USA Players

American players, at the same time, have to make do with a confusing legal environment in which the federal law deems gambling legal, but individual states impose various restrictions.

These days, Nevada and Louisiana are the only US states which have made casino-style gambling legal everywhere; others have restricted it to specific areas such as Atlantic City (New Jersey) and American Indian reservations.

Then, you’ve got the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 which makes interstate and international online gambling-related transactions illegal and prohibits operators from accepting deposits from US residents.

Players themselves are not directly forbidden to wager online, but still, need to make sure they chose a reputable site licensed in one of the recommended jurisdictions.

They can also do their gambling at casinos such as Betfair NJ, explicitly designed with a goal to offer legal online gaming services in the state of New Jersey.

In 2014, the Casino signed an agreement with the Golden Nugget Atlantic City and was subsequently able to start operating under their internet gaming license.

Betfair NJ is currently regulated by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and as of 2018, also offers live dealer games from Ezugi, namely Blackjack, Roulette and Baccarat.

Other casinos that operate in the United States market and offer live casino games for real money are MYB Casino, Vietbet and 5Dimes.  

Game Selection

Once you’ve made sure both your personal information and your money will be safe, check which live dealer games have been made available. Ideally, you’ll find a wide assortment provided by Evolution Gaming, by far the best live gaming developer out there.

Not only do they boast the most diverse portfolio, but their streaming quality is second to none and the game interface as user-friendly as it gets.

An additional offering consisting of games provided by other companies, such as Ezugi and Lucky Streak, is the cherry on top.

The same goes for native live games hosted by dealers speaking your mother tongue, as well as being offered to choose between tables with low and high limits.

Banking

The money angle is no less important, so you’ll want to check how deposits and withdrawals are handled. The bigger selection of banking methods, the better.

There should be alternatives to paying with a credit card and options offered to those who like using e-wallets such as Skrill and Neteller, pre-paid cards like PaySafeCard, and mobile payment methods such as Boku or Zimpler.

Ideally, the ease of funding your casino account will be provided via friendly transaction limits, instant deposits, and short withdrawal processing time of 24 hours or less.

Being a high-roller, you don’t want to be penalised by low deposit limits, and having scored sizeable wins, you’ll not want to wait for months before your winnings reach your bank account.

If at the same time you’re offered to pay in your currency and thus avoid potential conversion charges, you may have found your ideal partner.

Support

Last but not least, make sure to check direct assistance options and availability.

The best online casinos offer different ways to contact their support staff, Live Chat included, they employ multilingual agents, and make their people reachable 24/7.

You should be able to communicate with a person you can understand and receive immediate help no matter what time day or night, so don’t settle for anything less.

PayPal is probably the most famous e-wallet, an option that enables fast, safe and simple online transactions. In order to use it, you will have to first open an account with the service provider.

However, the process is quick and easy, and all following financial transactions can be done simply by using your email address and PayPal password.

Not having to share credit card details with the vendor is an additional safety enhancer on top of advanced security measures implemented by the company.

PayPal is frequently available for both deposits and withdrawals, and when cashing out, one can transfer money to a credit card or a bank account, or alternatively use PayPal debit card to collect cash via an ATM machine.

Trustly is basically an instant bank transfer which is available without having to go through any additional registration processes.

Players can make deposits simply by selecting their bank from the list and following the bank’s standard security procedure.

The service is easy to use, money transfers are instant, and the security level high thanks to a license granted by the Swedish Financial Services Authority.

Trustly can usually be used for deposits as well as withdrawals so that you won’t have to look for an alternative option when it’s time to cash in your winnings.

Skrill and Neteller are two frequently featured E-wallets with multiple benefits. They are normally the fastest way to collect your winnings, easy to use, and very safe.

You’ll have to sign up to use the service and then fund your Skrill / Neteller account via credit/debit cards, other e-wallets, prepaid cards, or an online bank transfer.

The registration process is the only point at which you’ll need to provide personal information, meaning no sensitive details will ever have to be shared with the casino.

Both service providers are implementing advanced anti-fraud measures to make sure each of your transactions is as safe as can be.

PaySafeCard is a pre-paid card that can be used even if you’ve got no credit card or a bank account. It can be purchased for cash in a number of outlets, thus ensuring maximum security and complete anonymity.

aving bought the card, you’ll be able to make deposits by entering a 16-digit PIN code provided at its purchase.

