[VT] Vermont Bingo, Casino and Sports Betting [2021]

Vermont online gambling is very much driven by online casinos, followed by sports betting then bingo and poker gaming. Online gambling providers are currently all offshore based.

Due to the state law explicitly prohibiting online gambling providers from being onshore based, providers are therefore licensed and regulated at jurisdictions which are renowned for strict compliance but with tax concessions.

Vermont players, on the other hand, can play at online casinos with no risk. To this day, there has been no incidence of any player being notified by law enforcement agencies of playing at an online gambling site (let alone being fined).

Sadly, if you are looking for any land based venues for gaming, you won’t be able to find any. Vegas gaming is prohibited in the state, and there are no tribal casinos that offer Class II gaming (let alone Class III).

Sports betting remains illegal and remains inaccessible within the borders. However online sports books are available.

Online bingo is available and offered to residents of Vermont, with land based charity bingo halls scatter throughout the State.

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Online Gambling

• Online offshore casino operators that are licensed and regulated accept players from Vermont.
• There are no state regulated online onshore operators
• Vermont Lottery holds an exclusive license on the operation of lottery products. It does not provide for any interactive gaming online.
• Commercial licenses are not available for land based casinos nor tribal casinos on Indian reservation territory
• There are no mobile or online sports betting onshore operators, however there are offshore sites available.
• Bingo is available at several local bingo halls, however there are no onshore bingo operators. Offshore bingo providers accept Vermont Players.

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Best 5 Vermont Online Casinos

If you are looking to get started with online casinos, then choose from our recommended list of Vermont Online Casinos.

Online casino activity by Vermont players amounts to just over US$1.1m per year, which is not a small amount, given the population size of Vermont.

Yes, other state have a far higher yearly turnover, but they by far have higher populations. Given how barren the gambling landscape is, it’s no wonder Vermont players are turning to online gaming.

Currently there are various top quality online casinos that are based offshore for Vermont players. These sites are licensed and strictly regulated at the jurisdictions in which the online casinos are based.

Safe and Secure

All the top Vermont online casinos are safe and secure. They apply the most advanced SSL security that protects the connection between a players browser and the database of the online casino. To be honest, the risk of cyber attack for online games is extremely low, but the fact that online casinos go above and beyond for their players is a testament to how much they value player’s gaming experience.

A top online casino also offers secure payment methods that are common, trusted and processed by reputable financial institutions. These include: VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Bitcoin (BTC), direct wire transfers and many other methods.

Casino Bonuses

Naturally, all the top online casinos have the best bonuses. Our recommended lists the best casino bonuses that are currently offered with consideration to other important criteria such as safety and security as previously mentioned. For ease of reference, we have listed them according to the size of bonus.

Online Live Dealer Games

What is becoming ever popular in the game variety being offered by online casinos is Live Dealer video streamed table games. Many players are discovering that seeing live dealers real time and interacting with them, provides as much enjoyment as a real Vegas table game. There are many advantages with playing with Live Dealers online, particularly emphasized with the events of 2020 pandemic.

Firstly, playing with a live dealer removes any doubt of RNG driven gaming. There are still some players who are skeptical of RNG driven odds, believing that there is an opportunity for unfair play. With online live dealers, players can be assured that they receive fair odds via viewing the dealer distributing the cards, rolling the roulette ball, or throwing the dice.

Secondly, playing with live dealers offers an avenue of interaction. In this current environment, any social interaction is good for mental health, as long as it is adhering to social distancing measures, and playing online certainly meets it.

Lastly, player still get to enjoy the benefits of online casino bonuses. Just check beforehand, that the correct casino bonus code has been used to ensure that it is applicable to Live Dealer games.

Online Live Dealer Casino games are the best of both worlds – land based interactive gaming plus online casino bonuses and safety. If you are new to online gaming, we recommend giving live dealers a try.

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Sports Betting

Sports betting remains illegal. However there are expectations that sports betting will become regulated and operational by 2021. Currently proposed by the Senate is SB213. SB213 allows for sports betting to be permitted in the form of mobile.

In the meantime, there are online sports betting sites that do exist and are based offshore.

Just over $1.4 million is wagered by Vermont players each year.

We highly recommend BetOnline.AG. This offshore sports book provider has been in the industry of many years and offers respectable sports betting odds. In addition, they are safe and can be trusted.

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Daily Fantasy Sports

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) became legal in Vermont in March 2017 with SB136 passing through the Senate.

Relatively new to the world, DFS is growing rapidly in popularity and Vermont is not alone. Many players are taking to DFS in the absence of real sports betting opportunities (although many are unaware that there are offshore sports betting sites that can be played at)

DFS has been contentiously debated in government, with many describing it as a game of skill. The advocates of DFS use the game of skill argument to avoid DFS being class as a from of gambling (which is defined as a game of luck).

