You can play online slots and table games for fun by signing up with a social casino site in Idaho. The Gem State does not permit real money online casino gaming, and it also forbids sweepstakes casinos from offering cash prizes. That means your only option is to play online casino games for entertainment at social casinos.
This guide covers the best online casinos for Idaho players who want to enjoy slots, blackjack, roulette, and other games with virtual credits. We will also spotlight the land-based casinos that offer real-money gaming in Idaho and examine how the state’s gambling laws might evolve in the future.
Online Casino Gaming for Cash Prizes in Idaho
Players in Idaho cannot redeem Sweeps Coins for cash prizes at social casinos. In Idaho, these sites are only for free-play, where players receive only Gold Coins to track their gaming strictly for fun. Here are the best social casinos available:
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You will receive virtual credits as a no-purchase bonus when you sign up with one of these social and sweepstakes casinos. The credits are often referred to as Gold Coins. They have no monetary value, but you can use them to play social casino games, and your balance will increase or decrease as the game unfolds.
If you would like to extend your play, you can purchase additional Gold Coins. But players receive tons of coins up front with sweepstakes casino no deposit bonuses.
How We Rank the Best Idaho Online Casinos
We focus on six areas when rating online casinos in Idaho. The best sites and mobile apps perform well in each of these categories.
- Security: We assess the security and data protection tools used by each social casino. The best sites use powerful TLS or SSL encryption and robust firewalls to safeguard your data and create a secure online gaming environment. We only recommend reputable online casinos that operate legally in Idaho.
- Game Variety: The best social casinos offer a similar online gaming experience to real money casinos in other markets, such as Michigan and New Jersey. We look for sites and apps that host hundreds of slots and potentially table games and variety games as well. The leading operators host a diverse mix of titles.
- Game Quality: We also consider the quality of the games at each social casino. Some sites offer only basic games with rudimentary graphics and uninspired gameplay. We avoid those casinos and look for sites that offer high-quality titles from elite producers such as NetEnt, Play’n Go, and Pragmatic Play.
- Community: The leading social casinos have built large, friendly communities on platforms such as Facebook. You can share your achievements with the community when you win, and you can make friends with fellow players. Social casinos often run social media contests and prize draws, so it is always worth following these casinos on their various social media platforms.
- User Experience: We also review the user interface at each online casino. Our reviewers are looking for clean, attractive, easy-to-navigate platforms that make it easy for you to find games you like. Social casinos should be optimized for desktop and mobile users, and they should be free of glitches.
- Bonuses: The best social casinos in Idaho will give you a large stack of Gold Coins when you sign up. Just follow the links provided on this Idaho online casinos page to visit any of the sites and redeem the no purchase bonuses today. Top-notch social casinos should then give you additional coins on a regular basis, as a reward for signing into your account or perhaps for completing missions.
Idaho Online Gambling Snapshot
Idaho is pretty infamously unfriendly to online gambling, but it does offer some USA online casinos that players can enjoy.
| Gambling Type | Legal | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Online Casino Gaming | No | Idaho has not legalized online casino gaming, so your only option is to play for fun at a social casino. |
| Online Poker | No | Idaho does not have a legal online poker market. |
| Online Lottery | Yes | Online lottery is legal in Idaho via the Jackpocket app. |
| Pari-Mutuel Wagering | Yes | Pari-mutuel wagering is legal both online and in-person in Idaho. |
| Online Sports Betting | No | Idaho lawmakers have never filed a bill seeking to legalize online sports betting. |
| DFS Contests | No | Idaho has declared fantasy sports contests to be illegal. |
Online Casino Games in Idaho
The leading social casinos in Idaho offer a wide range of online casino games. These are the most commonly available options.
Slots in Idaho
Online slots are designed to replicate the physical slot machines you would find at a brick-and-mortar casino in Las Vegas. They are simple games. You just spin the reels and await the results, but these game can follow a huge variety of slot themes. Let’s run down some key slot types.
- Classic Slots: These games, often called steppers, replicate the old mechanical slots that dominated retail casinos in the 20th century. They generally feature three reels, simple graphics, low volatility levels, and very few bonus features.
- Video Slots: Most slots fall into this category. They normally have at least five reels, and they use graphics, animations, and engaging soundtracks to heighten the audio-visual experience. These games can follow many different themes, from Ancient Egypt-themed and Irish luck to intergalactic adventures and hit TV shows. Whatever the theme, video slots often have lots of bonus features.
- Megaways Slots: These games are similar to regular video slots, but the Megaways feature means they can have more than 100,000 paylines.
- Jackpot Slots: You can play slots with fixed jackpots or progressive jackpots. The progressive jackpot slots are popular, as there is no official ceiling on the top prizes, and they can result in large payouts. Of course, you cannot cash out prizes in Idaho, but many players still enjoy pursuing large jackpots in demo mode.
