As with anything new, knowing where to begin can be daunting - we know, we've been there.

But with our expertise and guidance, we will put you on the right track and give you all the confidence to ace the start of your gambling career.

To help you get started with online gambling USA, we have broken down the process for you below, step-by-step.

Online sports betting and online casino gambling are legalized on a state-by-state basis. This means the legal online gambling options available to you depend on the state where you're located.

Bettors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are fortunate in that these three states have online gambling options for sports betting, online casino, and online poker.

In other states, sports betting may be legal but online casinos not. While for a large percentage of America, legal online gambling options do not exist at this stage.

That's why, before you proceed, you need to know the legal situation of online gambling in your state.

Depending on the legal landscape of your state, you could have numerous sportsbooks to choose from. Or, just a select few.

In any case, what do you want from an online gambling site? For you to sign up with an operator and create an account, ask yourself, what must a site have?

Are you after a big welcome bonus? Do you require a specific payment method? Perhaps, you want to be able to bet on a lesser-known sport?

US sports betting sites and online casinos differ in how they operate and in what they offer. To better identify the best option for you, ask yourself what you need and what you want an online gambling site to do.

Providing relevant personal details and contact information is a compulsory requirement of any registration process.

Operators will also ask you to verify your identity to comply with Know Your Customer regulations all companies operating online must follow. You do this by providing your social security number.

And since sports betting is confined to certain states, you will need to confirm your location. 99% of the time you won't need to do anything since your location will be detected automatically through the online gambling app you are using.

Welcome bonus offers are used by online gambling sites to entice new customers to sign up.

Typically a bonus is either a free bet or free spin that enables a new player to become familiar with how a book operates.

There’s not only one type, however. Bonuses come in many different shapes and sizes and carry a specific set of terms and conditions.

It's good to know the difference between each one.

Below, is the list of legal online gambling states with active regulated markets. Each has launched online gambling in some form.

Click on any state for an overview of the online gambling options available.

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia
• Indiana
• Colorado
• Oregon
• New Hampshire
• Iowa
• Nevada
• Delaware
• Rhode Island
• Illinois

Tennessee

Projected online launch: 2020

In a first for US sports betting, Tennessee will launch the first online-only sports betting market. The lack of physical casinos in the Volunteer State means if you want to bet in Tennessee, you will only be able to do so via sports betting apps and online - sounds great doesn't it? Expect the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings to head the list of TN online gambling options when legal sports wagering gets the final green light.

Michigan

Projected online launch: 2021

All three online gambling verticals - sports betting, casino gambling, and online poker - were legalized in one hit in December 2019, leaving Michigan poised to become an online gambling powerhouse. In-person betting is already underway but full-scale mobile wagering will have to wait until 2021 under the terms of the law. PointsBet and Fox Bet are confirmed MI online gambling operators and many more are set to follow.

Virginia

Projected online launch: 2020/(early) 2021

It could be a very happy new year for Virginians looking to bet on their favorite team. That's because VA legal sports betting - including remote registration and remote wagering - may be live before 2021 begins according to the Virginia Lottery (state regulators). Sports betting in Virginia became legal in April 2020 and was the second state in 2020 to push through a legal bill. As with many online states that have rolled out similar gambling-friendly models, state residency is not required but you'll need to be physically located within VA state lines to bet.

In these states, legal sports betting is permitted. However, online gambling is not part of the legislative framework.

As a result, all gambling must take place within the four walls of a land-based casino/sportsbook. This means you must visit a physical location and bet in-person.

Mississippi

The Magnolia State adjusted their state legislation to legalize daily fantasy sports in 2017, a move which paved the way for the introduction of sports betting. State law permits mobile wagering but only on casino grounds. Understandably, the limitations of the law and the cost involved in launching an app has seen zero interest in mobile from casinos. Reports of Mississippi legalizing full-scale mobile sports betting have cropped up in 2020 however.

New York

The first legal sports wager was placed in late 2018, five years on from permitting sports betting. Rivers Casino in upstate Schenectady gladly played history makers. FanDuel launched its retail sportsbook not long after at Tioga Downs and is positioned nicely if NY mobile sports betting is ever given the go-ahead by lawmakers. This will not be in 2020 though.

Arkansas

The Natural State became the ninth state to launch regulated sports betting in July 2019. Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort accepted the first legal wager and officially kicked the market off. However, under state law, legal gambling is limited to the grounds of a physical casino and this isn't set to change anytime soon.

New Mexico

Against the odds, New Mexico became the sixth state with legal sports betting, without state law permitting the activity. The Tamaya Nation opened the sportsbook at Santa Ana Star Casino after discovering a loophole in the state’s gambling law. It's one of five tribal casinos in NM, none of which offers mobile sports betting.

It's still early days in terms of legal online sports betting and online casino gambling in the USA. But competition is already strong in the states that have launched.

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Illinois are home to many of the world's best gambling operators. This means eager-to-wager Americans have many options when it comes to choosing an online sportsbook or casino site.

Which is great but, equally, can be a dilemma, especially if you're not entirely sure what makes one different from another.

What we do

That's where we help. We will not only guide you to the best online sportsbooks and casinos your state has to offer. But help you decide which one is best for your particular needs.

We do this by reviewing gambling websites over a number of key areas including variety, mobile experience, payment options, customer support, and welcome bonus offer, to name a few.

Above all else, though, our main goal is to ensure your safety when gambling online. We do this by working with established and reliable gambling operators that are:

1. Authorized to operate in the state in question
2. Licensed and regulated by the state's gambling regulatory body
3. Compliant with legislature relative to the state.

US gambling indeed resembles a complex mish-mash of laws currently. But it hasn’t always been like this. Or, has it?

One would say the shifts seen in US gambling almost mirror US history itself.

Merci France

Another country with red, white and blue in their flag are viewed as being responsible for the birth of the gambling industry in the US. Settlers from France, in search of the land of opportunity, are believed to have brought with them ‘poque’, or, as you would know it in its final form today, Poker.

Roulette also carries French roots with the two games becoming part of the American fabric faster than you could say ‘full house’.

While the notion of gambling became more widely received in this period, it wasn’t clear there would be an industry boom until the 20th century, Las Vegas showing the way.

Viva Las Vegas

Without doubt responsible for gambling standing as tall as it does in the US today. The city underwent a serious facelift in the early ’90s with the building of casino after casino dominating the skyline.

Casinos becoming part of prestigious hotel complexes hasn’t stopped Vegas losing its tag as the number one place in the world for gambling. Even with Nevada losing its monopoly of the industry recently, the appeal of Vegas is unlikely to waver.

Online Gambling Part 1

Many gambling sites popped up out of nowhere in the late 90s during a technology boom, resulting in a hike in online gamblers. This had ticked along nicely for the early noughties but things were to change rapidly when legislation was introduced seeking to put a stop on money laundering.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is seen as one of the most significant events in the history of US online gambling. It’s no surprise either given the effect it had.

Many global gambling sites were left unable to process payments, culminating in a sharp exit for many left shocked at a dramatic turn of events.

Online Gambling Part 2

The laws surrounding online gambling were relaxed at the start of the tens, leading to the point where we find ourselves now: states moving to launch individual frameworks for regulated online gambling.

Nevada - who else - was quickest off the mark in offering legal online gambling in 2013. Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania did likewise. West Virginia and Michigan are expected to join NJ and PA in expanding online gambling options to cater for both sports betting and online casino.