PaySafeCard is available in different denominations and holds a limited amount of money; once the funds have been used up, you’ll need to replace the card by another.

This is actually beneficial as it protects you from impulse decisions you might regret later on. The only downside worth mentioning is that PaySafeCard can only be used for making deposits.

Bitcoin is a well-known digital currency available for purchase via regulated exchanges.

You can alternatively buy them at marketplaces from other individuals or at Bitcoin ATMs, paying either in cash, with credit/debit cards, or by wire transfer.

One has to start by setting up an online or offline wallet such as Coinbase, Cubits or Kraken, and filling it with crypto currency. A Bitcoin address is then used to fund the casino account.

Online players also like this payment option because the lack of intermediaries enables faster transactions and digital currencies are not affected by inflation.

Baccarat

Baccarat is a game played between two hands, the Player and the Banker. Do note that in this case the Player is not you and the Banker is not your dealer; these are simply two hands one can wager on.

The goal is to correctly predict which hand scores closer to 9. Cards 2 through 9 count according to their face value, 10's and face cards are valued at zero, and Aces count as 1. Having calculated the total, the digit in the tens position is dropped to get the final result.

There are three basic bets one can place: the Player, the Banker, and a Tie. The standard variant pays even money on the first two though it charges 5% commission on Banker wins, while a Tie normally delivers 8:1.

No Commission Baccarat disposes of the aforementioned commission but in the event the Banker scores a 6, you’ll only get paid 0.5:1.

The outcome in Baccarat is not as dependent on the usage of betting strategies as Blackjack, mainly due to the fact it features simpler gameplay and fewer betting options.

However, there are game variants equipped with several optional wagers and significantly higher related payouts.

Evolution’s Baccarat Control Squeeze, for example, offers Player, Banker, Perfect and Either Pair side bets, as well as Banker and Player Bonus bets.

Perfect Pair will pay 25:1 for two identical cards dealt to Banker / Player, and as much as 200:1 for two pairs.

Roulette

Roulette is essentially a game of luck, even though the creators of Martingale’s, Fibonacci, D'Alembert and other “sure-to-win” strategies try to convince you otherwise.

It’s all up to a small ball and the slot it ends up picking after moments of completely random, nerve-racking hopping from one area of the wheel to another.

While there’s no certain way to predict where it will land, you can influence potential payouts by choosing from a range of available bet types and / or placing multiple wagers.

Before you start, though, make sure you know which game variant you’re about to play. European and American Roulette are the two basic ones, the main difference being that the wheel used with the first features numbers 1 to 36 plus a single zero, while the other has an additional double zero slot.

What may look like a small deviation actually has a major impact on house edge - 2.70% (European) vs 5.26% (American).

European Roulette sometimes uses La Partage rule which softens the blow when the ball lands on zero while you’re betting on Red, Black, Odd or Even.

Should this happen, you’ll only lose half of your wager instead of the entire amount. Roulette players can choose to place so-called inside bets and wager on individual numbers or groups of numbers.

These include Straight up bet (betting on a single number), Split bet (betting on 2 adjacent ones), Street bet (3 numbers in a row), Corner bet (placing chips in the middle of 4 adjoining numbers), and Line bet (wagering on 6 numbers simultaneously).

Outside bets, as the name indicates, are those placed outside of the numbered area. They include Red / Black, Odd / Even, High / Low (1-18 and 19-36), Columns and Dozens. The largest base game payout is obviously delivered by Straight Up bets which win 35:1.

Before you get too excited, let us remind you that your chances of guessing the winning number are as low as 2.7%.

At the same time, outside bets like Red, Black, Odd and Even pay only 1:1 but the probability of picking the right one is as high as 46.4%.

You’re welcome to go either way, just make sure to keep these odds in mind.

Casino Poker

Poker is a game with a large fan base even before the Internet, but online accessibility has made the number of players skyrocket. It’s therefore not surprising to find it comes in more variants than any other “traditional” casino game.

Whichever variant you choose to play, the goal is always to form a higher-ranking poker hand than that of your dealer, with the most important decision being whether to call or to fold.

Caribbean Stud is one of the most popular poker games thanks to simple rules and favorable odds. Players receive their five cards face up, while their opponent reveals only one of theirs.

The dealer normally qualifies with an Ace-King and the basic strategy is pretty straightforward: always raise if you’re holding a pair or higher, and fold if your hand is weaker than the dealer's qualifying hand. 

