Vermont Online Casinos – Legal in 2024?
- Shawn West
- August 8, 2024
Governor Phil Scott’s recent endorsement of legislation has provided Vermonters with a legal avenue to participate in sports betting as of January 11, 2024. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that online casinos are still prohibited in Vermont.
However, Vermont gamblers don’t have to suffer. They can play online casino games, bet on a wide range of sporting events and horse races and even play in live online poker rooms. They just need to use one of several top Vermont betting sites based offshore that have been serving local gamblers for years.
Our panel of experts has looked at dozens of offshore gambling sites and has a top 10 list of recommended sites. We’ll also look at the state of casino gambling in Vermont and what’s likely to change in the future.
SPORTSBOOK | TRUST SCORE | ONLINE SINCE | Expert Review | BONUS | Bet Now |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9.9
|
2011
|
$750 Cash Bonus
|
|||
9.6
|
2001
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100% Free Play
|
|||
9.8
|
1996
|
$500 Cash Bonus
|
|||
9.6
|
2002
|
55% Cash Bonus
|
|||
9.5
|
1996
|
$1,000 Cash Bonus
|
|||
9.8
|
2001
|
$250 Free Bet
|
|||
9.3
|
2014
|
50% Free Play
|
Top-Rated Vermont Online Casinos
We assembled a panel of gambling experts to evaluate the top offshore casino sites available to Vermont customers. After reviewing more than 100 sites, they’ve compiled the following ranking of the 10 best online casinos.
- BookMaker – Vermont’s best online casino overall
- Heritage Sports – Vermont’s finest casino website for new bettors
- Bovada – VT’s top mobile casino
- BetOnline – Best casino title selection
- BetAnySports – Huge selection of casino games
- JustBet – All experience levels are welcome
- BetUS – Vermont’s highest casino bonuses
- WagerWeb – Best cashback options for sports fans and casino players
- Everygame – The world’s longest-running online casino
- SportsBetting.ag – Fantastic live dealer section
Is online casino gambling illegal in Vermont?
Currently, there are no legal forms of gambling other than the state-run lottery in Vermont. State Senator Michael Sirotkin and Governor Phil Scott have both pushed to try to change state law, with Sirotkin proposing several bills to make sports gambling legal, and Scott adding revenue from sports betting and legal keno games to the state budget.
At the moment, however, the only way to play your favorite casino games in Vermont is at offshore casinos, which are not under the jurisdiction of Vermont law. They offer a wide range of gambling options from casino games to sportsbooks to horse racing and poker rooms.
Comparing the Best Vermont Online Casinos
While we trust our panel of gambling experts completely, we understand that you may need more than a simple top 10 list to make a decision on which online casino site to use. So we asked them to also put together detailed summaries of each of the 10 best online gambling sites, complete with the pros and cons of each online casino. That way, you can decide which site has the characteristics you think are most important to you to pick the site that will be the best match.
1. Vermont’s Best Online Casino Overall: BookMaker
Key Features
- Welcome bonus and reload bonuses can be used in the casino
- Casino includes lottery games like bingo and keno
Coming in at the top of our rankings of best online casinos in Vermont is Bookmaker.eu, which earned the nod from our panel as the best all-around online casino.
All the games you think of when you picture a casino are available at BookMaker, each with plenty of different variations. They feature dozens of table games including blackjack, three-card poker, craps, roulette and Pai Gow. The site goes even further, including lottery/casino games, which many online casinos overlook. That section features games like bingo and keno.
BookMaker has a welcome bonus that matches the first deposit up to $500, and, unlike many sites, you can use the bonus money in the casino. Reload bonuses go even higher, reaching as high as $2,500.
2. Vermont’s Finest Casino Website for New Bettors: Heritage Sports
Key Features
- The best site for new gamblers, thanks to customer service and user-friendly software
- Cashback rebate with no rollover on awards
Heritage Sports took the silver medal in our top 10 rankings. Our experts were particularly impressed with how well the site treated new online casino customers. Heritage Sports is known for its red carpet treatment of all bettors, going back to its days as an invitation-only site for high rollers. It also has user-friendly software that makes it easy to navigate the site, even for rookies.
Heritage Sports’ casino is the place to go for slots. It has a huge menu of variations on online slots, including classic three-reel games and the most modern 5-reel, 9-line games as well as 3D slots.
They didn’t ignore the table games, though. Heritage Sports has 27 versions of online video poker as well as blackjack, roulette and baccarat, plus a separate live-dealer section.
3. VT’s Top Mobile Casino: Bovada
Key Features
- The best mobile casino interface in Vermont
- Offers 100 slot games and 200 table games
The majority of online bets are now made on mobile devices, like phones and tablets, rather than on computers. That includes players at online casinos. Bovada was one of the first sites to embrace that trend and has produced a first-rate mobile interface for phone and tablet users. People using mobile devices get the same look and feel from Bovada as they do on the main site, and it offers an identical gambling experience.
