Casinos in Wisconsin
Wisconsin may not be the most gambling-friendly state in the entire country, but local gambling enthusiasts don’t really have a lot to complain about. Gamblers in Wisconsin are free to take part in a state-run lottery and wager on horse racing events. The state has several Native American casinos, which offer all the popular casino games such as popular slots, video poker, blackjack, and online roulette. Wisconsin allows social gambling, but doesn’t have its own online gambling industry.
Wisconsin Gambling Laws
All gambling is covered by Chapter 945 of Wisconsin Statutes. Wisconsin legislators want to protect the local land-based gambling industry, so it should come as no surprise that illegal gambling operators face severe punishment, including a prison term. Individual players are allowed to gamble in licensed venues and in the privacy of their homes as long as the host doesn’t profit from the games, but keep in mind that betting anything in any other circumstances is generally considered illegal.
Fortunately, Wisconsin doesn’t have any laws pertaining specifically to online gambling, so the issue of legality of playing on offshore casino sites is rather ambiguous. Quite obviously, it would be possible for the local law enforcement to argue that such activities are prohibited under the existing regulations, but state officials don’t even bother with identifying online casino customers, so no players have been prosecuted so far.
Online Casinos in wisconsin
Wisconsin doesn’t have an intrastate gambling industry, so the online casinos available to people within the borders of the state are operated by offshore companies. Thankfully, offshore casino sites are usually even better than US-regulated casinos, as their massive player pools allow them to offer better bonuses and bigger jackpots than their local counterparts. High-profile offshore casinos are perfectly safe and trustworthy, but keep in mind that there are a few shady scam sites out there. Consequently, I’d recommend inexperienced gambling enthusiasts to stick to the sites that have already been reviewed and vetted by our experts.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept Wisconsin Players
The number of offshore casino sites is fairly high and most of them accept Wisconsin residents. However, it is worth pointing out that the vast majority of those casinos is powered by Real Time Gaming software due to the fact that all the other major software developers believe that cooperating with US-facing casino sites is too risky to be profitable. On a brighter note, all of the sites listed below offer a diverse game selection, so you shouldn’t be forced to play the same slots or table games over and over again.
Even though playing at an offshore casino is arguably legal in Wisconsin, funding your on-site account can get troublesome due to the limited availability of some of the most popular and reliable banking methods, including e-wallets like Neteller or PayPal. Most Wisconsin-based i-gaming enthusiasts cover their banking expenses using Visa or MasterCard credit cards, however I wouldn’t recommend the latter brand for gamblers, as the card acceptance rate isn’t all that high.
Having your transaction blocked doesn’t have any consequences, but forces you to try a different card for the purpose of depositing to gambling sites. As a result, some players prefer to avoid all this hassle and stick to the sites that support Western Union and MoneyGram deposits, as those methods are 100% safe and reliable.
Developing Legal Scenarios
Wisconsin already has certain regulations that theoretically allow local businesses to offer their products over the internet, but unfortunately no licensed sites have appeared on the web so far. Furthermore, Wisconsin Attorney General has filed a lawsuit to shut down a poker gambling site in the recent past, so Wisconsin-based i-gaming enthusiasts shouldn’t expect new intrastate casino sites to appear anytime soon.
