Where online casinos are legal in the US

Which states have legal online casinos?

As of September 30, 2026, real-money online casinos are legal and live in seven states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Maine has legalized online casinos but hasn’t launched them, and Nevada allows online poker only. In every other state, no online casino is licensed to take real-money bets.

Rush Street Interactive, the company behind BetRivers Casino, puts it the same way in its 2025 annual report to the SEC: online casino “is authorized only in nine states,” a count that includes Maine, where “the market is not yet operating,” and Nevada, where online casino games aren’t authorized outside physical casinos.

Every casino in our ranking of the best US online casinos is licensed in at least one of the seven live states, and each review lists exactly where it operates.

State-by-state list

The table shows the position as of September 30, 2026.

• Market rules. New Jersey allows up to five brands per Atlantic City casino license, Michigan one platform partner for each of its three Detroit casinos and 12 tribes, and West Virginia up to three sites for each of its five land-based casinos. Pennsylvania brands run under a casino’s interactive gaming certificate.
• Tax rates. New Jersey’s combined rate is 22.25%. Michigan’s brackets come from an industry reference site, and we couldn’t confirm whether 2025–26 budget measures changed them. Delaware and Rhode Island run online casinos through their lotteries; their rates are as reported by the American Gaming Association (AGA).
• Rhode Island’s 21+ rule comes from secondary sources; the state’s lottery and land-based casinos are 18+.

Maine: legal, but not live yet

Maine is the only state that has legalized online casinos but not launched them. Governor Janet Mills let LD 1164 become law without her signature in January 2026 (reports differ by a day or two on the date), and it took effect on July 29, 2026. Only Maine’s four Wabanaki Nations may hold licenses, one each; players must be 21 or older, the tax is 18% of adjusted gross receipts, and the Gambling Control Unit (GCU) regulates the market.

• Rules are still in draft. The GCU published the third version of its proposed rules on September 30, 2026, with comments due October 30, 2026. No rules had been adopted and no licenses issued.
• Launch forecasts vary, from “late 2026/early 2027” (SportsLine) to the first half of 2027 (Casino Reports).
• Partners are lining up. Caesars has online casino deals with three of the four tribes and describes “a potential iGaming launch in the state in 2026, pending regulatory approvals.” The Passamaquoddy Tribe hadn’t announced a partner as of August 2026.
• A lawsuit is pending. Churchill Downs’ Oxford Casino sued the GCU in federal court in January 2026, alleging a “race-based monopoly.” The suit didn’t stop the law from taking effect, and we found no ruling as of September 30, 2026.

Until the GCU issues licenses, no website is licensed to offer real-money online casino games in Maine.

Nevada: online poker only

Nevada authorized online poker in 2013 but doesn’t allow online slots or table games. WSOP Nevada is “currently the only active regulated real-money online poker site” in the state, according to Pokerfuse. It shares player pools with New Jersey, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

What happened in other states in 2025–26

No other state passed an online casino law in its 2025 or 2026 legislative session. The closest attempts:

• Virginia. HB 161 and SB 118 each passed one chamber in 2026, but negotiators didn’t reach a deal before the session ended on March 14, 2026. Both also required a second vote in 2027, so the earliest possible launch would have been 2028.
• Maryland. SB 761, which would have put online casinos to voters, was withdrawn on March 13, 2026. “No gaming question will appear on the November 3 ballot,” the Maryland Reporter wrote; the earliest possible referendum is now 2028.
• New York. Sen. Addabbo’s S2614 would allow online casinos with a 30.5% tax. It was re-referred to committee on January 7, 2026, and remains there.
• Illinois and Massachusetts. Bills were introduced (Illinois SB 1963 and HB 3080, proposing a 25% tax; Massachusetts H 4431, which would also ban unlicensed sweepstakes casinos), but none passed.
• Washington, DC. Council bill B26-0656, which would legalize online casinos at a 25% tax and ban sweepstakes casinos, was still pending on September 30, 2026.

2025 revenue by state

US online casinos generated $10.74 billion in revenue in 2025, up 27.6% from 2024, according to the AGA’s February 26, 2026 release; its State of the States report says Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey produced nearly 90% of it. Growth is slowing: the AGA puts January–July 2026 revenue at $7.08 billion, up 18.1%, with July alone up 15.7%.

Read these figures with care. States measure revenue differently: before or after promotional credits, with or without online poker. The AGA’s total mostly uses revenue before promotional deductions; on the regulators’ own headline figures, the seven states add up to about $10.02 billion. Compare each state with itself over time rather than against other states.

How geolocation and age checks work

A licensed online casino lets you play for real money only when you’re physically inside a state where it holds a license and you’ve proved you’re 21 or older. Where you live doesn’t matter; where you are when you bet does.

• Location checks. Licensed casinos confirm your device’s location before you can play and block real-money games outside the state. West Virginia even licenses the geolocation company GeoComply as a supplier, and Delaware’s Lottery puts the rule plainly: you must be 21 and “in the state of Delaware to play.”
• Age and identity checks. New Jersey requires casinos to verify your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number before you can deposit, and to confirm that you’re 21 or older and not on the state’s self-exclusion list.
• Taxes follow location, too. New Jersey taxes nonresidents on gambling winnings from a New Jersey location, and Pennsylvania taxes nonresidents on winnings from bets placed in Pennsylvania. See our gambling tax guide.

What “legal” means for players and operators

For an operator, “legal” means holding a license from the state’s regulator and following its rules. For you, it means playing at one of those licensed sites while you’re 21 or older and inside that state.

Operators usually partner with a land-based casino or a tribe, pay the taxes shown above and can be fined for breaking rules on identity checks, self-exclusion or promotions. Players get the protections that come with the license: identity checks, tested games, deposit limits, self-exclusion and a regulator to complain to. Our guide to spotting a safe, licensed online casino explains how to check a license yourself. Outside the seven states there is no licensed real-money option, and unlicensed sites are not a legal substitute.

Sweepstakes casinos are a different model

Sweepstakes casinos are not licensed online casinos. They sell virtual coins and give away redeemable “Sweeps Coins,” arguing that this makes them promotions rather than gambling. Twelve states passed laws against them in 2025–26, and regulators or attorneys general in others, including Pennsylvania, Illinois and Florida, have sent cease-and-desist letters or sued. See our guide to sweepstakes casinos.

Offshore casinos aren’t licensed anywhere in the US

Offshore casinos operate without a license from any US state, so none of these protections apply. The AGA estimated in August 2025 that illegal online slots and table games generate $18.6 billion a year in revenue, and Mississippi’s Gaming Commission warns that players could face prosecution and forfeit money deposited with such sites. Our safe online casino guide lists the red flags.

The bottom line

If you’re 21 or older and physically in one of the seven states, you can play at a state-licensed online casino; anywhere else, including Maine for now, you can’t. To compare licensed casinos, see our top-rated US online casinos, and set a budget before you play: our responsible gambling guide covers limits, self-exclusion and where to get help.