The best Montana online casinos aren’t real money online casinos because the state hasn’t legalized real money gambling yet. But players can play slots and table games at sweepstakes and social casinos for cash prizes by playing with premium coins. When you play with and win premium coins at the sites, you can redeem them for a cash prize, and some progressive jackpots reach well into the seven-figure range.
Online Casino Gaming for Cash Prizes in Montana
Sweepstakes casinos are legally permitted to operate in Montana. Anyone 18 and up and located in Montana (state residency isn’t a requirement) is permitted to win cash prizes playing slots, blackjack, and more. Claim the Montana online casino bonuses below to get started for free. Please note: McLuck Casino and WOW Vegas are no longer available to Montana residents.
Gambling is for entertainment purposes only. Stay safe and ensure success when you gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? Call or text 1-800-GAMBLER for confidential support. Visit SAMHSA’s National Helpline website for resources that include a treatment center locator, anonymous chat, and more.
How Montana Online Casinos Work
You can play casino games for entertainment purposes at sweepstakes and social casinos. They will give you virtual credits, often known as Gold Coins, which have no monetary value and can be used to play any games on the site. You can also unlock Sweeps Coins, which are redeemable for cash prizes if you use them to play the games. These online casinos will give you free Sweeps Coins when you sign up. Just click the links we have provided to claim the sweepstakes no deposit bonuses. If you decide to buy additional Gold Coins, you will normally receive free Sweeps Coins. Other ways to receive more Sweeps Coins to win cash prizes is by logging in each day, participating in social media giveaways, and claiming ongoing promotions after signup.
How We Rank the Best Montana Online Casinos
We focus on six key criteria when reviewing online casinos in Montana. The best social casinos and sweepstakes casinos excel in these areas.
- Reputation: Our reviewers assess the general reputation of each site or app. We only recommend established, trusted sweepstakes casinos that operate legally in Montana. They must have impeccable security records and fair, reliable games.
- Game Quality: We play a range of games at each site to gauge its quality. Some social casinos only feature basic slots from unheralded providers. We rule out those sites and focus on operators that host highly rated games from renowned studios such as NetEnt, Red Tiger, High 5, Play’n Go, and Hacksaw Gaming.
- Game Variety: Quality is important, but we also look for sweepstakes casinos with large, diverse portfolios. They should offer classic slots and modern slots with loads of bonus features. Multiple software providers should appear and cover all sorts of themes and every volatility level. The best sweepstakes casinos offer table games, too.
- Bonuses: We break down the no purchase welcome bonus, the recurring promotions, loyalty rewards, and other bonuses at each site. Our reviewers focus on how easy it is to unlock Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, how many you get, and the regularity of the bonuses offered.
- User Experience: The all-round player experience is another vital category. We consider the software powering each social casino, focusing on the speed, reliability, and accessibility of the platform. Essentially, it should be easy to find your favorite games, and new games should be suggested unobtrusively. The platform should not suffer from freezing pages, crashes, and other glitches.
- Payments: If you decide to buy coins at a social casino, the process should be secure, simple, and convenient. Redemptions for cash prizes should also be fast and reliable, with multiple options and no fees to pay. To be clear, you do not need to make a payment when playing at a social or sweepstakes casino, but you can choose to do so if you would like more coins.
Montana Online Gambling Snapshot
While not the top USA online casino state, Montana offers a few solid online gambling options to both residents and visitors.
Gambling Type | Legal | Details |
---|---|---|
Online Casino Gaming | No | Montana has not passed any laws that would allow online casino gaming. |
Online Poker | No | Online poker rooms are illegal in Montana. |
Online Lottery | Yes | Online lottery is legal via the Jackpocket app |
Pari-Mutuel Wagering | Yes | Montana permits online pari-mutuel wagering, and you can sign up with online racebooks like TwinSpires and TVG. |
Online Sports Betting | Yes | Online sports betting is technically legal, but only if you are on the premises of a retail sports betting outlet and only via the Sports Bet Montana app. |
DFS Contests | No | Montana is among a handful of states that explicitly deem daily fantasy sports contests to be illegal. |
Online Casino Games in Montana
The best sweepstakes online casinos in Montana offer the same games found at local tribal casinos in the state as well as real money online casinos in states like New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Quality sweepstakes and social casinos source games from some of the world’s largest providers, and you can play them for free with Gold Coins or in a bid to redeem cash prizes via Sweeps Coins.
Slots in Montana
The best Montana online casinos offer more than 500 slots. These range from simple, old-school slots to new releases brimming with features. Here are the main types of slots to play at social online casinos in MT.
- Video Slots | Most online slots fall into this category. They generally feature at least five reels, along with graphics, sounds, and animations, to make the experience more immersive. Video slots can encompass dozens of different themes, a wide range of features, and low, medium, or high volatility levels.
- Classic Slots | Also known as steppers, these games take inspiration from old-school slots with three reels, basic graphics, and minimal features. They are simple games, typically featuring a low to medium volatility level and modest jackpots.
- Progressive Jackpot Slots | These slots are popular with many players, as they feature a progressively increasing jackpot. A percentage of each bet you make will contribute to the jackpot pool, which continues to swell until one player triggers the top prize. There are also fixed jackpot games, but progressive jackpot slots tend to generate the greatest excitement.