Live Caribbean Stud developed by Evolution Gaming comes complete with two lucrative side bets. The 5+1 Bonus bet wins when your 5 cards and the dealer's up card form a three-of-a-kind or better, paying up to 1,000:1.

The jackpot side bet offers an opportunity to collect a share of a progressively increasing amount with a Royal Flush, or a fixed jackpot for three-of-a-kind to Straight Flush.

In Casino Hold’Em Poker, both you and the dealer will attempt to form winning hands by using your own two cards and five community cards. The only snag is that both of the dealer’s cards are dealt face down, so have you to rely on what’s visible to make your call / fold decisions.

Evolution’s Ultimate Texas Hold'em additionally offers a Trips side bet which pays up to 50:1 when the player's hand reveals a three-of-a-kind or higher. In

Three Card Poker, both you and the dealer receive 3 cards only, which in turn impacts hand ranking.

The Straight Flush has the highest value, followed by three-of-a-kind, Straight, Flush, one pair, and a high card.

This game variant offered by Evolution Gaming features two optional side bets capable of paying far more than a Mini Royal formed by Q-K-A (5:1).

Pair Plus can win you up to 100:1, and the 6 Card Bonus delivers as much as 1,000:1.

BetConstruct offers Russian Poker, a variant of Oasis with 3 betting positions – a main one in the middle, and two on either side played blind.

It’s particularly engaging as players are offered to stake extra cash, exchange any of the 5 cards for hopefully a better one, buy a 6th card, purchase insurance against the dealer failing to qualify, and even buy their qualification.

There are two general rules which can be applied in any of the game variants: one, don’t play weak hands which stand a chance of winning only if the dealer fails to qualify, and two, don’t fold low pairs; even a couple of deuces stand good enough chance of winning to justify playing on.

Dice Games

Sic Bo and Craps are not the only options available to fans of games played with dice. BetGamesTV offers Live Dice which invites players to guess the outcome of a 5-dice roll and allows wagers to be placed on a number of different combinations.

One can bet on one or two pairs, a pair and a triple, a sequence, three, four and five-of-a-kind, specific numbers being rolled or not, and a total sum of all 5 dice.

Bet placement has been made easy by attaching a bet slip typically found in all live products provided by BetGamesTV.

The same company offers Dice Duel, a game which uses one red and one blue dice and allows players to bet on either of the two winning or the roll resulting in a draw.

They can also wager on individual numbers, Odd / Even outcomes, and totals.

Hi/Lo

Hi/Lo is a simple game in which bets are placed on the next card being lower, higher, or same value as the base card.

Playtech’s game variant comes with additional betting options and offers players the opportunity to bet on the winning card being an Ace (pays x11.56), King or Ace (pays x5.78), within a certain range (x2.89), Red or Black (x1.92).

Sic Bo

The goal of Sic Bo is to predict the outcome of a 3-dice roll by betting on specific numbers, combination of numbers, or totals.

The game offers a whole range of bets, including a specific pair, any or particular triplet, and the total of 3 dice being a specific number, Small (between 4 and 10) or Big (between 11 and 17).

Craps

Craps is another popular dice game with the same goal as those mentioned above, though a bit more complex in terms of gameplay.

The first roll, also known as the come-out roll, determines the Point number - either 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. From there on the game continues until either a 7 or the Point is rolled.

An assortment of related bets includes Pass Line (7 or 11 being rolled in the first round, or Point rolled before 7), Don’t Pass (2 or 3 rolled in the first round, or 7 rolled before Point), and Come and Don’t Come bets, which are essentially the same as those above except that they are placed after the Point has been established.

This exciting game offers a whole range of other wagering options which you can explore once the basics have been mastered.

Dragon Tiger

Dragon Tiger is a simpler variant of Baccarat with a single card dealt to each hand. Players can bet on the Dragon or Tiger being higher in value and as the result win 1:1.

Evolution’s Dragon Tiger features a Tie bet and Suited Tie bet, the first paying 11:1 for cards equal in rank, and the other delivering 50:1 for cards of equal rank and suit.

Live Lottery

Live lottery games play with randomly drawn numbered balls and a variety of outcomes to bet on.

