Houston Casinos: How to Gamble Online & In-Person in Houston, Texas
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David Manyun
- August 2, 2024
A history of legal battles has prevented the legalization of casinos in Texas, despite the efforts of casino lobbyists (such as the Texas Sands Political Action Committee) and American Tribes both of which have put forth multiple casino proposals. Online gambling has never been legal within the borders of the Lone Star State. With the closest casino located five hours away in Eagle Pass, it’s easy to see why offshore operators are the most convenient casino choice.
While most online betting sites are entirely safe and legal to use in Houston, it’s imperative to know which operators are of the highest quality and hold the best reputation. For this reason, our team of experts has reviewed the best online casinos available for players in Houston.
You’ll find a complete guide to online casino gaming in Houston below, including a review of the best available operators to Houston locals.
| SPORTSBOOK | TRUST SCORE | ONLINE SINCE | Expert Review | BONUS | Bet Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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2011
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$750 Cash Bonus
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2001
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100% Free Play
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1996
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$500 Cash Bonus
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2002
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55% Cash Bonus
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1996
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$1,000 Cash Bonus
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2001
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$250 Free Bet
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2014
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50% Free Play
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Land-Based Houston Casinos
Unfortunately for Houston’s gambling crowd, there are no casinos located within the city limits. In fact, all of the closest full-scale casino locations are located in Louisiana. Because of Texas’ limited gambling options, we highly recommending using one of our highest-rated offshore casino sites, which we will cover later. First, we will cover each of the best casinos within a reasonable travel time in more detail below:
Coushatta Casino Resort
Coushatta Casino Resort, located in Kinder, Louisiana, is a sprawling gaming destination that offers a 100,000 square foot gaming floor. Visitors that enjoy playing slots can try their luck on over 2,800 of the hottest slots or participate in table games like blackjack, craps and roulette. The casino also features a large poker room for poker fans with daily high-stakes poker tournaments and cash games.
Beyond gaming, the resort offers a wide range of amenities including seven restaurants, a luxury hotel with over 900 rooms and suites and a full-service RV park. Guests can also enjoy live entertainment at the Pavilion, an outdoor concert venue that has hosted acts like Willie Nelson and Reba McEntire. With so much to offer, Coushatta Casino Resort is a premier destination for gaming and entertainment in the region.
Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel
Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel, located in Vinton, Louisiana, is a popular gaming and entertainment destination that offers a variety of gaming options in the casino in addition to live horse racing. The casino features over 1,600 slot machines and a range of electronic games and table games including blackjack, roulette and craps. Guests can also enjoy a dedicated poker room, as well as off-track betting on horse races from around the world.
In addition to gaming, the property boasts a luxury hotel with over 200 rooms and suites, as well as a variety of dining options including a buffet, steakhouse and café. Racing enthusiasts can catch live horse races from November through April at the track, which offers both thoroughbred and quarter-horse races. With a variety of gaming and entertainment options, Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel is a popular destination for visitors to the region.
Golden Nugget Lake Charles
Golden Nugget Lake Charles, located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a premier gaming and resort destination that offers luxurious accommodations, dining options and casino gaming. The casino floor features over 1,600 authentic Las Vegas-type slot machines and 72 table games, including favorites like blackjack, roulette and craps. Guests can also enjoy a dedicated poker room with a variety of games and limits.
The property also boasts an expansive resort with over 1,000 rooms and suites, multiple restaurants ranging from casual to upscale and a full-service spa and salon. The resort’s outdoor pool area features a lazy river, private cabanas and a poolside bar and grill. With its high-end amenities and top-notch gaming options, Golden Nugget Lake Charles is a premier destination for visitors to the region.
Isle of Capri Casino Hotel
Isle of Capri Casino Hotel, located in Westlake, Louisiana, is a popular gaming destination that offers a range of gaming options and amenities. The casino floor features over 1,100 slot machines, multiple electronic gaming machines and a variety of table games, including blackjack, roulette and craps. Guests can also enjoy a dedicated poker room with regular tournaments and cash games.