- Bonus Buy Slots | Many slots have bonus rounds, which you can trigger by matching up a few key symbols. That can lead to multipliers, free spins, and extra prizes. In some cases, you can pay a fee to skip straight to the bonus round. This is generally known as a bonus buy slot, which may appeal to players who seek larger prizes without waiting.
- Megaways Slots | The Megaways feature expands the number of paylines on a slot. There are often more than 100,000 ways to win when playing a Megaways slot. These games often have their own category when you visit an online casino.
Table Games in Montana
You can often play virtual table games at sweepstakes casinos. Some offer only a couple of games, whereas others offer a full suite of titles. These are some of the most common games:
You will often find online video poker, along with table poker games such as Ultimate Texas Hold’em. They are similar to poker cash games and tournaments, as you need to build the best hand possible, but you play against the house.
Most table games are virtual, powered by the same random number generators used to dictate the results of slots. They allow you to play at your own pace. Some social and sweepstakes also offer live table games, which allow you to link up with live dealers in studios and chat with them while playing.
More Montana Online Casino Games
You will often find a few games that cannot be neatly categorized as slots or table games at online casinos in Montana. They can include:
- Bingo
- Slingo
- Keno
- Fishing games or Crash games
- Virtual sports
- Online scratchcards
When you visit an online casino in Montana, these games may be grouped into an “Other” or “Variety” category.
History of Gambling in Montana
Native Americans have a long history of betting on horse races, stick games, archery contests, and other games in Big Sky Country. Early European settlers brought card games to the area. The notorious three-card monte became popular until it was outlawed in 1864 due to the prevalence of hucksters.
In the late 19th century, gambling parlors were popular across the territory, but the state constitution made gambling illegal in 1889. Illicit gambling venues remained prevalent throughout the Prohibition era, and the Hickey Act made blackjack, dominoes, bridge, and other games legal in 1937. It was limited to “fraternal, charitable, and non-profit organizations,” but bars exploited this loophole by filing for non-profit status and setting up gambling dens in roped-off areas.
There were many raids throughout the 1950s and 1960s, as businesses were shut down, but the new state constitution legalized bingo, poker, card games, and raffles in 1972. Four years later, the Montana State Lottery was established.
Sports betting was legalized in April 2019 when Gov. Steve Bullock signed HB 275 into law. It permits hundreds of locations across Big Sky Country to offer retail sports betting. You can also use a lottery-controlled mobile app, Sports Bet Montana, to place wagers when you are physically located on one of those licensed premises. Sports fans can place larger wagers via the app than at the kiosks. Online casino gaming and poker have not been legalized, but sweepstakes casinos are legal, as they operate similarly to lottery or bingo games.
Retail Casinos in Montana
Montana’s seven federally recognized tribes operate 14 casinos on their reservations, according to the American Gaming Association. They are permitted to offer Class III gaming, including slots, card games, roulette, and craps. There are a few small Indian gaming businesses on tribal lands, too.
You can also visit more than 100 state-licensed retail casinos in Montana. However, they are all very small, with significant restrictions on what they can offer. Each venue is permitted to host no more than 20 gaming machines—video poker, video bingo, and so on—with a maximum bet of just $2 and a maximum payout of $800. Many are small, independent establishments, but Lucky Lil’s, for example, has more than 40 electronic gaming casinos in Montana, from Anaconda to Wolf Point.
Montana Online Casinos – Bottom Line
Montana is unlikely to legalize real money online casino gaming in the foreseeable future. You can visit a range of land-based casinos, but the tribal venues are inconveniently located for many Montanans, and the smaller venues are very limited in the games they can offer. For those reasons, many players in Montana like to use online social and sweepstakes casinos. They are perfect for anyone who wants to play casino games for fun, but they also offer the chance to earn cash prizes in sweepstakes mode.
More Resources for Montana Online Gamblers
Online Casinos in Neighboring States
Montana Online Casinos FAQ
No, real money online casinos are not yet legal in Montana. If you want to play casino games in Big Sky Country, you will need to visit a land-based casino or sign up with a social or sweepstakes online casino, like Carnival Citi Casino.
Yes, it is perfectly legal to play at sweepstakes casinos online in Montana. They offer Sweeps Coins, which you can redeem for cash prizes if you win with SC during sweepstakes play.
Montana has more than 100 state-licensed, land-based casinos, but they are all very small establishments with little more than electronic gaming machines to offer. The state does not permit large casino resorts, such as those found in Nevada, so lots of small operators have sprung up across the state instead.
The minimum age for legal gambling in Montana is 18. That applies to sports betting, casino games, pari-mutuel wagering on horse races, and lottery tickets. The only exception is a raffle conducted by a church, school, or charity. Children under the age of 18 can participate in such raffles.
You can play video poker, video keno, or video bingo at state-regulated casinos in Montana, but the maximum bet is just $2. Tribal casinos in Montana can offer Class III gaming, which includes slot machines, card games such as blackjack and baccarat, craps, and roulette.
If you visit a social casino or a sweepstakes casino site in Montana, you can play online slots, virtual table games, video poker, and variety games. Sometimes, you’ll find live dealer games, too.
Yes, online sports betting is legal in Montana. However, there is only one legal sports wagering app, Sports Bet Montana, and you can only use it if you are on the premises of a retail sports betting location.
As such, online sports betting is unavailable in the majority of the state. However, it is still worth downloading the app, as its maximum bet limits are four times larger than those at the state’s retail sportsbooks.