Best US Betting Sites / Sports Books

I can't think of a better way to compliment my Sunday ritual of watching the game on TV then to bet on it. Internet sportsbooks makes this possible. You don't have to go to Las Vegas to place your bets anymore. You can now make your bets at a variety of sportsbooks from the comfort of your own home, using your desktop computer, laptop or mobile device.

Now, if you're just getting started, there are hundreds of betting sites to choose from. It could take you days, even weeks to comb through them all to find the best ones. So to help you out we've already done the research. Below you'll find the best US betting sites.

We receive a lot of questions pertaining to online betting, sportsbooks and betting from the US. We've answered the most common questions below.

Is Sports Betting Online Legal in the USA?

In a short answer - yes. It is illegal to bet on sports in the USA.

The Interstate Wire Act (1961) makes it illegal. It says that if you place a bet or assist someone in placing a bet that you can be fined or imprisoned. This Act only applies to sports betting though -- it doesn't apply to other forms of gambling like poker or casino games.

That being said, sportsbooks are still taking bets from US players. Millions (if not billions) of dollars are spent every year, and with no bettors being arrested (to date) for betting online, I'd venture as far as to say your chances of facing legal troubles are slim. Especially if you're a recreational bettor.

What you may find is that if you live in states that have laws on gambling online, such as New York, Kentucky, Maryland and Washington, that you have a difficult time betting online. Many sportsbooks have excluded players from these states just to distance themselves further from any potential legal problems, however misguided their interpretations of the law may be. There are still books that will take your business, but there are fewer of them in comparison.

How Do I Make a Deposit to an Online USA Betting Site / Sportsbook?

Making a deposit to an online sportsbook isn't difficult, technically speaking. However, being from the USA the one issue you may face once or twice is having your payment method of choice being declined. Keep in mind that because of the UIGEA, banks and other financial institutes in the USA are supposed to decline and block payments from customers to online gambling sites. So that could very well be a challenge you face.

The deposit methods that US bettors will have include:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Bank wires
• Pre-paid cards
• Person-to-person transfers
• Western Union
• Moneygram

Up until recently the stricter states could only use methods like Western Union and Moneygram at the top sportsbooks. However, many sportsbooks are finding ways to process debit/credit card transactions, so even if you live in a state like Maryland or Washington, you'll have the option to use your Visa or MasterCard.

Withdrawals are just as simple, although depending on the book it can take a couple of weeks, or months in extreme cases. It just depends. In most cases there aren't any fees, unless you're requesting more than 1-2 checks per months. This will vary from book to book, though.

How Do I Choose a Legit US Betting Site / Sportsbook?

There are a lot of sportsbooks out there. A lot. Just based on sheer numbers alone you're (just as) likely to run into a rouge sportsbooks as you are a good one. Especially if you don't know what to look for.

What I recommend doing first is read sportsbook reviews, like the ones we have on our site. In the back of your mind you should have a basic idea as to what you want. In other words, what types of bets do you want to make? What sports do you want to bet on? What banking options do you have in your wallet right now? Keep this in mind while you read our reviews.

Our reviews cover what we feel are the most important aspects/traits to online sportsbooks. Things like reputation, support, variety of games, ease of depositing and variety of deposit methods, promotions and basic things like licensing and regulation.

Once you read our reviews, I recommend checking out the sportsbooks that have peaked your interest. Create an account and check them out for yourself. Contact the support, play with the software and so on. You should know pretty quick if you want to deposit your own money to the site. Once you find one solid sportsbook, I recommend finding 1-2 more. That way you can take advantage of multiple promotions and shop around for the best odds.

One more thing worth noting. Another way to increase the safety of your account and money, be sure to sign-up to sportsbooks that have a .ag, .eu or .lv domain name. One of the "ins" the DOJ had on the poker sites that were indicted on Black Friday was that each of them had .com domain names. Since the .coms are handled (and based) in the US, the DOJ had jurisdiction. To prevent something like that from happening (again) in the future, many sportsbooks, casinos and USA poker sites made the switch to a non .com domain name. It may look like a minor thing, but it can you from a huge headache, and losing your bankroll.