting sites no longer cover just sporting events. They’ve spread their nets wider by incorporating a Casino, Live Casino, eSports, Entertainment and Politics into their library; holistic betting if you will. Just like online casinos which offer a massive variety of games (up to 3,000 plus) all powered by different software houses, sports betting sites now emulate them.

•Quality Assurance: Players support must be available 24/7; either through a toll-free telephone number, email or live chat. The response time to any email query must be within a few minutes up to a few hours tops. The standard of the sports betting site is usually mirrored by its support staff. If the staff are unprofessional or incompetent, word gets around quickly, and players will avoid it.

•Rewards Program: In today’s competitive online sports betting environment, there’s no more ‘tit for tat’. Players want something in return for the real money they risk.

This is the reason why sportsbooks offer standard bettors comps for every dime they wager. They also look after their high rollers with tiered rewards programs divided into various levels.

Each level has its own distinct perks such as comps and exclusive bonuses. Casinos usually have a dedicated VIP manager for high rollers, and offer cashback on losses. VIP’s receive more significant cash-out withdrawal limits and faster withdrawal turnaround time.

•Fast And Instant Payouts: The most essential feature about any betting site is the speed at which it clears client withdrawals. Thanks to virtual currencies like Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP (Ripple) and Dogecoin, withdrawals are now paid within minutes.

•Financial Track Record, Security, And Trustworthiness: When it comes to accepting and protecting your money, sports betting sites use SSL encryption algorithms. They allow you to deposit real cash, place your bets, and if you won, will enable you to withdraw your money without any delays or problems.

The casino games all have random number selection software running the outcome of their games, ensuring fair play. Our best online sports betting sites have a proven financial track record, and they pay winnings on time.

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The Welcome Bonus: The first perk our best sports betting sites give you is a welcome or match bonus. Of the different types of bonuses, the100% up to $100 bonus is the most popular. To qualify for it, you must make a small deposit of $30 or more and provide the sportsbook bonus promo code for it at the site’s Cashier.

Betting Bonuses

3x Winnings On Your First Bet Bonus: There are a variety of match bonuses, and the 3x winnings on your first bet bonus are one of them. Let’s say you have made a bet of $50 on a +175 money line and won $45. Not only will you receive your original bet of $50, but you’ll receive your winnings of $135 ($45×3) too!

Bonus Bet $10, Get $30: The bookie offers you a maximum bonus of $30 on every bet of $10 you make. This is why it’s essential to make sure that you read our live betting reviews to know where you can earn the maximum bonuses without risking your hard-earned cash.

Online Sportsbook F.A.Q

You can bet on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, tennis, football, UFC, soccer, boxing and other major sports. Always read the terms attached to the bonus to find out which sports event it can be used to bet on.

Yes, they do offer Bitcoin bonuses. The online betting industry is evolving at a rapid pace. This is why betting sites must stay abreast with online gambling legislation and the competitive nature of the business. As a result, they offer Bitcoin bonuses to newbies.
It seems that Bitcoin and associated cryptos are the future of the industry. The minimum deposit to qualify for the Bitcoin bonus is usually $20 in BTC correlated currency.

Bets start with $1 up to a maximum of $20,000. High rollers can contact the sportsbook manager and request an increase to the betting limits. Bets over the telephone can be made too.

Sports betting operators list Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin and XRP.
They also cater to fiat-currency depositors by offering Visa, MasterCard, e-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, ECO), checks via courier and bank wire. Virtual currency withdrawals are cleared almost instantly up to 24 hours while Visa/MasterCard takes 3 days, check by courier up to 17 days and bank wire up to 7 days.
Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are the best banking options to bettors from the United States and Australia. The reason for this is that both countries have a similar position as far as legislation goes and Bitcoin is not straddled by their online gambling laws.

Some do, and others don’t. It depends on the withdrawal method you use. For example, Visa charges a 10% fee for all withdrawals while cryptos such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP and Litecoin have no transaction costs.

If you are from the United States, you must be at least 21 years or older to register an account. The minimum age for International and Australian bettors is 18 years.

All our best sports betting sites online use sophisticated 256-SSL encryption software that makes it extremely difficult to hack into.

Betting sites no longer just offer bets on sports, but now incorporate a Live Casino, Racebook, Casino, cover politics and other spheres of entertainment. An example includes odds on the American Presidential Election.

Skip the Headaches and Play at a Legitimate Site

You’re looking for a legitimate U.S. gambling site, but can’t decide which site to trust with your hard-earned money?

Good news! We’ve been in the online gambling industry for over a decade (several decades, really, if you add all of our experience together), and we’ve spent countless hours to bring you a list of the most legitimate sites.