The casino also reflects Bovada’s priority on giving customers variety. They offer 100 different versions of slot games, including video slots, 3D games, progressive slots, and five-reel games. Bovada also has 200 table games, with multiple versions of blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, as well as tougher-to-find games. Their live casino also has 30 different games with table limits of up to $2,500.
Crypto users can feel especially at home at this site thanks to extremely fast Bitcoin transactions. In addition, players the get started betting with Bitcoin can claim some of the best Bovada promo codes.
4. Best Casino Title Selection: BetOnline
Key Features
- Offers the most casino games in Vermont
- All seven of the top game manufacturers are represented with games
BetOnline earned special notice from our panel of experts for having the most variety in casino game titles in the state of Vermont. Their casino library includes more than 380 different variations of slot machine games. They also offer a wide variety of software companies, with games from all seven of the top manufacturers. New players can get bonus money to test out all the games, too, by using a BetOnline promo code on the platform.
BetOnline’s slot games include progressive games and RTP slots, as well as a slot machine game that is exclusive to their site—Buffalo Bounty. Outside of slots, BetOnline offers 50 table games including video poker, craps, baccarat, multi-hand casino war and 3-card rummy, not to mention 18 versions of blackjack. They also have two live dealer areas and high-limit tables which go up to $10,000 a hand.
5. Huge Selection of Casino Games: BetAnySports
Key Features
- Combines a half dozen different casinos, each with its own game library, in one place
- Offers three separate live dealer casinos
You don’t just get one casino at BetAnySports, you get more than a half dozen, all under one online roof. BetAnySports gives customers a choice between 3D Casino, Classic Casino, Diamond Casino, Fortune Casino, Horizon Casino and Star Casino, with each separate venue offering its own library of games and variations.
The live dealer casino also combines multiple venues under one roof, with BetAnySports featuring Lucky Dealer Live, Euro Live and Vegas Live. That gives bettors a choice between literally hundreds of games, providing a dazzling array of options.
An Overview of Our Rating Methodology
Our experts took a number of different factors into consideration when putting together the rankings. The best sites should offer a wide range of games, with plenty of variations of the most popular ones, as well as a good representation of different game manufacturing companies. The selection of casino games should also extend to the live dealer section.
Our experts also looked at the promotions and bonuses each site offered, what customers thought of the casinos in online reviews, different types of payment options available and the quality of a casino’s customer service. While the casino section of each site determined its spot in the rankings, our panel also valued sites that had a wide range of gambling options outside of the casino, allowing bettors to cover all their needs in one spot, including a poker room, racebook and sports betting markets.
Legal Gambling Age in Vermont
The only legal gambling available in Vermont is the state lottery, and the legal age to buy a ticket in the state is 18. The state has no physical casinos, including brick-and-mortar casinos on tribal land, and law does not permit state companies to offer online gameplay for money either. The current bill that would legalize sports betting, if passed, would set the legal age at 21, and it would move the age limit for daily fantasy sports from 18 to 21.
Important Features of the Best Online Casino Sites
Each online casino in our top 10 offers a different gambling experience, but there are a few things that they all offer. Our panel of experts worked off a list of “must haves” that all sites in the rankings needed to exhibit.
Competitive Gambling Odds
Obviously, the odds offered at an online gambling site should give customers a legitimate chance to win money. The odds posted should match the probability of the event being bet on actually occurring. With video simulations of table games and slots in the online casino, there’s another layer of concern—the probabilities of various events (roulette spins, poker hands, etc.) occurring in the simulated online version should match real-life play.
A Variety of Betting Markets Are Available
The best sites should offer a wide range of betting markets, including deep libraries of casino titles, online video versions, and live dealer versions of popular games. The best sites also have other forms of gambling outside the casino, including sports betting options, racebooks, and poker rooms.
Deposit & Withdrawal Methods
There should be a wide range of ways to handle financial transactions, with multiple payment options to fund your account and plenty of payment methods to withdraw your winnings. Traditional payment methods like major credit cards, including American Express, debit cards, and other bank transfers should be available. Since the transactions involve multiple countries, there may be fees involved with credit card deposits and withdrawals. There should also be newer, fee-free methods of moving money like e-wallets and crypto options, such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Ethereum.
Great Bonuses & Promo Codes
There are plenty of sites fighting for your online casino business, and they should be willing to offer bonus codes and promo codes to land you as a customer and keep you loyally playing. Welcome bonuses should match a portion of your initial deposit, and there should be a wide range of rewards for ongoing customers, including reload bonuses, cashback rebates, loyalty points programs, and more.
Live Dealers Available
While video versions of table games are great, there’s something about having an actual dealer, real cards (or roulette wheels), and an actual casino environment. Live dealer options are a very popular option. It allows players to have as close a simulation of a live casino as possible. It also provides a social aspect as most real-time gaming allows you to interact with the dealer and other players. The live casino should offer a selection of table games with some starting at all times.
