Here’s what you need to know about the legality of land-based and online casinos in Vermont, including sports betting, social casinos, and popular sweepstakes sites.
If you’re looking for a place to gamble in Vermont, tough luck. As a Vermonter or guest, you are forbidden by law to participate in any game of chance organized by a for-profit organization. But more on that later. The important thing is that you can wager sweep coins. Here are some of the best sweep coins casinos around Vermont.
Describing itself as America’s #1 social casino experience, Chumba casino lives up to the claim – and this is not just wishful thinking. Whether you enjoy slots or poker, jackpots or bonuses, desktop or mobile, this site provides one of the finest sweepstake experiences in New England and beyond.
All games available in the Chumba casino are developed in-house. The lobby is not the biggest on the market, but it includes a little over 100 titles from as many as six categories.
Pulsz is a sweepstakes casino that can sweep you off your feet with the sheer number of choices. With more than 700 titles in the mix, Its game collection is one of the most impressive in the US. If you’re taking a break from slots, you can enjoy arcade, bingo, blackjack, or poker.
Every Pulsz player gets showered with coins: 367,000 Gold Coins and 32.2 sweep coins, all for free. If that’s not enough, you can expect to receive more every day you log in.
The brilliance of slots is on full display in the WOW Vegas casino, which hosts more than 600 games from this category. Granted, no table games, poker, or live casino games are available on this site, but nobody needs them anyway. Wow Vegas is pure, unadulterated slots heaven.
This divine slot offer comes with out-of-this-world bonuses. You get 1.5 million WOW Coins and 34.5 free Sweepstakes Coins when you sign up, and more of that every next day.
What is the legal status of gambling in Vermont? What will happen to you if you download an online casino app on your phone and get caught red-handed? What about sweepstake sites? It’s known that Vermont bans most types of gambling, so let’s see what’s allowed.
The State of Vermont explicitly forbids professional and for-profit gambling. That’s why you won’t find any land-based casinos in Vermont or hear about any poker tournaments in the Green Mountain State. Breaking this law would cost you up to $100,000 and three years in prison.
Does this mean there isn’t any kind of face-to-face gambling in Vermont? Of course not. Notably, the state allows non-profit organizations to operate games of chance, such as bingo, card games, raffles, and “break-open” tickets, as long as proceedings go to charity or education.
Charitable gambling is big in Vermont, so the laws and regulations describing these activities are very thorough. The state statutes enlist specific types of organizations that can organize non-profit gambling events and specify which games (not slots!), prizes, and expenses are allowed.
For example, prizes are limited to $400 per game, but operators may offer a $1,000 prize at one game each day. No individual can earn more than $2,000 per year working at gambling events. An organization can’t hold more than two gambling events weekly. Vermont law is very specific.
The only other types of land-based wagering, except charitable gambling, are the state lottery and pari-mutuel wagering. You must be 18 or older to participate in either, which would be good news for horse racing bettors if there were any horse racetracks in Vermont to bet on.
How about online gambling, then? Since there are no commercial or tribal casinos in the state, you would have thought that the authorities allow online casinos, right? Wrong.
In general, it is against the law to play at online casinos in Vermont. There are a couple of exceptions to this, though. In January 2024, Vermont became the 38th US state to authorize online sportsbooks from three operators: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbooks.
Sweepstakes sites are the other exception. The Vermont Statutes are very straightforward when it comes to this, which is not often the case: “… a person may organize, execute, or participate in a contest or game of chance, including sweepstakes, provided that persons who enter the contest or game of chance are not required to venture money or other valuable things.” (13 V.S.A. § 2143b)
Some luck at last. This exception means that you can play for free at virtually all sweepstakes sites that are legal in the US and regulated on the federal level, such as Chumba, Pulsz, or WOW Vegas. The only popular sweep coins casino that is banned in the state of Vermont is Stake.US.
As for international pay-for-cash online casinos, they are neither legal nor recommended. Placing a wager at one of these sites might not get you in touch with Vermont law, but it will put you in danger of getting scammed for a lot of money without any legal grounds for claiming it back.