The casino also has a hotel with over 500 rooms and suites, as well as multiple dining options ranging from a casual café to a fine dining steakhouse. Visitors can also take advantage of the property’s outdoor pool, fitness center and live entertainment venue, which hosts a variety of acts from comedy to music. With its convenient location and range of amenities, Isle of Capri Casino Hotel is a popular choice for visitors to the region looking for a gaming getaway.
L’Auberge Casino Resort
L’Auberge Casino Resort, located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, is a luxurious gaming and resort destination that offers a range of amenities for visitors. The casino floor features over 1,600 slot machines, a range of other electronic gaming machines and a variety of table games, including blackjack, roulette, craps and more. Guests can also enjoy a dedicated poker room with regular tournaments and cash games. Beyond gaming, the property boasts a luxury hotel with over 1,000 rooms and suites, as well as multiple dining options ranging from casual to fine dining.
The resort’s outdoor pool area features a lazy river, private cabanas and a poolside bar and grill. Visitors can also take advantage of the full-service spa, fitness center and live entertainment venue, which hosts a variety of acts from comedy to music.
Ranking the Top 10 Offshore Sportsbooks with Online Casinos in Houston
Discovering the best online casinos in Houston can be challenging and not everybody has the time to put in the research. Don’t let this factor affect your journey because our experts have covered every aspect, so you don’t have to. Our team is tasked with finding the top-rated providers and here are the top 10 Houston online casinos.
- Heritage Sports – Delivers exceptional customer service and great promotional offers.
- BetOnline – Offers same-day payouts and is the third busiest poker network in North America.
- Bovada – America’s busiest poker room and extensive online casino.
- BookMaker – Provides a wide selection of video slots, 3D slots, and live dealer games.
- Everygame – Offers a smooth user experience for mobile bettors.
- BetAnySports – Presents an excellent sportsbook alongside its casino with outstanding customer service.
- JustBet – Excellent live betting platform with tempting cash welcome bonuses.
- BetUS – Boasts some of the most significant bonuses for new and loyal customers.
- WagerWeb – Known for its Bitcoin options and speedy payouts.
Reviewing the Best Houston Online Casino Sites
We’ve chosen the top 5 offshore sportsbook options along with comprehensive reviews so players can understand why each online betting site is the best on the market:
1. Speedy Payouts & Unique Bonuses: Heritage Sports
Key Features
- High-quality software
- One of the fastest-paying casinos in the industry when using crypto
Heritage Sports runs one of the top online casinos available in Houston for online gambling. Boasting years of experience as a highly reputable gambling provider, there are endless reasons why Heritage Sports is one of our A+ rated operators.
Whether you’re using Heritage Sports on desktop or mobile, you’ll find its attractive interface easy to use and navigate. In addition to their plethora of promotions, you can get cash rebates too. Customer service at Heritage Sports is of the highest standard and the casino gambling crowd in Houston won’t get bored with the countless available machine and casino table games, including the most popular games.
Unlike other game providers, Heritage Sports provides users with unique opportunities, such as the option to test the games before playing with real money. This is a fun chance to find the games that suit you best before depositing.
Finally, same-day payouts for winning gamblers are always completed and done at a fast pace. Alongside the great bonuses, a wide variety of games and excellent customer service, Heritage Sports also offers the most popular deposit methods, like cryptocurrency.
2. A Trustworthy Reputation with Decades of Experience: BetOnline
Key Features
- Regular casino tournaments
- Over 500 casino games
BetOnline is one of the most experienced providers in the business. With an exceptional casino featuring all of your favorite games and top-notch sports betting services, they are a complete gambling operator for both Houston and United States residents.
With a sleek layout on both desktop and mobile offerings, BetOnline is simple to navigate and upon registration, you’ll be gifted a great choice of bonuses by using BetOnline promo codes. Not forgetting the existing customers who also receive great promos and bonuses. Years of experience have given BetOnline an advantage with their online casino, which offers more than 500 slots, live dealer games, poker rooms and tournaments, as well as various table games.