BetGamesTV features the most diverse assortment of lottery-style games and offers Lucky 5 (5 balls drawn out of 36), Lucky 6 (6 balls out of 60), and Lucky 7 (7 balls out of 42), with a new draw taking place every 5 minutes or so.

Each provides an extraordinary range of bet types with potential payouts going as high as 2,000:1.

One can wager on one or more individual numbers, Odd / Even outcome, totals, colors, etc.

Wheel Games

Evolution’s Dream Catcher is without a doubt, the most popular live wheel-of-fortune style game.

Using TV-style presentation and talkative hosts, it plays with a wheel consisting of 54 segments displaying a number (1, 2, 5, 10, 20 or 40) or a x2 / x7 multiplier.

A pointer stopping on a multiplier boosts your next win, and if it does the same several times in a row, multipliers stack.

The highest win one can hope to score in this manner is a generous amount of €500,000. BetGamesTV is another provider catering to fans of wheel games.

Their wheel features 19 slots, some with numbers from 1 to 18 and the others marked with a special symbol.

Betting options include a specific number or a symbol, a range of numbers, Even / Odd outcomes, and the color of the sector (Red, Grey or Black) the pointer stops at.

Cashback offers

Along with match bonuses claimable with a certain minimum deposit, online casinos frequently feature cashback offers which could be considered as an insurance against losing.

Should you happen to be unlucky and end up a day, a week, or a month having lost more than you’ve won, the casino will refund a portion of your loss.

Cashback deals as a rule come with a maximum amount that the casino is willing to refund, so make sure you know what the cap is before gambling away millions.

Wagering Requirements

Being offered “free” cash might make a newbie believe bonus money is theirs to dispose of as they please, but more often than not, these treats come with strings most commonly known as wagering or play-through requirements.

These basically tell you how much money you need to wager before you’ll be allowed to cash in the resulting winnings and potentially the bonus itself.

Strings attached to what is supposed to be a gift might cause frustration, but they are in fact the only tool casinos have available for protecting their bonus system from abuse.

Imagine if hundreds of thousands of players opened an account, claimed the bonus offer, and then made an immediate withdrawal. It would cost the casino huge amounts of money and probably put them out of business in no time.

So while you’ll struggle to find an operator offering bonuses free of wagering requirements, you’ll be able to choose those with the friendliest terms. Make sure to read fine print, though!

Play-through requirements could apply to bonus money alone, or alternatively to the sum of your deposit and the credited bonus amount.

Let’s say there are two gambling sites both promoting a 100% up to €1,000 welcome offer, one with 35x wagering requirements and the other with 50x.

You’d think the first one was more favorable, right? However, reading on you’ll learn that you’re asked to wager both the deposit and bonus 35 times, meaning that having funded your account with €100, you’ll have to bet 35x (€100 + €100) or €7,000.

The other casino applies their requirements on bonus money only, asking you to wager 50x €100 or €5,000 before requesting a withdrawal.

It just goes to show how important it is to read promotional T&C and understand what’s expected of you before saying “yes”. So what will happen if a withdrawal is requested before this condition has been met? More likely than not, both your winnings and the bonus will be void.

Checking if your wagering requirements have been completed or not can be done in one of two ways - either directly on site after logging in, or alternatively by contacting the casino’s customer support service.

One of the important wagering-related restrictions has to do with game contribution. Each and every casino out there rates your bets differently depending on what kind of game you play.

Normally, wagers made while spinning the reels of online slots count fully, meaning a €100 bet will contribute 100% to meeting your play-through requirements.

But if you play a table game instead, the same €100 amount might contribute only 10% and make you only €10 closer to the target.

Some games, frequently including live ones, might not count at all. It’s not done because operators like to make our lives difficult, but due to the nature of the game itself.

Roulette, for example, allows one to simultaneously place bets on winning and losing outcomes, such as Red / Black and Odd / Even, meaning you could theoretically keep playing forever (and meet the requirements while at it) without taking a lot of risk.

Fortunately, there are gaming sites which will allow you to play live dealer games and have your wagers contribute, at least partially.

Leo Vegas, for example, offers Live Casino bonuses with wagering requirements to which playing live dealer games contributes 100%.

Those attached to Live Casino welcome bonus at William Hill can be met by placing real money bets on Roulette tables only.

At Royal Panda, bets placed on live games contribute 10%, while BGO allows you to claim Live Casino first deposit offer with no wagering requirement on winnings achieved by using the welcome Golden Chips.