Vermont doesn’t have an exciting gambling situation like some other US states. It even belongs with the more restrictive states in New England. It is most similar to its neighbor to the east, New Hampshire. The two states see eye to eye when it comes to land-based and online casinos alike.
If you want to visit a commercial casino from Vermont but don’t want to travel to Canada, the nearest gambling establishments are to the south in Massachusetts. Unlike Vermont and New Hampshire, Massachusetts has two excellent casino resorts in Plainville and Springfield.
The situation is not much different when it comes to online gambling. Only one state in New England currently offers access to online casinos – Connecticut. On the other hand, all six states in the region offer legal online sports betting options, with Vermont being the last one to join the club.
New England has repeatedly been named the most competitive market for online sportsbook operators, making it a favorable climate for online casinos. Playing for money online is already legal in Connecticut, while New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island are currently flirting with the idea.
Sweepstakes casinos are generally welcome throughout the region. Playing popular casino-style games for free isn’t against the law in either of the six states, which is great news. Like Vermont, most other US states consider these sites legal as long as there’s AMOE (alternative means of entry).
There are many different strategies for gambling, but only one rule: always play responsibly. So whether or not your state allows you to participate in your favorite form of gambling, remember to check the law. The importance of understanding the legalities of gambling cannot be overstated.
Below, you’ll find a list of official resources that detail what gambling activities are allowed in the state of Vermont and under what conditions and circumstances. Please read them carefully:
If you’re running a non-profit organization and you want to become a game operator in the state of Vermont, you can find useful information on the Official Vermont Government Website.
If you enjoy playing casino-style games like slots, poker, or roulette, Vermont won’t give you many legal options. Luckily, you can find all your favorite titles in sweepstakes casinos, where you can try your luck for free. Some of the most popular casino games in Vermont include:
The slot machine is the uncrowned king of the online gambling space – and for all the best reasons. Unlike most casino games, it requires only the player and the machine. That’s easy to emulate online, where you can find limitless slot themes and variations for all skill levels. The greatest selections of sweepstakes slots can be found at McLuck and Fortune coins.
Veteran casino goers in Vermont prefer to play poker, perhaps because the Green Mountain State never had any affection for the game. Vermont never had any card rooms or poker parlors, and the modern law forbids playing poker for money. Fortunately, poker online is allowed. You can join a game of poker in the High 5 casino and Rush Games.
Sweepstakes bingo offers various game options and many prize opportunities that land-based bingo halls don’t. Many of these sites allow players to interact with others in chat rooms, thus providing a social aspect to the game, even to players who decide to play alone. If you like playing bingo, go to Golden Hearts Games or BetRivers.net.
Vermont is hardly the best place to live in if you enjoy gambling, but it’s as good a place as any if you don’t mind playing for sweep coins. The only problem is – with so many options available in the state, how do you choose the best legal sweepstakes casino in Vermont?
Some factors to consider are:
Compare Vermont with its closest neighbor states
Some of the best sweepstakes casinos in Vermont are Chumba, Pulsz, and WOW Vegas. Other excellent choices include High 5, McLuck, Fortunecoins, LuckyLand Slots, Gambino Slots, and Golden Heart Games.Â
Yes. According to the Vermont State Statutes, Title 13, Chapter 51, sweepstakes are legal if players are not required to wager money or other valuable things.Â
You may be able to access international online casinos from Vermont, but it’s not recommended because the US government does not regulate these operators. Sweepstakes sites provide an excellent legal alternative to online casinos. They are legal throughout the US, including in Vermont.Â
You must be 18 or older to participate in legal gambling events in Vermont and at least 21 years old to bet on sports online. Most sweepstakes sites available in Vermont won’t accept you unless you are 21.Â
All legal gambling winnings in Vermont are subject to state income tax, which ranges from 3.55 to 8.95%.Â
Generous bonus offers provide a great competitive advantage to sweepstakes casinos. If you’re playing sweepstakes from Vermont, you can expect to receive a welcome bonus, first-purchase bonus, daily login bonus, and off-site promotions on social media. VIP programs are also common.Â