High-stake gamblers will enjoy the live tables with $10k limits and their account creation process is simplistic. Provide your details, choose a payment method, deposit some cash and you’re ready to claim a welcome bonus of 100 free spins.
BetOnline is known for its wide selection of casino bonuses and most rival companies struggle to match the same promotions. With frequent casino tournaments, over 500 casino games and a maximum withdrawal limit of up to $500,000, it’s clear to see why this is a great casino choice.
3. Most Visited Online Poker Room in the United States: Bovada
Key Features
- An extensive live dealer casino
- The most popular poker room in America
Stemming from its counterpart, Bodog, Bovada has continued to dominate the online casino industry and now owns the most popular online poker room in the United States.
Bovada Casino is excellent and they provide a respected sportsbook, a racebook as well as various promo offers. You can take advantage of a wide variety of other benefits with a Bovada promo code.
Excelling in multiple areas, Bovada does stick out from the crowd with its live dealer casino. With unlimited blackjack tables and an early payout feature that boasts 99.5% payout rates, they go the extra mile to keep the customers appeased.
To further expand on Bovada’s online casino offerings, the live dealer casino presents American and European roulette games, baccarat and Super 6. You’ll find at least 40 live dealer tables, bringing the realism and sociability of playing a game of poker at a brick-and-mortar casino to your desktop or mobile device.
4. Veteran Operator That’s Great for High Bettors: BookMaker
Key Features
- Experience in the industry dating back to 1996
- High betting limits
The home of professional gamblers and sharp bettors, Bookmaker.eu, is unquestionably one of the most popular casino sites available in Houston and the United States. The pros turn to Bookmaker.eu because of its no-ban reputation. Even the biggest winners don’t have their accounts restricted or removed.
Further adding to the lure at Bookmaker.eu, casino enthusiasts will find a range of table games, live dealer games, slots and a large video poker selection. The sheer selection of casino games at Bookmaker.eu provides something for everyone.
The website design at Bookmaker.eu is smooth and straightforward and is accompanied by low wagering limits, multiple bonus options and impeccable customer service. Loyal customers are awarded Betpoints and free spins when using Bookmaker.eu’s loyalty program.
Bookmaker.eu has been in the game since 1996 and they always pay customers in full. Casino bonuses include a 100% slot bonus of up to $500 and a 100% blackjack and video poker bonus of up to $250 in bonus cash.
5. Amazing Online Casino Selection: Everygame
Key Features
- Excellent online casino selection
- A great web and mobile experience
Everygame is a top offshore betting spot in the offshore sportsbook industry. It’s the world’s oldest sportsbook — previously known as Intertops before its rebranding. A recent software upgrade has propelled Everygame into becoming a top-tier online casino.
Specifically, the upgrade hasn’t just leveled up the number of games; it has also taken on an excellent interface for mobile and desktop users. Slot users can get excited with the vast selection available at Everygame; you can also hit the progressive jackpot slots for those hunting those high winnings. There is also a Rookie Raise welcome package that can start you off with some free spins. Additionally, promo codes at Everygame can provide further benefits and perks.
Slots, however, aren’t the only offering. Everygame has a fantastic poker room, blackjack, Hold ’em, baccarat and countless other table games. The software providers at Everygame are industry leaders, so don’t hesitate to register and delve into more than 300 available casino games.
Is online gambling in Houston legal?
As previously mentioned, offshore online betting sites are the perfect solution for Houstonians to gamble and wager legally. Texas doesn’t openly forbid online gambling, but since they haven’t legalized it, this has created a level of confusion in the Lone Star State.
Online casinos in Houston are available through the utilization of offshore sites. The state hasn’t prosecuted online gamblers from Houston for using offshore sportsbooks like Heritage Sports, Bookmaker.eu, BetOnline, Bovada or Everygame. These overseas providers don’t fall under the jurisdiction that would deem them illegal, which is why Houston online casino fans use offshore operators.
