When it comes to finding the finest online betting operators, nothing causes as much perplexity in the states as the legality of offshore online gambling sites. Put simply, is it safe to bet on even the best offshore gambling sites?
At Captain Gambling, we always put your security first and only recommend the absolute best for US players. That’s why we would love to make it clear that we do not recommend offshore gambling sites. Read on to find out why we don’t recommend them and the possible alternatives you can explore.
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What offshore internet gambling means is almost exactly what it sounds like: an offshore betting site is one that is not covered by the legal authorities in the United States. In other words, it actually has nothing to do with location – although they would almost certainly be situated outside of the United States. Rather, it has to do with how betting sites in the United States are licensed.
Whether we’re talking about offshore casinos or offshore betting in general, your best offshore gambling sites could theoretically be a sports betting site, casino betting operator, bingo site, or some kind of jack-of-all-trades offering.
Because what an offshore operator is depends on how licensing works in the United States, we thought it would provide vital context to discuss the law in the country in brief.
A brief summary of the United States gambling laws
Put simply, in the United States, the law surrounding online gambling – and gambling in general – goes on a state-by-state basis. That’s why the
best online gambling sites
for one part of the country may be completely different from another, and in many areas, is illegal entirely.
If you take a close look at the U.S map below, you will discover that areas where betting is legal includes the likes of Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. An example of a relevant licensing body would be the New Jersey Division of Gambling. Do keep in mind though that each state has a different governing body which handles gambling in that jurisdiction.
What offshore
online gambling sites
are isn’t actually dictated by their location, although your assumptions about their location being abroad would likely be correct. They’re instead dictated by their place outside the jurisdiction of those traditional licensing and governmental bodies. That said, we would expect to see a totally unregulated site in the United States to be more commonly referred to as an illegal operator rather than an offshore betting site.
Are offshore gambling sites legal?
Well, as you may have guessed, considering what we’ve discussed about the restrictive gambling laws in the US, it’s not legal. To be absolutely clear, they are not legal under any circumstance at the time of writing. It does not vary on a state-by-state basis. There are no exceptions for any particular offshore betting site.
Some countries do make allowances for licensing from elsewhere, usually as long as they pass through some kind of scrutiny or legal framework. This is not true of the United States, though. In order for a site to be legal, it must be licensed through an authority of an American state. Thus, all offshore examples are, by definition, illegal.
Our top 3 recommended legal alternatives
While it’s been established that offshore betting isn’t advisable, you can opt for better and less worrisome betting sites which have legal status and recognition in some or all of the jurisdictions in the US. Here are three top options which we handpicked for you, alongside their reviews.
1. BetMGM
BetMGM Legal Casino
Play your favorite games at BetMGM
It’s interesting to know that BetMGM was once legal only in three states in the US- Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. However, they’re now in Arizona, Colorado, Washington D.C, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Again, BetMGM provides in-person sports betting in Mississippi, Nevada, and South Dakota. Further, horse racing fans in Florida are in for a treat as BetMGM offers services there. The continuous expansion of BetMGM across different jurisdictions in the US is impressive, as the operators are set to offer the best betting experience under adequate security and regulation.
Besides this great feat, they also stand out for several important elements. Regarding its bonuses and promotions, BetMGM offers various bonus codes, free spins, a no deposit bonus, and a match on players’ first deposit of up to $1000. The Wagering requirements are fair and attractive. If you check their site now, you may just find a new promotion. In another regard, BetMGM single-handedly has 800+ slot games, one of the largest slot gaming collections in the United States. It features titles from NetEnt, IGT, Microgaming, and other interesting games. Besides slots, it offers players table games, live dealers, poker, and sport betting options.
Now, if you’re particular about web design and an app’s interface, BetMGM will probably impress you yet again. Their platforms are secured through VeriSign encryption and geolocation services. Our final observation is their 24/7 customer support via live chat and email queries. Essentially, BetMGM stands tall in the online casino industry in the US and is sure to give you whatever gaming experience you desire.