Here’s what all of these sites have in common:

• 10+ years in the business with strong reputations.
• Attractive promotions for first-time customers.
• Quick money withdrawals (relative to the U.S. market).

Our Top Recommended US Gambling Sites

Why Bovada Is #1 in the U.S.

#1: Fastest Check Cashouts

Bovada gets 10 times as much traffic as its second best US competitor and still delivers check payouts faster than any of them. Bovada processes check withdrawals in 7 days; many of its competitors take weeks, some more than a month to do the same. (There are other fast options, like the #3-ranked BetOnline, which delivers checks in 14 days.)

#2: Service

An equally important aspect of Bovada’s operations is its customer service. If there ever was an indication of how much a company respects its customers, it’s the level of customer service the company provides. I haven’t found any US-friendly site doing this aspect of the business better (although 5Dimes is a worthy runner-up).

#3: All-In-One

Finally, all parts of Bovada’s business (sportsbook, casino, poker, racebook) are popular. Bovada is best-known for sports betting and casino games, however, even its online poker room has around four times as many players online as the second biggest US poker site. You can access all of their games with one player account.

… But You Should Know This

Bovada is recreational-friendly, perhaps more-so than any other US site. You’ll find few golden opportunities in their sportsbook (read more about their use of dual lines), they have a relatively high overall house edge (especially after recently increasing house edge in video poker games) and their online poker room only has “anonymous” tables.

Although not everyone agrees with me, the recreational-friendly part is an advantage for skilled poker players. Since Bovada appeals to recreational gamblers, you’ll be like a shark among regular fish.

Bovada charges a 4.9% fee for credit card deposits (a lot considering how most sites charge nothing). The impact of the deposit fee is slightly compensated by their welcome bonuses, which are better than average.

All online gamblers look for entertaining games, attractive promotions and aesthetically pleasing software. To have a safe experience, however, you want a site to:

1. Serve its customers with safety and respect,
2. Operate with a reasonable house edge, and
3. Handle money transactions promptly.

Yes, the third point is included in the first point but it’s also such an essential part of the customer experience that it must be mentioned separately. Many online gambling websites operate without an adequate level of service so these points are worth considering. It’s rare to find a combination of all three points.

Bovada fulfills all of the above criteria better than other sites but 5Dimes does well, too. In fact, I’m confident in ranking those two as the best USA gambling websites specifically because they deliver so well in the areas related to safety and trustworthiness. A site without proper customer service and safety measures is not one you should deposit money to, regardless of its promotions and whatnot.

What Are Some Alternative Options?

For Sports Bettors

5Dimes.eu is the best betting site in the US for the following reasons: they’re professional-friendly and offer reduced juice betting lines (in other words, less house edge). Before betting on any game, I recommend taking a look at the odds 5Dimes is offering. They’ve been a reliable sportsbook for over 10+ years — you’ll find few complaints about 5Dimes online, and the ones you find have been resolved quickly.

For poker and casino games, I would go with Bovada. But for sports bettors, it makes the most sense to have an account at 5Dimes.

Another Solid Option

BetOnline.ag is my third suggestion. It’s not significantly better than the others in any area but they’re simply a solid option. Prompt cashout processing, decent poker traffic, good sports betting options and entertaining casino games. Additionally, I’ve had good experiences with their customer service.

For sports bettors, BetOnline is worth signing-up at simply to be able to compare betting lines among a few sites. For poker players, BetOnline may offer some good games every now and then (keep in mind: you can bet on sports and play casino and poker games with the same account, so plenty of gamblers will stumble on the poker games eventually). For casino gamblers, BetOnline has a basic but reliable offering.

BetOnline charges a 6% fee for credit card deposits.

Is It Legal to Play?

The definition of ”gambling” and the laws surrounding vary depending on which state you live in.

In Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey, some forms of online gambling have been legalized and regulated (only state-licensed sites are allowed to operate legally). In other states, it’s likely (although not widely agreed upon) that playing – and certainly operating – online gambling games for real money is illegal.

On a federal level, sports betting is the only form of prohibited gambling via the Wire Act of 1961. For several years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) maintained that the Wire Act applies to all forms of online gambling, but in December 2011, they corrected that stance by stating that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting – a result of a 13-page memorandum from the Office of Legal Counsel to the Criminal Division of the DOJ (source).

State laws, however, often indirectly prohibit gambling. Or to put it another way: it would be difficult to claim any forms of online gambling legal with absolute certainty in most states (lotteries and such aside). Most state laws indirectly prohibit gambling simply by making all forms of gambling unlawful that have not been made lawful.

