I Want to Gamble Online, but I’m Scared

When people think of gambling, they think of Las Vegas or maybe a local Indian casino. There’s an implicit assumption that if they can see the wheel turn, the dice cast, or the card played, it’s legit. And so it is. State regulatory agencies have a vested interest in maintaining the integrity of their games or people won’t play them. Nevada, in particular, is quite the casino hawk.

But what if you don’t like smoky, crowded, noisy gambling halls, or you have kids who aren’t allowed in gaming facilities? Perhaps you can’t afford to travel to Vegas or Atlantic City, but still, want the occasional thrill of watching your bet play out?

You’ve heard of those online gambling sites, but you’re thinking they’ve got to be pretty shady. No one’s regulating them, many of them are overseas, and you’re not sure they’re even legal in this country.

Is it safe?

Relax. It’s okay. They are legal (although details vary by state), but you’re right to be concerned about their status. Before selecting an online casino to entrust with your money, you need to make sure they’ve been vetted. One such site that does this for you is Casino.org. Take a look at their legal breakdown of the status of online gaming in America.

Casino.org has already done the legwork for you. All the casinos listed on their website are legal for Americans to patronize, transact monetary transfers, and they offer high payoff percentages. Online casinos have as much interest in maintaining the legitimacy of their games as their brick and mortar counterparts, perhaps even more so due to the virtual nature of their gaming experience.

What games are available?

So what can you play online? In a word, everything: roulette, craps, card games, slots, keno, and more. Casino.org sorts their games by category, but you can pick the gaming site you like best and browse through their offerings yourself if you prefer. It just depends on whether you want to patronize one particular casino or simply find all the sites where you can play video poker.

What’s it like to play online? Well, faster for one thing. You don’t have to wait for the croupier or dealer to stack the chips, sort the cards, make change, or pay out winnings. A word of warning though; this also means you can lose your money much more quickly than at a real gaming table. Never bet more than you can lose, or guarantee you’ll just lose even more. That’s true of any form of gambling, and even though the game is virtual, the money is still real.

You’ll also miss out on the camaraderie you find at roulette or craps tables. While it is possible to find poker games with real players at the other end, they’re still not actually there and you can’t bluff them. Even machine players who prefer slots or video poker will find online gambling a little different, if only because it’s quieter.

So yes, you can play casino games online with real money. It’s legal and it’s safe, but it is definitely not like the real thing.