Sports Promo
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BetMGM Sportsbook Highlights
Excellent range of sports markets
Plenty of betting options
Impressive odds
2. Caesars Palace Casino
Caesars Palace Casino Mobile
Caesars Palace Legal Casino
Caesars Palace Online Casino accepts US players and understands the importance of offering attractive betting features. Its Sportsbook is operational in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wyoming. Besides its wide reach, they have enticing bonuses and promotions like daily $5,000 bonuses, happy hour slots every Tuesday, bonus bet Thursdays, and more.
With their latest rebranding, Caesars Palace Online Casino has a fantastic game selection which is interesting to play. Caesars Palace Casino offers slots, live games, table games, and progressive jackpots. Again, the site has a special “super high limit” section for high rollers. Further, Caesars Palace Casino is optimised for mobile gaming. The site is smooth and all games work perfectly. Again, their customer support is impressive, with a live chat button available for immediate assistance. As such, you can inquire on any query and get answers almost immediately.
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Caesars Highlights
User-friendly site and app
Smooth live betting experience
Reliable customer support
3. DraftKings Casino
DraftKings Legal Casino
DraftKings Sports Betting on Mobile
DraftKings Casino is our final pick for some of the best legal casinos in the US with regulated offerings in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. DraftKings is popular for allowing players to compete among themselves, as it offers several special tournaments, events, and promotions. Also, it offers promotions like its “refer a friend” program that offers $100 on site credits for inviting someone to sign up.
Regarding its games catalogue, DraftKings has an optimised site with its well arranged 600+ titles games on the left menu. Most of its games are available for real-money play and demo mode. It also has an education hub, which players can find in the “How to Play” section. It goes without saying that DraftKings Casino is also mobile optimised, having apps for iOS and Android. These platforms cover DFS, sportsbook, and casino. The site is impressive and players can be sure to have a seamless gaming journey. Our final review is on its customer service. DraftKings has a proper help section at the bottom of the page. They also have live support which is available during business hours.
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DraftKings Sport Highlights
Massive sports bonus
Competitive betting odds
Good live betting platform
The bottom line
Now we hope we’ve made the legality of even the best offshore gambling sites absolutely clear, we would like to do the same thing for our position on them. In fact, we wouldn’t consider any example of offshore internet gambling to be considered amongst your best options. While we suppose that logically, some would have worse practices than others – and that would, in theory, make some better than others – we don’t want to give the impression that we think any are worthy of your attention.
The bottom line is that if a site is illegal – which is undoubtedly the case with offshore USA examples – then they cannot be considered safe to use. Of course, any illegal and unsafe betting site will never get a recommendation from us, regardless of whether they’re considered among the best offshore gambling sites.
Do we ever recommend offshore online gambling sites? No.
These answers may be straightforward, but as we’ve seen when discussing the legal situation in the United States, the reason behind them often has greater depths than you would likely imagine. This is also the case on the latter point. It’s not as simple as saying that no, we don’t recognise any of those considered the best offshore betting sites to be worthy of a recommendation.
In order to make our reasoning crystal clear, we’ve decided to break down five key reasons why offshore internet gambling is simply, in our opinion, not worth your time.
Even the best offshore gambling sites are illegal and unsafe
The phrase ‘best offshore gambling sites’ may actually be a bit of a misnomer. ‘Best’ would suggest recommended – and recommended would reasonably suggest legal and legitimate to a lot of people. Again, this is never the case. Any list of best offshore gambling sites – assuming they truly are offshore – means they’re both illegal and unsafe. Even the likes of
Pinnacle sports offshore betting
must be treated with caution.
Using these sites could have a wide variety of consequences. For instance, your details may be in jeopardy, including sensitive financial information. Furthermore, you have no legal backing. That means if the site were to refuse your withdrawal, there would be very little you can do from a legal standpoint. In addition, your personal details could be sold off, as an illegal betting site is not beholden to any kind of framework regarding your sensitive data or privacy.
In any offshore betting site – even with those considered among the best offshore gambling sites – you’re operating outside the law and there are great dangers which come with that.
There’s plenty of great betting sites available to Americans
The reality of the offshore gambling legal question should not disappoint you. The idea that you cannot find many excellent gambling sites in the United States is merely a myth perpetrated due to times now long since past.
