With revenues of more than $40 billion and taxes paid in excess of $9 billion, the American Gaming Association (AGA) says 2017 was a record year for the commercial casino industry in the US.

The AGA released its State of the States 2018: The AGA Survey of the Commercial Casino Industry report last week, showing commercial casinos in the US posted $40.3 billion in gaming revenue. This represented an increase of 3.4 percent over 2016 and the first time ever that commercial casino gaming revenue surpassed $40 billion.

Breaking down the AGA State of the States

The AGA report also showed 20 of 24 US states with commercial casinos saw year-over-year revenue increases in 2017. Additionally, these 11 states posted record numbers:

• Kansas
• Maine
• Oklahoma

According to the report, the 460 commercial casinos across the country, operating in 24 states, paid a record $9.2 billion in gaming taxes last year. This figure also represented a 3.1 percent increase over 2016.

According to the AGA report, commercial casino growth in the US last year included the opening of three new commercial casino properties in New York state, one in Kansas and several casinos beginning or completing major renovations or expansions across the country. The report also dissects new gaming technology and changes in sports betting.

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Public policy developments

Of course, public policy developments affecting the industry in 2017 included Pennsylvania’s major gaming expansion, which included legalizing online gambling and authorizing the opening of up to ten satellite casino properties.

In its executive summary, the report also identified several challenges the industry is facing this year. Most surrounded the impact of intensifying competition in states, including:

• Maryland, where the opening of a sixth casino in 2016 drove statewide revenue to record highs, but splintered the figures, causing several casinos to report declines
• New York, where new commercial casinos are helping create record statewide revenue numbers that are still less than projected individually
• Massachusetts, where two new commercial casinos are opening in 2018 and 2019, reshaping the competitive landscape in the New England area
• New Jersey, where two commercial casinos reopened in 2018, testing the strength of Atlantic City’s recent recovery from a decade of declines
• Pennsylvania, where a major expansion will take shape in 2018 and 2019

The highest grossing states in the country

Finally, the report showed Maryland as the state with the largest percentage increase in annual gross gaming revenue. It moved up 34.2 percent from $1.2 billion in 2016 to $1.6 billion last year.

However, Nevada continued to be the highest grossing state in the country in terms of gaming revenue. It reported a whopping $11.5 billion in gaming revenue last year. No other state was even close, however, Pennsylvania did hold on to second place with $3.2 billion.

New Jersey kept third place with $2.7 billion. States including New York ($2.3 billion), Indiana ($2.2 billion), and Mississippi ($2.08 billion) all posted over $2 billion in revenue. As a result, they continue to pose threat to New Jersey’s position as third in the country. But NJ’s quick rollout of sports betting likely means it will be holding on in the immediate future.

Americans love to take chances and place real money wagers on sports as well as casino games. This has made the United States a heaven on earth for those who seek to gamble. Although blessed by the fact that there is literally an endless selection of online casinos in the USA to choose from, finding the ultimate gambling hub can take a while. But if you prefer to get straight to it and not waste time looking around, take a look at our list of the very best casino sites that USA has to offer. With massive welcome bonuses and fantastic recurring promotions for existing players, each of these sites will give you nothing but the best online gaming experience.

Choosing the Best Real Money US Online Casinos in 2020

When we want to vet a US online casino, it often boils down to reviewing key components in a rather fraught context. For starters, the regulatory challenges are quite persisting. Despite the massive popularity of the activity and general support it draws, legislators have been quick to act. In the absence of a federal law that enables people to join local gambling huts, they turn to the more respectable names in the offshore industry.

To see if an operator comes close to what we use as a benchmark of excellence, we painstakingly examine its offer, focusing on a variety of underpinning aspects:

• Customer support – We approach the casino either with a theoretical or real issue and see how quickly and efficiently customer support responds.
• Checking the legal status – It may be an offshore venue, but it is important that it pertains to common standards of industry decency. For starters, it is important that the casino you invest money in has been licensed and reveals its player return rates, and preferably remains the subject of external audits on a regular basis.
• Payment methods – When we talk online casinos in the USA, it is one of the absolutely paramount features. Most operators try to re-route the incoming payments so that local banks in the United States won’t freeze the transaction, as it’s earmarked for an online gaming venue. We review a few tricks how to skirt some of the drawbacks of depositing and withdrawing later.
• Mobile availability – Rest assured that even as a US gambling enthusiast, you will have a great many options to make use of a mobile app. For the most part, you will have to rely on the Android version as opposed to the iOS, but the top dogs of the industry will always have thought about bringing you the latest pocket-sized gaming gateway.

Staying safe is important. By focusing on those key aspects of an operator, you can easily tell how dependable a place is. Apart from examining reviews and casting them against the written rules, we also strive to experience as many of the operator’s features as we can.

Ultimately, whichever casinos pass our vetting process is trustworthy. We help our readers sift through the glut of operators and pinpoint those that would be worth their while. The rest we duly consign to a place known as ‘the sites to avoid.’

