Online Casinos in Alaska

When it comes to the US gambling laws, they are not always clear enough to understand how it all works at first glance. They vary from one state to another and, in most cases, online gambling lays somewhere in the gray zone where it’s neither allowed nor prohibited. In this part, we’ll find out how online gambling is regulated in Alaska, which gambling activities are allowed here, and who you can contact in case of any gambling-related problems. If you are not in the mood for reading and want to start betting, just scroll up to see the SlotsUp list of online casinos available for players from Alaska.

Laws Affecting Online Gambling in Alaska

Is online gambling legal in Alaska? It’s hard to say, to be honest, as online gambling activities are not regulated here. There are no Alaska online gambling laws or a separate institution that would license online casinos and control their operation. It means two things for the players: first of all, there are no Alaska-licensed online casinos and secondly, no one cares where you are making bets. As a result, most of the online casinos licensed overseas accept bets from players from all over the US and from Alaska particularly. You can safely play in any casino from the SlotsUp list and don’t think of any legal charges.

As for land-based gambling, it’s much more controlled here. The main controlling body is the Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division and all land-based gambling activities should comply with the Alaska Gambling Law. As for now, there only a few brick-and-mortar casinos in the state, all owned by the Native American community authorized by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1986. Some gambling games such as bingo are also allowed and social in-home gambling is not banned as well. Generally, Alaska gambling laws are somewhat stricter than the ones of the neighboring states and it’s not always easy to find where to play if you are not into online bets (which you should think about as it’s the most convenient way to gamble).

Sports Betting in Alaska

It was not a joke when we said that Alaska is rather strict about the gambling activities its population takes part in, as even such a simple and popular activity as sports betting is mostly not allowed here, even though the USA gambling market gets a lot of its revenue exactly from sports bets. There are no horse-racing tracks and off-track bets are not allowed too. The only thing available is some dog mushers’ contests, which is quite a popular local kind of entertainment.

Even though sports betting is available not in every online casino from our list, there are some that can let you bet on your favorite kinds of sport and try your luck while supporting your favorite teams.

Interesting Facts About Online Gambling in Alaska

Alaska online gambling market is not really generous on interesting facts: there are no loud scandals, new casinos opening in the state, or huge jackpots won in the local online casinos only because there are no local online casinos. Even if you win an enormous jackpot, it would be in some international online casino, most likely the one from the SlotsUp selection as we only list online casinos with real wins.

Land-based gambling, in its turn, had some interesting event during its development:

• 1960 was the first year when some gambling activities got legalized in Alaska and this also the year when the Department of Revenue got its power over gambling in the state.
• 1995 was marked by the sudden legalization of cruise ship casinos. The law allowing them was in force for only a year but during this one year, the fees from cruise ships brought more than $500000 to the state.
• In 2016, the Alaska Gaming Reform Act was passed to allow charitable gambling and the dispensing of raffle tickets from vending machines.

Getting Help for Problem Gambling in Alaska

Sometimes, things get out of hands and something that was fun and entertaining once becomes harmful and addictive. Unfortunately, gambling is one of those things. There is no harm if you make bets once in a while to unwind after a long day but what should you do if gambling pushes out all the other activities from your life, including work and spending time with your loved ones? Fortunately, there is always a way out. If you are a gambler from Alaska and feel like something is off with your control over gambling, you can contact one of the following resources:

• Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. It’s responsible for all the health-related issues in the State and there are people who can transfer you to the specialists.
• National Problem Gambling Helpline. There is a chat when one can get help online.
• Gamblers Anonymous. You can locate a meeting near you and join a community of people fighting the same problem.

There are a lot of options to try online gambling in Alaska thanks to the list drawn up by the SlotsUp team but we can’t say the same about the land-based venues. All the brick-and-mortar casinos in Alaska are located in Native American reservations and to be honest, these are not the most prominent casinos in the country as you can hardly play anything but bingo there. Nevertheless, they might be worth visiting when you get bored from online games and want to spin some real reels in a good company.

