Find Out Why These Are the Best Online Casinos in NY
At VegasSlotsOnline, we have a team of experts who have been part of the online casino and gambling industries for many years. Consisting of ex-professionals, number wizards, technical gurus and day-to-day players, the team puts time and effort into selecting the best online casinos.
The team has constructed a list of checks that every online casino needs to have before we list it on our website. These range from the most basic of requirements, to aspects that we expect only the top sites to have. Here’s a list of the things we look out for when rating NY online casinos, and what our players will benefit from when signing up:
Deposit and Withdraw with Trusted Banking Options
A New York casino wouldn’t make the cut if it didn’t have a variety of trustworthy banking options. We look at methods of deposit and withdrawal when playing, how long these processes take and how many options New York players have when cashing out real money winnings. Check out some of the best payment methods available at New York online casinos:
Credit or Debit Cards - Credit and debit cards are one of the most popular banking options out there. Gambling sites will let you use VISA, MasterCard, and American Express among other options. Credit cards are ideal for deposits, while debit cards work well for both deposits and withdrawals.
Pre-paid Cards - If you’re not a fan of using your bank cards, then you can still make use of pre-paid cards. There are a number of popular VISA and Mastercard pre-paid cards that can be used easily to top up your online casino account balance.
Ewallets - As a deposit method that keeps your banking information confidential, you can use Neteller, Skrill or Paysafecard among other options. These form part of virtual payment systems that can be used to make deposits and withdrawals.
Cryptocurrency - While not mainstream just yet, cryptocurrency is fast becoming a household name. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two of the most accepted cryptocurrencies at online casinos and enjoy some of the fastest withdrawal speeds thanks to the blockchain.
Money Transfer - Western Union offers services to players, allowing them to pay directly. Similar to the DirectCash option, this method will have your account funded quickly and easily.
Play the Most Popular Games in New York
Like every other state in America, New York has a few firm favorites when it comes to gambling online and in land-based casinos. There’s nothing quite like a good table game, whether you’re making 21 in Blackjack or rolling the dice in Craps. We’ve listed the most popular games you’ll find at our NY online casinos:
Slots - There are thousands of slots available at our online casinos. Some of them with many different paylines, others with multiple wilds and mini-games. From cherry slots to progressive jackpots, there’s something for everyone with slots.
Blackjack - Like the classic game of 21, blackjack is one of the most popular table games around the world. There are a few different variations of the game, with the most popular needing the dealer to stand on 17.
Roulette - Our New York gambling sites host a rich selection of roulette game variants, including American and European roulette. The odds are better on different variants, so ensure that you’re giving yourself the best chance to win.
Poker - Whether you’re playing three card poker against the dealer, or Texas Hold’em against other people, you’re bound to find all these exciting variants at our top-rated casinos for NY players.
Live Dealer - Play against an actual croupier in real time in live dealer casino games. A livestreaming of real dealers in land-based resorts or studios will bring you an authentic casino experience right to your PC, phone or tablet.
There are many more exciting games on offer at our online gambling sites for New Yorkers. Take your pick from table games likes Baccarat and Craps, scratch cards or lottery games. You’re bound to find something you enjoy once you sign up and hit the games lobby.
Experience Safe and Secure Online Gambling
One of the biggest concerns that may occur to you could be safety, something that’s of vital importance to many people online. With our list of trusted New York online casinos, you know that you’ll be in safe hands as these sites rank highly in terms of security.
Every site on our list is licensed by reputable and established gambling authorities. Each online casino protects NY players thanks to the latest SSL encryptions technology. All games are also independently audited for fair play and random results.
At the moment, there is no regulation or licensing of Internet casinos in the state of New York. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t play online if you live there. In fact, the majority of US facing casinos accept New York players. This is because it is considered a grey market jurisdiction. No laws exist to prevent individuals from using these sites, thus you can feel free to play at any casino willing to take your business.
Enjoy Generous Bonuses and Promotions
The only thing better than playing for real money at an online casino in NY is doing so with an even bigger bankroll. Getting a great bonus is a key part of joining an online casino and one that we value when selecting the best sites for you.
Every New York online casino on this page will offer you a welcome bonus when you sign up. This is credit that is added to your account to increase your bankroll and can almost be treated as real money to play with.
It’s important to note that while this money does add to your bankroll, it comes with wagering requirements, so make sure to check out the offer’s terms and conditions.
These bonuses don’t just come in the form of sign up bonuses though, and you may receive many more for different reasons. There are referral bonuses, reload bonuses, free spins bonuses, no deposit bonus codes and many more.