In layman’s terms, owning an online casino or sportsbook in Houston is illegal, but you’re entirely within your rights to wager with online casinos outside of the United States.
Gambling Laws in Houston
Online gambling in Houston, by law, is forbidden despite the best efforts of the Texas Sands PAC and Native American Tribes, like the Kickapoo Tribe and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe. You can gamble in private, so long as there isn’t a cash or asset gain from playing the game. Many unsuccessful attempts at casino legalization also mean that there are no commercial casinos operating locally, either.
Because the most significant classes of gaming are illegal (classes 2 & 3), gambling machines found in general stores will only gift rewards with a low value, such as toys. Known as 8-liners, these machines can’t supply winnings that exceed the cost to play by 10x, so they don’t offer very exciting prizes to experienced players.
There is no exception for sports wagering enthusiasts; placing bets on sporting events is also illegal in Houston. However, wagering at horse tracks and greyhound tracks is legal statewide and is one of the few forms of betting allowed in the state.
That said, pari-mutuel wagering on horses or greyhounds isn’t accessible online; you’re required to place wagers in person at one of the racetracks located in Texas. The Sam Houston Race Park is one such notable track for Houston locals to wager on horse and greyhound races legally. For some sports bettors, commuting to Oklahoma to utilize their sportsbooks is a viable option, but that requires them to travel 500 miles from the city.
For the reasons mentioned above, the offshore sportsbooks and casinos we cover in our reviews are the perfect – and legal – option for locals to access from Houston. Thanks to them, the closest casinos can be at your fingertips rather than hundreds of miles away.
What’s next for online casinos in Houston?
Houston residents expecting the legalization of casinos anytime soon should think again. However, we predict that Lone Star State will change its laws in due course. We’re seeing ad campaigns support the legality of casinos and sports wagering in Texas which are run by casino lobbyists such as the Texas Sands PAC in addition to overall support from certain politicians.
Multiple bills are making their way through the legislature that could eventually lead the state to allow casino legalization. Unfortunately, Texas is a Republican-heavy state and they’ve continuously promoted an anti-gambling opinion that could prevent the introduction of legal online casinos in Houston in the near future. Additionally, Texas’ Legislative session is only held every two years, with the most recent session being in 2021 so it could be a while before we see casino legalization in Texas.
For those wanting to use Houston online casinos, you don’t need the permission of the Republicans or anyone else. Look at our best sportsbooks, create an account and begin playing a wide variety of games instantly.
Can I win real money at online casinos in Houston?
The central premise of online casinos is to win money, so yes, winning real cash from offshore casinos in Houston is possible. However, some operators will allow customers to play games in demo mode to understand and find a game they enjoy without spending money.
FAQs – Casino Gambling in Houston
What casinos are closest to Houston?
The closest casino to the city of Houston is not even in the state of Texas. Instead, the nearest full-scale casino is in Lake Charles, Louisiana and it is called Golden Nugget.
How many legal casinos are in Texas?
There are no commercial casinos in Texas and only one Native American casino which is located in Eagle Pass. Tribal casinos which are operated by federally-recognized tribes are protected by the federal government.
Is it legal to gamble in Texas?
Most forms of gambling, like casino gaming and sports betting, are illegal in Texas. The state lottery, horse racing and Indian casinos are the only gambling options. However, offshore casino sites are always available and highly recommended for multiple forms of casino gambling and sports betting.
What online casinos can I play in Texas?
The state of Texas does not issue casino licenses to local traditional casino operators; for that reason, residents of Texas can only use casino sites that are based offshore, such as the above-mentioned casinos that are our top picks for the best online casinos.
Can you gamble at home in Texas?
The top offshore casino sites offer plenty of real money options for Houstonian casino enthusiasts and gamblers all over the Lone Star State.
