US players recently gained access to top-notch live dealer games by top providers such as Evolution if they reside in one of the lucky states – pun intended – that regulate online gambling.
You’ve come to this page looking for legal USA live casinos, and right off the bat, I have to tell you the answer is state-specific, as different US states have separate legislation.
On this page, you’ll find the answer for each state and see which providers are active in each territory and the exact casino offers you’re looking for.
I will not be promoting unregulated casinos. For one, they don’t have excellent live dealer software, and this revolution in US gambling is all about gaining access to the top games by Evolution and others.
The Federal Wire Act of 1961 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) effectively legislate online gambling in the USA.
The aim was to “prohibit gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law“.
The exceptions to the law are the regulated states. If you want to play legally at an online casino, you must be a resident of a regulated state.
Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia allow online casinos. That’s six states that allow online gambling at this moment. Illinois and Indiana might join the group in 2023.
Online sports betting is much more widespread, as twenty-four states plus the District of Columbia regulate it.
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Ohio will join this group soon, which means that over half of the country will have access to placing legal online sports bets.
Online poker is regulated in Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with regulation pending in West Virginia.
Here is my selection of the top-notch live casinos that accept USA players from states where it is legal to do so and have the best live software available to Europeans and the other regulated markets.
| ||||||
| ||||||
|
For many years, it was not legally possible or feasible for a US company to operate in the live casino niche since online gambling was illegal throughout the USA.
There were attempts by Bovada to offer relevant live dealer games. These are not legal or remotely on the same level as the top live dealer games developed by Evolution and similar developers from Europe. They have been innovating in regulated markets for decades, refining their products into the excellent games they are now.
So, when the US market opened up, the US companies had nothing to offer. The big European companies and a few Asian companies are the companies that now offer live games on US soil.
US players are lucky to have these games available. They represent the best of the best in online gambling as a whole. The live dealer niche is the most vibrant industry, and Evolution and Playtech are at the forefront.
At the moment, six US states regulate online casino gambling. Some opened up to anyone who wished to apply for a licence, while others chose to allow only the existing local casinos to have an online presence.
Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have the top casino brands, while Connecticut and Delaware opted for a conservative approach.
Here is the situation by state.
The state has only tribal casinos, no commercial ones, so the two tribes partnered up with sports betting brands to launch online casinos.
The Mohegan Sun online casino, owned by the Mohegan tribe, is powered by FanDuel and Evolution live software, owned by Betfair Interactive US.
NYX Gaming, in partnership with the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, powers DraftKings online casino.
FanDuel is the top live casino in Connecticut.
Delaware is the only of the six states that regulate online casino gambling where FanDuel isn’t present. This is because they prefer to keep everything in-house.
The three land-based casinos – Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway – have their online gambling sites, all under the same system managed by Scientific Games and 888 Holdings / Bally’s.
The three casinos are identical to one another and offer only 8 table and card games, without any live dealer games.
Michigan residents are spoiled for choice, as there are more than a dozen online casinos. These include casinos by big companies such as Caesars, BetMGM, DraftKings or FanDuel, and small Michigan-based brands such as Firekeepers and Four Winds.
Golden Nugget casino has a few Evolution games: Lightning Roulette and Infinite Blackjack, in addition to the usual standard games.
These are also available at FanDuel.
BetMGM features live dealer games and a few Evolution ones, such as American Auto Roulette and Baccarat Live.
PokerStars offers the best selection of live dealer games in Michigan. They feature all the top games by Evolution and Playtech: Lightning Roulette, Crazy Time, Adventures Beyond Wonderland, Infinite Blackjack, Quantum Roulette and many others.
There’s no shortage of quality casinos in New Jersey, as Evolution and Ezugi have licences to offer live dealer games.
In addition to Golden Nugget and BetMGM, there’s also Bally’s Casino, with live games such as Lightning Blackjack, Dream Catcher, Free Bet Blackjack, Lightning Roulette and many more.
FanDuel and Unibet are also present in this territory.
Online gambling in Pennsylvania is alive and well.
BetMGM, FanDuel, Caesars, DraftKings and Unibet are all present here.
In addition, Borgata Casino has a fine selection of live Evolution games and entertainment shows.
West Virginia has five online casinos: BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel, DraftKings and BetRivers.
Any of these is a good choice, with BetMGM and FanDuel probably the best options in this state.
If you’re new to the live dealer casinos, you may either try out every game you see or check the most popular games in Europe – the market that has access to every single game by the top developers.
And let me tell you; it’s the live entertainment shows such as Crazy Time and Adventures Beyond Wonderland that are the most popular.
When it comes to the two most popular table games, blackjack and roulette, people no longer play the traditional versions as much.
They opt for the more interesting live dealer versions that offer something extra such as Infinite Blackjack, Infinite Roulette, Quantum Blackjack, and Gold Bar Roulette.
Even if you don’t find one of these popular games in an online casino in your state, playing a live dealer game is still way better than playing the RNG (Random Number Generator) version.
Try to play the live dealer version of your favourite game if available.
Yes. Many brands such as BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel offer their services in one of the six US states where online casino gambling is regulated and therefore legal.
The safest online casino in the USA would probably be one of the most prominent American or European brands that have been in business for a while. Unibet, BetMGM or Caesars would probably be in the conversation.
Five regulated states – Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia – have live dealer games in regulated online casinos. Delaware is the only one that does not have any.
The answer to what the best live casino online is depends on your state of residence. The players in five regulated states with live casinos are at a significant advantage. The best casinos in these states are Unibet, BetMGM, Caesars, PokerStars, FanDuel and DraftKings.
The regulated US live casinos don’t yet have access to every live dealer game by the top software developers, but PokerStars is very close. Usually, the live dealer versions of roulette, blackjack and other games are available, with some casinos also offering live entertainment shows such as Crazy Time.
A live dealer game is a game in an online casino where the action is streamed live, showing a human dealer. The dealer’s playing actions determine the game’s outcome, as opposed to a random number generator in RNG games.
There are Live casino providers that do provide their games to US players from any state.
The US government or local states do not license them to do so.
They freely accept players and therefore tread a fine line with the authorities.
My position as owner of Live Casino Comparer is not to promote or give exposure to those live casinos.
There are plenty of other sites that do that. I’m sorry to disappoint you.