Licences for commercial and tribal operators under one framework
Michigan
The state that brought commercial and tribal online operators into a single licensing structure.
Licensed online casino
Nevada
The oldest major gaming jurisdiction, with a long sports betting history but no online casino.
| Product | Position | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Online casino | Prohibited | The product cannot lawfully be offered to local customers by anyone. |
| Sports betting | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Online poker | Licensed | Commercial operators can be licensed to offer this product to local customers. |
| Lottery | Prohibited | The product cannot lawfully be offered to local customers by anyone. |
How the market works
Nevada has regulated casino gaming since the 1930s and created the two-body structure, an investigative control board and a decision-making commission, that many jurisdictions later copied. Its approach to suitability, which examines the finances, associations and history of the individuals behind an applicant rather than only the corporate entity, remains the reference standard in American licensing.
Online gambling in Nevada is narrow: interactive gaming is confined to poker, and there is no online casino. Sports betting has a far longer history than anywhere else in the United States because Nevada was exempt from the federal prohibition that applied elsewhere until 2018, though mobile accounts have traditionally required in-person registration at a licensed property. Nevada also has no state lottery.
Nevada's continuing importance to the wider industry is industrial rather than online: much of the world's slot machine and casino systems manufacturing is licensed there, so a Nevada manufacturer licence is a common prerequisite for supplying equipment across the United States.
Who regulates it
Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), based in Las Vegas and operating under Nevada Gaming Control Act. The oldest major gaming regulator in the industry, and still the reference point for suitability investigations.
Licence types issued
- Non-restricted gaming licence
- Interactive gaming licence (poker)
- Manufacturer and distributor licence
Questions about Nevada
Other markets in North America
Online permit held through an Atlantic City casino licensee
New Jersey
The state that established the American online casino model, live since November 2013.
Licensed online casino
Registration with a provincial conduct-and-manage entity
Ontario
The first competitive regulated online market in Canada, open since April 2022 and the largest in North America for casino play.
Licensed online casino
Interactive gaming certificate held by a land-based licensee
Pennsylvania
A large American online casino market, and the one with the heaviest tax on online slot revenue.
Licensed online casino
Background reading
Legal and compliance
What a gaming licence actually covers
A licence is not a badge of quality and it is not valid everywhere. What it authorises, who it binds, and why one company often holds a dozen.
Legal and compliance
How gambling is taxed, and why the base matters
A tax on stakes and a tax on gross gaming revenue can carry the same headline number and produce completely different businesses.
Legal and compliance
How a company enters a new market
The sequence from legal assessment to launch, and the parts that routinely take longer than anyone plans for.
Legal and compliance
What grey and black markets actually mean
The industry uses three words for the legal status of a market and rarely defines them. Here is what each one means in practice.