How does DFS work? In summary, it requires bettors to create a fictitious team based on real players. The performance of the real sports players in real life determine how successful the fictitious team is. As a result, it truly is those with the most “skills” will win.

DraftKings and FanDuel are the two leader of DFS, offering significant prize money for players. On this site, we do not actively promote daily fantasy sports as we understand that it is a game of “skill” which is being exploited by bettors who have the best risk modelling. That is, it isn’t nearly about how well you know your sport, the sport players etc, it is very much about who has the best statistical model and who has access to the most detailed sports player data.

As someone who may be a big fan of sport, and thinking that they would have a good chance of winning money in DFS, think again. You are pitted against statistical modelling experts who deliberately target games that mostly have new players to DFS. In fact, it has been alleged that those who are extremely good at DFS have been known to collaborate among themselves and not compete with each other. Thereby creating a sustainable winning formula shared by the experts.

We therefore want our readers to be aware that DFS is not what is appears to be. In fairness, DFS is legal in Vermont and many DFS onshore operators accept Vermont players.

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Top 3 Vermont Online Bingo Sites

Vermont bingo laws are stipulated under Charitable gaming state legislation. These laws provide for the licensing of non profit organizations to operate bingo games. At present, these laws do not address nor permit online bingo by onshore operators. Accordingly, online bingo sites that do accept Vermont players are based offshore (which is the same as online casinos and sports betting sites).

The recommended online bingo sites all accept players from Vermont. They offer advanced features that include instant messaging, fun bingo games and protocols that ensures bingo participants play together in a civil enjoyable manner. Due to the social aspect of bingo, there is a cultural aspect to bingo which cannot be found with casino or sports betting. As an example, A LOT of acronyms form part of instant chat messaging. If you are not familiar with online bingo lingo, do not be afraid, learning it is one of the most fun parts!

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Legal Minimum Gambling Age

The minimum gambling age is 18 for lottery and charitable gaming.

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Gambling Laws

• The state of Vermont permits only state lottery and charitable gambling, and limited horse race wagering.
• All other forms of gambling are expressly prohibited.
• State lottery is authorized to offer instant tickets, scratch cards and inter-state games (in partnership with Maine and New Hampshire);
• Limited pari-mutuel on-track wagering is authorized at licensed racetrack facilities.
• Licensed charitable organizations may operate charitable bingo games, including pull tabs, raffles, casino nights and poker nights;
• Onshore online operators are unlawful.

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Gambling Taxes

Surplus generated by the state lottery is allocated to the Vermont Education Fund

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Regulation and Governance

• Charitable Gaming – Office of the Vermont Attorney General
• State Lottery – Vermont Lottery Commission

Gambling Legislation

Vermont Statutes

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Vermont Gambling Market Developments

Background

• Vermont Statutes, stipulate that, any person that gives consideration lost at a game or sport or horse race may recover the value thereof to the person to whom it was paid in a civil action, if commenced within one month from the time of payment;
• In 2011, a bill was introduced for the regulation of a state casino, which was unsuccessful at Committee stage;
• In 2012, the Commission, issued a consultation over the possible regulation of online lottery products; instant tickets are currently permitted to be re-entered through an online programme, through Play it Again.

January 2016

Senator Kevin Mullin introduced a bill to regulate fantasy sports contests. SB223, includes provision to classify DFS as a game of skill, it also provides a regulatory framework and specifies consumer protection requirements. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs for consideration.

March 2017

The Senate Committee on Economic Development introduced legislation to authorize and regulate daily fantasy sports. SB136 directed the Attorney General to promulgate a regulatory and taxation framework to govern the industry and entrusted the registration of operators to the secretary of state. The bill also set out a number of consumer protection measures including a minimum participation age of 18.

The Senate passed daily fantasy sports bill SB136 which progressed to the House for consideration.

May 2017

The House passed legislation to authorize and regulate daily fantasy sports contests. The bill, SB136, was submitted to the office of the Attorney General for final approval.

June 2017

State Governor, Phil Scott signed daily fantasy sports bill SB136 into law. The bill, introduced in March 2017, provided for the authorisation of paid DFS contests and entrusted the Attorney General with the establishment of a complete regulatory framework.

January 2019

The Sports betting Study Committee Bill was introduced to establish an investigative committee to review the potential for authorized sports betting within the state. Following its first reading, HB36 was referred to the Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs.

January 2020

Senators Michael Sirotkin and Richard Sears have pre-filed a sports gambling bill SB213. As the state has no existing casinos or gambling facilities, sports betting in Vermont will be an exclusively mobile betting proposition. The bill suggests a $10k license fee, with each license valid for two years, and a 10% GGR tax rate. The bill also allows daily fantasy sports, which would cost $5k per license with the same 10% GGR tax rate.

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Neighboring States

• New York
• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts