Online Casinos for the USA: Factors American Players Are Concerned About the Most When Choosing a Casino
The global gambling industry grows and evolves every year, becoming friendlier, more accessible, and diverse. Even countries that used to be cut from the international gaming market due to certain local regulations, now have more options to choose from. The United States of America is definitely among such countries.
For the longest time, America’s gambling market — especially the online one — was under heavy regulations, and limited only to a few certain states. Now, however, virtual betting becomes more and more accessible. Players saw the first signs of a thaw after PASPA was overturned and online commercially operated Sportsbook became available in many states. It will take longer for casino games to catch up with what the Sportsbook lobby achieved but we are keeping our hand on the pulse of this question.
While legislators are slow in catching up with the demands of millions of online gamblers across the USA, statistics show that the country is always among the top-30 nations worldwide when it comes to spending cash on games of chance.
In the year 2021, it got first place with a gross gambling win reaching almost 97 billion USD. Out of this sum, 89 billion USD comes from land-based casinos and almost 7 billion USD — from virtual venues. This is a lot of money and now, more than ever, Americans are interested in safe and quality online casino services.
So, what does the perfect online operator look like for an average player from the USA? KeyToCasinos took a closer look at 100s of online queries and questions from the American gamblers and breaks down the main concerns that the gaming community in this country has. In a nutshell, when selecting a USA-friendly platform, a player is concerned about its:
- Legality
- Availability of real money gaming
- Interest towards no-deposit bonuses and free spins
- Newest and recently opened gaming lobbies
When putting together this research, we have analyzed a total of more than 16,000 search queries from the USA. We’ve taken a closer look at each of the factors mentioned in the list below and are ready to weigh in on what the USA gambling community considers important when it comes to wagering real money in online casinos.
A USA-Friendly Online Casino Has to Accept Real Money
Whether an online casino accepts real money and offers not only free play is the most important factor for Americans, and it makes for almost 40% of all the 16,000 queries that we have analyzed.
If compared to search queries from other countries like Australia, gamblers from the USA are less than concerned about the demo or free play. Most of the potential gamblers are very specific in their query: “What are the best online casinos for the USA that accept real money” is the question they pose to the search engines.
It is no wonder that the question of real money gambling comes first. The international market for USA-based players is relatively small — most of the platforms won’t accept traffic from the country or will offer only demo play. Clients will need to look specifically for the lobbies that were tailored to accommodate the USA. Our database has separate lists for real-money operators for the USA, as well as for those Americans who’d like to play in BTC-friendly online lobbies.
Promotions for the USA: It’s All About No-deposit Bonuses
More than 33% of the search queries are dedicated to American players searching for the best bonuses in online casinos. What is curious is that this community is less than interested in the welcome deals — out of 100% of searches connected to bonuses, the sign-up deals take less than 10%.
The lion’s share of queries — more than 83% — is dedicated to finding the best online casinos in the USA that offer no-deposit bonuses with or without any codes. Free spins are a bit less popular on their own, but the Americans often wonder whether there is a good no-deposit bonus with free spins that a newbie can claim.
Another 9% of gamblers are looking for ways to obtain their bonuses, especially for any specific, unique, or latest bonus codes.
Based on our experience we can say that the market for the USA-gambling community is fully prepared to satisfy these queries. Lots of America-friendly places to bet and win have great no-deposit bonuses — both cash and free spins, as well as chips. Most of them come without bonus codes but if certain promo codes apply, they are not hard to get as they will most surely be listed on the Promotional page.
To mention a few out of many platforms that we can recommend, there is Vegas Casino Online, Slots Capital, and Grand Palace.
Quality of Content: Americans Are Looking for the Best and Newest Online Casinos
While in countries like the UK, gamblers will most likely register at older and established brands, 20% of the search queries in the USA are dedicated to finding the best, as well as new online casinos.
The players even go to such specifics as adding the latest year. Considering how small the market is and how limited it is to only a few certified studios authorized to provide games for the USA, we can understand how players try to diversify by searching for the recently launched platforms.
As for being concerned with the best quality, it is also a predictable query. Because there are so few platforms regulated by the country and so many rogue lobbies among international brands, the forums are filled with warnings and complaints from those who deposited cash on rigged software or never got their withdrawals.
This brings us to the question of legality — another search query that frequently appears when it comes to American gamblers. Out of 100% of those who are looking, 10% are extremely concerned with the questions of licensing, certification for software, and secure banking. Too many platforms targeting the USA will have no information about licenses or will have weak permits in place — such as from the jurisdictions of Anjouan.
We’d recommend looking for platforms that have permits from Curacao, Panama, and Costa Rica. These are the most popular scenarios for the reviewed market.
Banking: Are There any PayPal-Friendly Online Casinos for the USA?
With PayPal being one of the most popular ways for Americans to transfer funds online, no wonder that it takes up to 95% of queries when it comes to banking. Unfortunately, in the world of international gambling, there won’t be many online operators ready to offer PayPal to their American visitors — not because they can’t, but because PayPal will most likely block such transactions.
This banking solution can, however, be used across those online casinos that were licensed in the USA by the specific states — of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware. For the most part, however, we would recommend looking into crypto-friendly lobbies.
When it comes to banking, about 3% of those who are looking to play are concerned with the minimum deposit limit. Some may even go to such specifics as looking for the USA-friendly casinos where one can play at a minimum of 5 USD per initial deposit. Such strategy works well for those testing new platforms — it is safer to deposit and wager only some cash at first, and to then come back and deposit more if all goes well.
Finally, when covering banking, we have also noticed that about 2% of the players are interested in which platforms are offering the fastest payouts. Considering the overall difficulties with deposits and withdrawals for American gamblers, this is a very predictable request and something that many online operators need to work on.
Online Casino Reviews Are a Factor…
...but for the Americans, reviews and opinions of the fellow gamblers are not as important as to players from, let’s say, Australia. In the USA, less than 1% of the players research an online lobby online, checking its reviews and feedback from the community prior to wagering.
Out of those who decide to check, 70% head to the gambling portals and forums. A total of 28% look for feedback from the registered players. Only 2% check for bad reviews and complaints.
Types of Online Casino Games Are Less Important in the United States
Out of all the factors that the Americans check prior to playing, games seem to be the least important one. Less than 1% of the players are interested in the software and games they will be playing.
This raises a question of the overall quality of the content at offshore casinos. Is it the lack of demand that does not stimulate the niche to expand? Or is it that the Americans are used to their selection of software being limited that they decide not to do additional research?
In any way, among those looking for software, 62% are concerned about the types of online casino games available to the United States. Many are specifically looking for roulette. There are also specific queries about live dealer games — luckily, the list of studios offering it has been growing lately. We can mention Fresh Deck Studios and ViG among some of the best software developers for this market.
In terms of games, slots and slot tournaments are also sometimes mentioned among searches. When it comes to the type of studios, only 2% of players are concerned about the brand. Surprisingly, it is not the popular names like RTG or Rival that are typed into the search bar but labels like XPG, which allows assuming that live content is on the rise among the American gamblers.
Most Popular Queries: Conclusive Thoughts
The volume of search queries and a closer look at it exposes the main problems for the gambling market in America — its players are very concerned about the questions of legality and would like to feel more protected when betting real money.
More than half of the states in the USA will have online casinos banned, and some will go to an extent of equating online gambling to a felony (how are you doing, Washington?). Therefore even when heading to international lobbies that are in no way regulated by the local legislature, many gamblers will feel concerned.
Another question regarding legality is the absence of proper licenses among offshore operators. Too many of them have taken advantage of gamblers from the USA by offering non-certified services and rigged software for the community to be on guard.
Among positive things that we have observed is a very business-like approach that the USA-based gamblers have when it comes to gambling. They would like the newest platform, preferably with minimum deposit requirements and a good no-deposit welcome offer — cash or free spins — on top. These are the factors that will allow the players to test the waters with the new lobbies and in case they find the services to be good, to come and stay for bigger deposits.
