South Dakota Online Casinos
South Dakota is fairly popular among gambling enthusiasts thanks to its amazing Deadwood Native American casinos, which are allowed to offer modern slots and video poker machines, as well as traditional table games. In addition, South Dakota has pari-mutuel horse race betting and a state-owned lottery. However, the local laws aren’t exactly all that gambling-friendly and the state doesn’t have a regulated gambling industry.
South Dakota Gambling Laws
Casino games and other forms of gambling are covered by South Dakota Codified Laws, Chapter 21-6 and 22-25. The local regulations do not allow local gambling businesses to offer online casino products – the penalties for hosting unlawful real money games are rather severe. Fortunately, South Dakota regulations simply do not cover the issue of gambling online, so there’s absolutely nothing to stop local casino enthusiasts from playing at offshore casino sites.
However, you should keep in mind that this lack of specific i-gaming laws can also be used against the players, as state officials are free to argue that some of the general regulations apply to playing over the internet. Fortunately, this line of argumentation hasn’t been tested in the courts, as no players have been prosecuted for pursuing their hobby through US-facing casino sites so far.
Online Casinos
As briefly mentioned above, the only way for South Dakota residents to play casino games without going on a rather expensive boat trip is to try one of the numerous offshore gambling sites. Most of those sites are actually very reliable and trustworthy, as they simply can’t afford to lose any potential customers by engaging in dishonest business practices that wouldn’t take long to be revealed. Furthermore, offshore sites tend to run on a higher budget than their USA online casinos, which allows their customers to enjoy massive bonuses and jackpots that intrastate casino simply wouldn’t be able to afford.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept South Dakota Players
Most of the reliable South Dakota-facing casino sites are powered by Real Time Gaming and BetSoft software, which allows the local casino enthusiasts to experience a wide range of modern slots, virtual video poker machines, and table games. As you’d expect from some of the best sites in the industry, all the available games are absolutely top-notch and manage to combine smooth gameplay with flaring special effects.
While signing up for an account on offshore casino sites is fairly easy, making a deposit might require some additional effort. Most of the South Dakota-friendly sites don’t support the most popular banking methods, such as Neteller or Skrill. Consequently, South Dakota residents are pretty much forced to choose between funding their accounts via a credit card payment or via a Western Union/MoneyGram money order.
The former method isn’t 100% reliable and might require you to try a few cards before you find the one that works, while the latter usually involves paying additional transaction fees. On a brighter notes, high-profile offshore sites process withdrawal requests without any unnecessary delays, which means that you’re pretty much guaranteed to receive your winnings as soon as the bank wire transfer goes through.
Developing Legal Scenarios
South Dakota lawmakers have already conducted market research to gauge the revenue that could be generated by passing new gambling-friendly regulations. Unfortunately, the local land-based casinos aren’t exactly thrilled about the prospects of having to compete with intrastate online gambling sites, so in the end any online casino bill similar to the ones passed by New Jersey or Nevada would be pretty much destined to fall.