America has nearly caught up with its European cousins in terms of the quality and variety of betting sites that are out there. In fact, for most people, the number of betting sites will probably be overwhelming. On top of that, American betting sites have also really upped their game when it comes to the quality of
betting online bonus
you can find, meaning you never have to settle for less.
You don’t need to miss out on international markets
We’ve talked about how you don’t need any list of best offshore gambling sites because you’ve already got so many different amazing American options. Well, one thing that we want to make clear is that while it’s certainly true that many American betting sites do naturally have a focus on the sports of their home nation, there’s no need to look elsewhere for more international flavours.
When conducting our
sports betting reviews, we take into account the variety of markets from all across the globe – as we’re very much of the ‘more, the merrier’, ‘variety is the spice of life’ opinion when it comes to betting markets. Many US operators do an incredible job of this, meaning whether your favourite game is taking place on home soil or the other side of the world, it’ll be easy to find and bet on.
Things are only getting better
As you can probably tell, we think the betting selection available to American players is simply fantastic – easily beating out any list of best offshore gambling sites by a mile and then some. The most exciting thing about it though is that things are just getting started, as there seems to be a never ending selection of amazing betting sites to further enhance and improve the US betting scene.
More competition means better odds, more variety and more experiences, so you can find a site that isn’t just one of the best, but is ideal for you and your individual way of betting.
We’re here to be your guide
The only issue, of course, with there being such a massive amount of amazing options out there – and we’re not talking about the best offshore gambling sites here, but rather the legal, legitimate betting sites – is it can be tough to know where to begin looking. Well, our final reason you shouldn’t bet with offshore options is that we make it easy to understand which betting sites are worth your while, and ultimately, which option is right for you.
Conclusion: There’s no need to look elsewhere for the best betting
The legalities of betting in the United States may seem complicated, but what they mean for you doesn’t have to be – particularly regarding the best offshore gambling sites. Put simply, if a site is offshore, that means it’s not under the authority of any legitimate or recognised US authority and is thus illegal to bet with.
This means that even the best offshore gambling sites are unsafe to bet with and there could be real financial consequences if you do. Instead, you can bet with any one – or more – of the amazing betting sites legally available to US players should you be in a state where that is permitted. And of course, we can help find one that is perfect for you, so be sure to check out our many other articles and reviews.
Best Offshore Gambling Sites
FAQ
❓What are offshore betting sites?
Offshore betting sites are online gambling platforms that operate outside of the US. These sites are often based in countries where online betting is legally regulated and licensed, such as the Caribbean, Europe, or Central America. For American betting fans, understanding offshore betting sites can be confusing, especially regarding their licensing and location. Essentially, these sites offer betting services to players worldwide, including the U.S. but are regulated under the laws of their home countries. This means they can provide a broader range of betting options than some U.S.-based sites, making them popular among American players.
✅Are offshore betting sites legal in the United States?
The legality of offshore betting sites in the United States is a complex issue. While federal laws like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) restrict financial transactions related to online gambling, they do not explicitly prohibit individuals from placing bets on offshore sites. The legality can also vary by state, as some states have more stringent regulations against online gambling. However, many offshore betting sites accept U.S. players and operate in a legal gray area. It's crucial to check the specific laws of your state and the licensing credentials of the offshore site before participating.
🔒Are offshore betting sites safe for American players?
Safety is a primary concern for American players using offshore betting sites. While many offshore sites are reputable and provide secure betting environments, others may not be as reliable. Key factors to consider include the site's licensing, security measures (such as SSL encryption), and reputation among users. Trustworthy offshore betting sites often have robust customer support and transparent operations. To ensure your safety, it's recommended to use well-known, highly-rated offshore sites with a proven track record of protecting player information and providing fair gaming practices.
☝What options are available if I don’t want to use offshore betting sites?
If you prefer not to use offshore betting sites, there are several alternatives available within the United States. Many states have legalized sports betting and online casinos, offering a variety of options that are fully regulated under U.S. law. These include state-licensed online sportsbooks, daily fantasy sports platforms, and online casinos. Additionally, some tribal casinos and racetracks offer online betting services. These options provide the assurance of compliance with U.S. regulations, ensuring a safe and legal betting environment.
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