Eagle River Bingo & Casino

Eagle River Bingo & Casino is a bingo hall that offers… well, bingo games. If you never played this game before and don’t know what bingo even is, here is the short guide. Bingo is a game of chance where you need to match the numbers announced by the host (also known as caller) on your special bingo card. When the numbers you crossed out arrange in a row, you scream “bingo!” and win. Even though the game is simple, it’s super-fun to play, especially if you like crossing things out of the list.

So, Eagle River Bingo & Casino holds bingo tournaments from Thursday to Sunday at 7 pm for all comers as well as the pull-tabs games every day from 4 to 11 pm. Besides 12 bingo games and 26 pull-tabs games, there is also bowling, a cozy lounge zone, and a cafe where you can get drink and snacks to refresh before the next round. Eagle River Bingo & Casino is a family-operated facility known by everyone in the area and definitely worth visiting if you happen to be around the Eagle River town.

Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall

Even though the Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall is technically located on the territory of Canada, it’s not far from Alaska and is actually the closest place where you can play something else than bingo so it might be worth driving. Gertie’s, as the locals call it, is not just a place to gamble — it’s the oldest casino in Canada opened back in 1971 by Klondike Visitors Association and being a reminiscent of the Klondike Gold Rush history. The place was named after Gertie Lovejoy, a famous local dancer who had a diamond between her front two teeth. To this day, there are still bright and beautiful cancan shows held in the Gertie’s with live musicians and professional dancers performing.

But watching beautiful ladies dance and sing is not the only thing you can do at the Gertie’s. There are several blackjack tables with minimal bets from $3 to $10, a classic North American roulette with bets from $2 to $50, some poker tables, a Money Wheel (a fun mix of roulette and slots), the Red Dog card game, and 64 slot machines. The Big Al’s cafe located in Gertie’s will treat you to delicious meals and a variety of drinks from cocktails to draught beer and scotch.

Gold Cache Bingo

The Gold Cache Bingo is the largest Bingo Hall in Alaska with 5 locations and 4 Pull Tab stores in Anchorage. According to Hall’s official website, the monthly payout of all locations amounts to more than $2 million while all the profits go to charity or community purposes. The place is known for its friendly atmosphere, nice food, and great people to meet. Gold Cache Bingo is waiting for the players every day, the hours of operation are 11 am – 1 pm from Wednesday till Sunday and 5 pm -1 am on Mondays and Tuesdays.

As you can see, the land-based gambling opportunities in Alaska are far from being perfect — all the local places offer nothing but bingo and pull-tabs, and the closest “real” casino is located in Canada and still doesn’t have even a half of the games the simplest online casino has. That’s why online gambling in Alaska is a much better choice, at least if you are not a huge fan of bingo. And here is our top-3 of online casinos that accept players from Alaska.

• All-Star Slots. This online casino will welcome you with a 400% deposit bonus up to $400 and $75 bonuses more if you make your first deposit using Bitcoin. You’ll be able to bet that money on one of many slots, a variety of table games including baccarat, blackjack, and poker, a roulette, and even craps or bingo. There are both instant play and downloadable versions so you can choose the one you prefer. Besides Bitcoin, you can also make deposits and withdraw winning using Visa or Mastercard cards, Neteller, Skrill, and several other banking methods.
• Casino Max. The Casino Max has one of the most generous welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen in online casinos (and we’ve seen a lot): up to $9000 on your first 3 deposits + 20 free spins every day, for 10 days. Besides, there are special offers for Bitcoin deposits, monthly bonuses, cashbacks, and so on. The game list is quite decent: several dozens of slots, baccarat, blackjack, poker, and a couple of specialty games. There is also a chance to win one of 6 progressive jackpots with the amount increasing every day.
• Free Spin. The Free Spin casino might be not as generous as the previous one though a 250% deposit match is still good. Unlike other casinos, the Free Spin not only matches your first deposits but also offers weekly deposit-match promotions of up to 300%. The casino is mobile friendly so you can play your favorite games wherever you are.