Purely based on history, it’s unlikely you’ll get into legal trouble; then again, if something is illegal, you can get into trouble, and someone probably will. Gambling online may be illegal where you live. Contact a local gaming lawyer to get a better idea of your local laws.

Legal Troubles

Industry-changing events have taken place in the online gambling world – mainly concerning online poker – such as the UIGEA and Party Poker’s exit from the US market, or PokerStars’ exit from the US market in 2011.

Those crimes were committed by online poker operators, though, not players. Still, the mere fact that online poker companies were targeted was enough to cast a shadow over the legality of US online poker, and furthermore, players grew more and more worried about one of these sites getting shut down along with the money on their player accounts.

In fact, there is a legitimate reason to worry about dishonest US gambling sites taking your money. Some sites have indeed taken off with the money – a recent example is Lock Poker, which currently may owe its customers over $15 million. I created LegitGamblingSites.com mainly to give more exposure to the sites with strong track records of honest business practices.

The lawmakers, in that regard, have a point about not allowing unlicensed sites to provide online gambling games to US citizens. While that may not be the reason, it’s likely one of them. (If I had to guess, I’d say they’re more concerned about losing out on tax dollars and protecting the interests of brick & mortar casino owners such as Sheldon Adelson, although through the RAWA – Restore America’s Wire Act legislation – he tries to do that by himself.)

How to Move Money Around

Ever since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) became a law, US citizens have had a more difficult time finding a suitable deposit method.

There are only a few left, actually.

The most common deposit method for US citizens is still credit card deposits, out of which VISA is the most widely accepted brand, followed by Mastercard, with American Express being a distant third. Cards must be eligible for both international and online transfers.

The alternative method is to use a money transfer service such as Western Union. Western Union is mostly a deposit-only method. (Bovada is an exception since they only allow you to withdraw money via a check.)

Why to use a money transfer service instead of a credit card?

• A card deposit fails to go through. This happens every now and then, and the only way to know if your card will be accepted is to try. According to various forum reports, Vanilla VISA is declined at most sites while Netspend VISA has been successful.

  Surprisingly, players have had problems with card deposits even at state-licensed sites due to banks like Bank of America outright declining all gambling transactions. Things will likely get better with the new MCC codes for VISA, Mastercard, American Express and Distant which will help casinos to identify gambling transactions more accurately. It’s unclear how much of a help this will be since banks still have the right to decline transfers marked with the new MCC codes, and due to not wanting to violate the UIGEA (according to which they’re prohibited from knowingly processing unlawful gambling transactions), banks may decide it isn’t worth it and keep cancelling transactions even if they were for state-licensed sites.

  This is expected to change once bigger states – perhaps even the biggest of them all, California – join internet gambling, since declining the transactions will then affect such a large percentage of any bank’s customer base.

• You want a faster cashout. While money transfer services cost more (many sites, like Bovada, allow one free check cashout a month), the money is usually delivered to be picked up at a local Western Union location in five days or less.
• You don’t want a check cashout. You need to go to a cashier to cash a check. Most people would rather avoid doing this, especially since banks aren’t allowed to knowingly process online gambling related transactions (unless in Delaware, Nevada or New Jersey, but people have had problems in those states as well).

In general, you’ll have higher transaction costs with money transfer services than with a combination of credit cards and checks. BetOnline and Bovada are the only major USA sites charging for credit card deposits and most allow one free check cashout per month – some, like True Poker, allow a free check withdrawal every seven days.

How to use a credit card/check combination?

1. Enter your credit card details online after which you have the money on your player account instantly.
2. When done playing, order a check cashout, which will take from a week to over a month depending on which site you’re dealing with.
3. Go to your local bank to cash the check.

How to use a money transfer service (like Western Union)?

1. Go to their website or a live Western Union location and send money to the gambling site. (You’ll need to contact the gambling site first to get their transfer details.)
2. When done playing, initiate the withdrawal from your player account.
3. Go to a live location to collect the money.

State-Licensed Sites

As mentioned, Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey have legalized and regulated some forms of real-money online gambling. Delaware started with online poker but has since expanded into casino games as well; Nevada offers online poker games only; New Jersey offers online poker and casino games.

As you can see, not a single one of these states offer online sports betting. In New Jersey – clearly the biggest market of the three – there’s a clause according to which sports betting may be considered to be added in the future.

Requirements

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You must be physically located within a state’s boundaries to play at the licensed sites. If you’re currently located in California but live in Nevada, you’re unable to play until you return to Nevada; if you’re currently located in Nevada but live in California, you can play as long as you stay within Nevada’s state boundaries.