- Bonus Buy Slots: If you cannot wait to trigger the bonus features, you can pay a fee (in virtual coins) to skip straight to the bonus rounds. These games are known as bonus buy slots (or buy feature slots), and they are growing increasingly popular at all online casinos.
Table Games in Idaho
Table games are also popular at social online casinos in Idaho. You can master games like blackjack and video poker using Gold Coins, which can prepare you for a visit to a land-based casino in the future. These are some of the table games available on Idaho social casino apps.
Many social online casinos stick to slots, but you can find table games at a few leading sites. A couple also feature live dealer games, which are hosted by a real dealer in a studio and simulcast to you. This can be a great way to recreate a physical casino’s social aspects.
More Idaho Online Casino Games
You may find games like bingo, keno, and Slingo at Idaho online casinos. Other categories can include virtual sports, crash games, fishing games, and scratchcards. Look for “Other” or “Variety” sections on the home pages if those types of games appeal to you.
History of Gambling in Idaho
Gambling was popular in Idaho during the 19th century, but officials began to crack down on cardrooms as the territory edged closer to statehood. Illegal gambling persisted in secret rooms during the first half of the 20th century, and it became more widespread among soldiers on leave during World War II.
In 1947, the Idaho legislature legalized “coin-operated amusement devices,” and slot machine parlors sprung up across the state. However, a federal judge ruled that this law was unconstitutional in 1953, and operators were given the option of destroying their slot machines or shipping them to Nevada.
In 1963, pari-mutuel wagering was legalized via the Horse Racing Act. Then, voters approved a state lottery in 1988. Four years later, the state constitution was amended to state that gambling is “strictly prohibited,” aside from pari-mutuel betting, the lottery, and charitable bingo or raffle games. Title 18, Chapter 38 confirms that “blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, baccarat, or keno” are prohibited.
In 2002, the Nez Perce and Coeur d’Alene tribes began campaigning for slot machines at tribal casinos, and they were successful. There are now seven tribal casinos in the Gem State. However, Idaho does not permit commercial casinos, and real money online casino games remain prohibited, along with online sportsbooks and DFS sites.
Retail Casinos in Idaho
There are currently ten tribal casinos in Idaho according to the American Gaming Association. They are permitted to offer gaming machines, which can include slots, video poker, video blackjack, and so on. The tribes can also host bingo games, but they are not permitted to offer live table games or poker rooms.
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes proposed to build a $311 million casino in Mountain Home, which would feature 2,000 gaming machines, a 250-room hotel, and six restaurants. That would be the largest tribal casino in the state. Right now, these are the tribal casinos you can visit in Idaho.
| Casino | City | Tribe |
|---|---|---|
| Bannock Peak Casino | Pocatello, ID | Shoshone-Bannock Tribe |
| Clearwater River Casino & Lodge | Lewiston, ID | Nez Perce Tribe |
| Coeur D’Alene Casino | Worley, ID | Coeur d’Alene Tribe |
| It’se-Ye-Ye Casino | Kamiah, ID | Nez Perce Tribe |
| Kootenai River Inn Casino & Spa | Bonners Ferry, ID | Kootenai Tribe of Idaho |
| Sage Hill Travel Center and Casino | Blackfoot, ID | Shoshone-Bannock Tribe |
| Shoshone-Bannock Casino Hotel | Fort Hall, ID | Shoshone-Bannock Tribes |
Idaho Online Casinos – Bottom Line
Your options are limited if you want to play online casino games in Idaho. The state does not permit real money casino apps, and it is among a very small handful of states that do not allow players to redeem cash prizes at sweepstakes casinos. We will update readers if that situation changes, but for now, the best option is to play social casino games online or visit a tribal casino in Idaho.
More Resources for Idaho Online Gamblers
Online Casinos in Neighboring States
Idaho Online Casinos FAQ
No, Idaho’s strict anti-gambling laws prohibit online casinos. Only a handful of states have introduced legal online casino gaming industries including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan. Idaho is unlikely to join that group any time soon.
No, Idaho is one of the few states in which you cannot redeem Sweeps Coins for cash prizes at social/sweepstakes casinos. You can play games for fun at social casino sites and mobile apps, but that’s it.
Idaho does not have a legal sports betting industry yet. Many states have legalized sports betting after the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018, but Idaho has declined the opportunity to do so. No legislators in Idaho have even put forth a single bill seeking to legalize sports betting.
There are ten tribal casinos in Idaho. The state has four compacted tribes: The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe operates one casino, and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho.
You need to be 18 or older to visit a tribal casino in Idaho. The only exception is Clearwater River Casino, which has a minimum age of 21. Anyone 18 or older can also place pari-mutuel wagers on horse races and buy lottery tickets.
Tribal casinos in Idaho are only permitted to offer slots, video poker, video gaming machines, and bingo. The terms of their gaming compacts do not permit them to host live table games. If you visit a social casino site in Idaho, you can play slots, table games, and sometimes live dealer games, but only for entertainment purposes.
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