Tinkering Around with Devices

The fact that online casinos in the USA tend to not be based in the country is not all that disheartening. Nor does it affect the host of devices you can choose from if you want to participate in the action. Quite to the contrary, you’ll find yourself rifling through every available option and still managing to play successfully.

You’ll certainly not see yourself lacking choice. Whether you like to comfortably place money at home or tend to be good at snap decisions on the go, you may rest assured that the most respectable venues have been designed to be mobile-friendly and quite inexhaustible when it comes to cool new ways to let you participate in a beloved pastime.

Deposits and Withdrawals at Online Casinos in USA

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If you have found yourself on one of the top casinos that take US gamers, you will definitely not lack the means to move your money about. Generally speaking, you can rely on debit and credit cards along with direct wire transfers, and bitcoin. You may also use prepaid cards, which have the greatest chance of passing through the banking system and actually reaching the desired destination without getting bounced along the way. For the sake of being thorough, you can also send a check to your casino, but that will take a while.

When it comes to withdrawals, however, matters tend to be slightly more complicated. Bank wires seem the only viable option. Well that and bitcoin of course. Anything else takes a fair bit of time and it may not be considered worth it. And why not credit and debit cards? Well, they are completely off the table, and we will explain why next.

Limitations for US Payment Systems

Banks in the country don’t readily assist their customers when it comes to forwarding money to online casinos in the USA. Simply put, federal law prohibits them from facilitating such operations and doing otherwise may cost them dearly in the way of embroilment with authorities.

For a rather similar reason, e-wallets have been swept away. As a US player, you have no chance of depositing at an online casino with PayPal, for example. Some of the e-wallets have even decided to leave the country altogether after faced with the intricacies of an overly hostile regulatory climate. Yes, being a gambler is a tough sell on occasion.

Tips to Gaming Safely

Apart from observing the legal side of matters, you’ll certainly need to learn about the common pitfalls of the gaming bonanza. For starters, while profits may seem within your grasp they may still end up quite elusive and it would help to adjust your expectations realistically. Reckless gambling behavior is not all too uncommon, and we make sure that you don’t end up entangled with ruinous practices:

• Bonuses – You will need to bear in mind that bonuses are there to incentivize you into play. While attractive and on most occasions highly rewarding, do keep in mind that large sums are a gamble that may drain you out of playing money.
• Manage the bankroll well – If you don’t know how much you win or lose, and gaming feels immensely fun, you may quickly end up blowing a significant amount within an ill-considered session. Playing the slots can be amusing, but caution is advised.
• Remember to stop if it’s no longer fun – If you get the gut-wrenching feeling that you are losing precious currency, then you may want to stop instead of hurriedly trying to recuperate short-term losses.

Online Casino Laws in the US

Not all is lost on the regulatory climate. Currently, it is illegal to wager on a federal level so online casinos in the USA are not exactly having a field day, we will be the first to admit. However, a handful of states are now fighting the good fight in a bid to bring online gaming back on the map and they are doing exceptionally well.

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Take, for example, the State of New Jersey, which is awaiting a court decision on whether gaming can be legalized. According to a piece of legislation passed back in the day, all gaming activities are illegal, however – states may choose on their own whether to enforce those regulations in full.

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New Jersey also still offers online casinos completely legally, which is a fresh breath of life into the creaky bones of an ossified and rather straight-laced legislation. More states have joined as strong proponents of online gaming in all its iterations, including Nevada and Delaware, which are big when it comes to poker specifically.

Naturally, a few bugbears persist. For instance, a proposed Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) bill threatens to go U-turn on the progress that has been made and relegate gambling to a lowly, and most importantly, outlaw status.

Any such move could be perceived as a direct assault on the industry as a whole. However, a newly-leaked information from the court case debated at the US Supreme Court has leaked, showing that gaming is entering into a new, more lax stage of operation.

However, according to sources, the establishment of physical venues will be necessary prior to any online dens going live. It seems like an embuggerance, but it is not such a bad trade-off after all. All things considered, online and offline gaming are sort of pegged and the one drives the other, and vice versa.

Gambling Restrictions for US Online Casino Players

We have already broadly touched upon the subject. Mostly, all restrictions pertain to the nature of the payment. You will never feel as free as a UK gambler, for example, when it comes to moving money around in online casinos in the USA unless you are playing in places like New Jersey.

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If you are happily collaborating with an offshore institution, it may be a rather daunting experience and one well worth studying well prior to making any real commitment to. Apart from payments, there is nothing that really upsets the experience for you as a gamer in the United States.

Sites to Avoid

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Staying safe is just as about knowing where to play as about knowing what not to do, and more importantly, knowing where not to play. In our pursuit of the best online casinos in the USA, we have identified quite a few ill-reputed ones, and drawing on our understanding of the industry and what we gather through meticulous research, we give you – the bad seeds.