Best online casino for most U.S. players: Bovada

If you're in CT, DE, NJ, PA, or WV, online casinos are legal in your state, and you should play at a casino licensed there.

If you're in any other U.S. state, your best bet is Bovada, not because they're good, but because everything else is even worse.  I'm reminded of the Simpsons episode where the RV salesman is telling Homer, "Simpson, you're never gonna own a finer RV.  And I don't mean that in a good way, I mean this is IT for you!"

THE GOOD ABOUT BOVADA

  1. Play the practice games without having to register an account.  Other casinos force you to register so they can market to you.  Bovada is the only U.S.-wide casino I know of that lets you play right away with no registration.  (They throw up a registration box, but you can cancel it and continue to the game.)  For example, here's the free-play blackjack.  And the games play right in your browser, so you don't have to download any special software.
  2. Better reputation.  Online gambling is mostly unregulated so if a casino refuses to pay your winnings you have little recourse.  But Bovada has a better reputation on payouts than its unlicensed competitors. (Not perfect, but better.)

THE BAD ABOUT BOVADA

  1. Not licensed.  Because online gambling in most states isn't explicitly legal, no legitimate authority will license a U.S.-wide casino.  That means if you have a dispute, you have no recourse.  This is the biggest problem with Bovada, but if gambling isn't licensed in your state, you're not gonna find better.
  2. Various other issues. Detailed here.

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Gambling problem?

  1. Call the 800-522-4700 hotline or get online help
  2. See these horror stories.
  3. Know that aripiprazole and Parkinson's drugs encourage gambling.

Map of the Las Vegas Strip, March 26, 2022

Here's the current map if you're looking for the current version.

Circa March 23, I added a feature requested on the Internet: A checkbox under the map highlights which casino/hotels are owned by MGM Resorts and which are owned by Caesars Entertainment. (Feature available only on the current version, not this archived page.)

Then another upgrade on March 26: Last year I'd added that feature where you could point to any casino to see what used to be there.  But it worked only on desktop computers.  Well, on this day I upgraded it to work on mobile (phones, tablets) as well, by tapping instead of pointing.  It went viral thanks to a retweet by Vital Vegas (who's got 116 million followers, which is like 1/3 of the U.S. population).  Twitter users pointed out some defunct casinos that I missed, so I added them later that day.

  • Added defunct casinos: Boardwalk, Frontier, Riviera, Westward Ho.
  • McCarran Airport renamed to Harry Reid Airport
  • Made the shape of the Aria Express tram line more accurate

Older versions of my strip map


Practice gambling with play money

Before you throw down your hard-earned cash in a casino, PRACTICE FIRST!  Learn the games with play money where it doesn't cost you anything if you lose.  Seriously.

You can play Bovada's games (below) right away without registering for an account.  Most every other online casino makes you give up your email address just to play the fake-money games — ugh.  That's the main reason Bovada is the only online casino that gets advertising space on my site.  (When you see the registration box, you can cancel it and proceed to the game without registering.)

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