Licensed sites have to make sure nobody outside of the state can participate in the games. Geolocation – identifying exactly where a person is located – has been difficult, and there are still people who are unable to play even though they’re located within those states. This is one of the reasons licensed online gambling sites have done financially worse than expected.

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Only existing brick & mortar casino owners within those states can apply for licenses, although they can apply together with an existing online gambling site in a software-licensing agreement, like Caesar’s Interactive and 888.com have done. If a poker site kept operating in the US after the UIGEA of 2006, it will be subjected to a ”bad actor” clause in Nevada and be prohibited from operating in the state for now.

Performance

Each state has had a rocky start, although New Jersey is doing OK. In March 2014, they did $11.87 million in revenue, which grew into $13.16 million in March 2015. A growth rate of 14.57% year-over-year is better than nothing, but still a far cry from the $1 billion within the first 7 months of operating Governor Christie expected (New Jersey gambling sites were launched in November 2013). In other words, his expectations were a little over $140 million a month on average, or about ten times the current revenue.

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According to PokerScout.com, Nevada’s online poker revenue is going downhill. Year-over-year decrease in revenue of around 44% (from February 2014 to February 2015) is, no matter how you look at it, a disappointing result. Problems with card deposits and geolocation – both of which exist in other states as well – and player liquidity have undoubtedly contributed to the significant decrease. Players have to deal with fewer problems when playing at offshore sites, and as long as that continues, it will be difficult for state-licensed sites to gain major traction.

In Delaware, the state keeps all yearly revenue up to $3.75 million. Since total revenue for 2014 was around $2.1 million, gambling operators have made nothing. The main reason for such a low amount of revenue is Delaware’s population of 0.94 million (in comparison, New Jersey has a population of 8.9 million). Liquidity is important for online poker since you need lots of players to run games at various stakes, in several forms and throughout the day. Delaware is trying to improve its poker liquidity by combining player pools with Nevada but so far there hasn’t been a significant improvement to its online gaming revenue.

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If all of the three states were to combine their player pools, it would create a poker economy of around 12 million people, which could add significant liquidity to the games and thus bring in more revenue to each of the states.

Offshore Sites

Gambling sites accepting US customers from outside of the three states are all ”offshore” sites, meaning they operate from outside of the US and have no license to operate within the US. They have obtained a license in some other jurisdictions – such as Antiqua & Barbuda or Panama – but many of those jurisdictions have less-than-stellar reputations.

The disadvantage of gambling at offshore sites is the lack of safety. For an outsider, it’s impossible to know how strict testing measures these sites go through to prove their legitimacy, and hypothetically, if one of them were to disappear from the internet tomorrow along with your money, what could you do about it?

Lock Poker, as already mentioned, is an ongoing example. They’ve now lost their license in Curacao (weirdly, they were able to keep the license easily over a year after refusing to process customer cashouts) and there’s nothing anyone can do to make sure Lock Poker’s customers have their money returned. All we can do is spread the word to the people who are considering signing-up and depositing money to their site.

The best thing you can do is consider the reputation of the site rather than the jurisdiction since all jurisdictions have had dishonest sites. The longer a site has been fully operational, and the fewer complaints it has generated, the better. Essentially, Bovada has been in the online gambling business since 2000 when Bodog.com was founded (the US-friendly operations of Bodog were re-branded as Bovada in 2011), and as mentioned, they’ve achieved an excellent reputation with a high level of customer service.

But there are advantages to playing at an offshore site, too, and you can legitimately argue that the advantages override the disadvantages. Offshore sites place fewer restrictions on customers, need less personal information and have to compete with lots of other sites (within US states, competition is limited) which forces them to be at their best in order to succeed. There are no geolocation issues either.

Safety and legality aside – although obviously, both are big considerations – offshore sites are the better option in almost every area. Since only three states have legalized some forms of real-money online gambling in the US, they’re the only places for internet gambling for around 96.4% of US population.

What’s Next?

US online gambling is in a transitional phase: after a long wait of legalization, three states have done it, mostly with lackluster success. Suggesting geolocation and deposit issues are resolved, revenue streams may grow. With online poker, though, most likely at least one of the bigger states has to legalize it and combine player pools with the others to create a meaningful poker economy.

A federal legalization would create much-needed competition and player pools, which in turn creates a bigger incentive for operators to participate and, in many ways, a better environment for gamblers. If internet gambling was to be legalized nationwide, every operator and their grandmother would want a license. As of now, it’s more beneficial for most operators to stay outside of the US.