Current Gambling Laws in New York: An Overview
Surprisingly, New York has never been a particularly active state for casinos. That’s not to say that gambling hasn’t been popular there: Atlantic City draws plenty of visitors from the Empire State, and the horse racing, like in Texas, industry has traditionally been a major player there too. But as far as slots and table games go, for most of the state’s history, New Yorkers have been out of luck.
Recently, however, this has changed. Not only are “racinos” now common in the state, like for example in Delaware, but full resorts have been built with more on the way, a response to the increasingly competitive gambling market in the Northeast. With this expansion has also come a call for the regulation of online gambling, though it remains to be seen how much movement will occur on this front.
Online gambling in New York is not legal, yet. It’s assumed that it will only be a matter of time before people are allowed to play online, and it’s perfectly legal for players in New York to gamble as long as they are doing so at an online casino outside of the US.
Gambling laws differ state by state and New York is one such state that has enjoyed a colorful history within the world of gambling. Building commercial casino venues was legalized in 2013 when the residents approved the required constitutional amendment proposed by the Governor. Currently, regulations allow for seven commercial casinos to exist and at the time of writing, only four have been built.
The Legalities
Currently, licensed horse and harness racing is legal, as is off-track pari-mutuel wagering at licensed facilities. Games of chance by charitable organizations are allowed and social, private gambling is allowed too.
Retail wagering is available at a number of casinos in NY, meaning you can head over to physical casinos such as Tioga Downs, Rivers Casino and Resorts World Catskills and place a bet. While these options aren’t available to online sports bettors yet, it seems only a matter of time before they are.
You’re also able to play the New York Lottery, and the Video Lottery, and with good measure, since it became the first nation to break $10 billion in combined sales in a single fiscal year.
Land-Based Gambling Options in NY
Live casinos are a relatively new innovation in the Empire State and have been introduced in a series of waves that is still ongoing. The first of these was the opening of Native American casinos, most of which are located far north of New York City. These include some major operations such as the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, and the Seneca Buffalo Creek in Buffalo.
Given the success of these venues, many owners of racetracks were interested in adding at least limited forms of gaming to their existing locations. That began in 2001, when state officials voted to allow video lottery terminals at several tracks. By 2004, Saratoga Raceway had brought these slot-like games to their facility, becoming the first track in the state to do so.
Now, these “racinos” have become commonplace throughout New York, and the games that are offered in them have expanded greatly. Perhaps the most famous of these locations is the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway, which now hosts not only slot machines, but also electronic versions of many table games. Another well-known venue is the Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct Racetrack, located in the borough of Queens, which opened in 2011.
But these partial casinos weren’t the end of the state’s gambling expansion. Facing increasing pressure from resorts being built or already opened in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and other neighbors, lawmakers began pushing for an amendment to the state’s constitution that would allow for commercial, Las Vegas-style resorts to be built. In 2013, voters approved a referendum on the topic, opening the door to the first commercial casinos in the state.
The four upstate casinos, which began opening in February 2017, include Rivers in Schenectady, del Lago in the Finger Lakes, Resorts World Catskills in Sullivan County and Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier.
The Future of Gambling in New York
Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey are three states where gambling is big business in the US. Since New York has a large local market and a considerable amount of wealth in existence, it’s likely to follow in the steps of the other pro-gambling states in the future.
While gaming in New York remains unregulated, it is highly like that this will change at some point down the line. Over the past couple of years, there have been some legislators that have attempted to push bills that would allow for at least regulated online poker in the state. In September 2015, there was even a hearing in front of the state’s Senate Standing Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, in which several casino executives made it clear they would like to see such an opportunity made available to them. That comes as little surprise: with a population of nearly 20 million, this may be one of the few states that can actually support a poker site on its own.
A breakthrough was achieved in early 2016, when the state senate’s Racing, Gaming and Wagering Committee passed an online poker bill for the first time, approving the legislation to move forward by a unanimous 9-0 vote. Online poker bills were reintroduced again in 2017, 2018 and 2019 yet no further action was taken for legislation. Efforts to legalize online poker carry on into 2020, with a relevant bill from Sen. Joseph Addabbo being back on file this year. This is still far from a final approval of Internet gaming in the state, and some officials want to wait until after all land-based resorts are up and running before considering this further expansion.
We already know that there are three more casinos due to be built in the Empire State, and that’s merely a drop in the ocean. As time has progressed, more aspects of land-based and online gambling have become legal across the US and we expect to see much more leniency in the future for New York.