Quality of the User Interface
Nothing breaks up the excitement of the casino action like crashes, lagging, glitches and other technical problems. The user interface should run the games smoothly and the video feed on the live dealer games should also flow well. The interface should also make it easy to find the games you want, join a table and put your bets down quickly.
Mobile Site or App Is High-Quality
More bets are placed by phone or tablet than by computer, meaning that a quality mobile site or gaming app is a must-have. While some online casinos offer a mobile site that is just a bare-bones version of the main site, the best sites have mobile versions that are as functional, easy to use and attractive as the main site on a larger screen. Many sites also offer dedicated gambling apps to play casino games with one click on your phone.
Multiple Customer Support Contact Options
Whether you have a question or a problem you may want to get some help from someone. The best online casinos have several different ways to get customer service, including phone, email and live chat. It should be available in multiple languages, 24/7.
Strong Security Features
The best sites should put your mind at ease about the safety of your money. We eliminated any sites with security issues from consideration in our rankings.
Casino Gambling in Vermont
While there are casinos in states that border Vermont, there are no commercial land-based casinos or tribal casinos within the Vermont borders. That means you won’t be able to play your favorite casino games in person without leaving the state. Offshore sportsbooks are your only option for playing real money games.
Land-Based Casinos in Vermont
While there are no commercial casinos or tribal casinos in Vermont, there is some a short drive away. Provide a brief overview of this topic. Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are in Connecticut, which borders the state to the south, and Turning Stone is in central New York, to the west.
Online Gambling
State law prohibits all forms of gambling with Vermont-based companies, both online and in person. That means the only way to gamble online is at offshore gambling sites. These sites are outside of the jurisdiction of state law and offer online sportsbooks, online poker, casino games, and racebooks, giving a wide range of gaming options in a state where none of that would be possible, otherwise.
Charitable Gambling
State law allows churches and other nonprofit organizations to offer some forms of gambling to raise money for charity. Any organization planning a charitable gaming event needs to register with the state, and receipts from the games are limited to low dollar amounts. The games permitted are also limited. Bingo, raffles, break-open tickets, and some card games are permitted, but slot machines and other mechanical gambling devices are not.
Social Gambling
Playing poker or other card games at home, with friends, may seem like an innocent enough pastime, but technically, these games are illegal in Vermont. There is no social gambling or social casino exception to the state’s ban on gambling. Will the police conduct a raid in your kitchen? Probably not, but technically a home poker game violates state law.
Land-Based Casinos in Vermont Versus Online Casinos
Vermont’s gambling options are limited to leaving the state to go to a neighboring land-based casino or playing at an online casino at an offshore site. In addition to saving you a few hours of driving, online casinos have the benefit of also providing a wide range of other gambling options, including sports betting, race betting, and poker rooms.
How to Create an Online Casino Account
Creating a new account at online gambling sites is fast and easy. Just a few minutes of effort separate you from playing your favorite slot and table games and winning real money online.
Step 1. Sign-Up With an Online Casino
First, choose one of the top-rated online casino sites from our list. Click on the “create account” button and enter your personal information on the registration form.
Step 2. Verify Your Account Details
Most sites have two-step verification. So you’ll need to check your phone for a code they’ll text you, which you then enter online to prove it’s really you.
Step 3. Deposit Funds
Once you’ve registered, it’s time to talk money. Choose a deposit method from the list on the cashier page, and enter the amount of the deposit and your bank information. Be sure to give the appropriate promo code to collect your welcome bonus and meet any minimum deposit requirements.
Step 4. Enjoy Casino Gambling
That’s it for the work. Now the fun starts. Pick a game and start playing for real money online. Good luck.
FAQs – Online Casino Gambling in Vermont
Does Vermont allow gambling?
Vermont state law does not allow for any legal gambling other than lottery tickets and sports betting. That means the only way to gamble in the state is at offshore gambling sites, which are located outside the United States and therefore are not subject to state law or U.S. federal gambling code.
Does Vermont have any casinos?
No, Vermont is one of the few states that does not have a single casino. If you would like to visit a brick-and-mortar casino, you will have to travel to a neighboring state.
Can I gamble online in Vermont?
You can gamble online in Vermont but only on sports. For other types of gambling, Vermont residents have to do it at an offshore gambling site. The only locally-regulated gambling is the Vermont Lottery and three sports betting platforms. So, you need to use a site located outside the United States, which is not under the jurisdiction of the state or U.S. federal law.
Which online casino has the easiest payout?
All the casinos in our guide were evaluated by our experts, and one of the most important factors they considered was getting your money quickly and easily, without red tape or headaches. Any of the sites we recommend will pay out any prize money quickly and without trouble.
What is the most trusted online casino?
We trust each of the casinos in our top 10 completely. Any site that gave our panel any concerns in that area was immediately removed from consideration. Two of the sites—WagerWeb and Everygame—have track records nearly three decades-long and all 10 have years of trustworthy history.