Minnesota Online Casinos
While real money gaming enthusiasts from Minnesota can legally wager on the horse races held at the local racetrack, play classic casino games at one of the Native American gambling venues or try their luck in the state-operated lottery games, there’s no denying the fact that the local gambling laws are very strict. Minnesota is one of the few states that punish individual players that get involved in unlicensed gambling, so it should come as no surprise that illegal gambling operators face severe punishment and a rather long prison term. Minnesota businesses aren’t allowed to operate online casino games, which means that Minnesota residents have no option but to turn to offshore sites for the latest online slots and table games.
Minnesota Gambling Laws
Casino games and other forms of gambling are covered by Minnesota Statutes 609.75. As mentioned above, the state doesn’t let off individual players that are caught participating in illegal gambling activities – it’s enough to place a single illegal wager to be punished with a fine and a possible prison term.
However, Minnesota regulations do not clearly mention that online casino gambling is illegal. In fact, the state tried to block the access to several offshore sites back in 2009, but was ultimately forced to give up. Consequently, even though state officials may try to argue that online gambling isn’t allowed under the current regulations, Minnesota players don’t really have to worry about any legal consequences of playing on US-facing casino sites.
Online Casinos
There are no Minnesota-licensed casinos since the state hasn’t legalized online gambling yet. However, Minnesota residents are free to play on offshore casino sites, which are operated by companies based outside the United States. Those sites generally cater to the needs of customers from all over the world, which allows Minnesota-based casino enthusiasts to join some of the largest player pools in the world. The advantages of playing on those sites are obvious: the bonuses are bigger, the jackpots dwarf the ones that you can find in intrastate casinos and the games are good enough to keep you entertained for months.
Offshore Casino Sites That Accept Minnesota Players
Most of the casinos that accept United States-based players are also going to accept Minnesota residents, which means that Minnesota casino enthusiasts are free to access some of the hottest Real Time Gaming-powered casinos available on the market these days. All of the sites listed here give you access to amazing slots, virtual video poker machines and table games. Unfortunately, finding an RTG-powered site that offers live dealer games is next to impossible right now, which is about the only downside of some of the best Minnesota-facing businesses.
It is worth pointing out that playing at an offshore casino site isn’t as simple as registering an account, as making a deposit may be surprisingly hard for most Minnesota players. The available banking options are very limited, which means that most players have to choose between trying to make a credit card deposit and paying the casino via a Western Union or MoneyGram money order. Using a credit card isn’t 100% reliable – some of the transactions are simply refused. In such a case you won’t lose any money, but you’ll waste precious time that you could spend enjoying all the amazing online casino games that offshore sites have to offer.
Developing Legal Scenarios
The Minnesota House has already officially stated that it is nearly impossible to punish illegal gambling activity online, which means that the lawmakers are probably going to give some consideration to a new online gambling bill that would allow Minnesota residents to play on regulated sites. Nevertheless, no draft of such legislation has been presented so far, so the situation isn’t very likely to change over the next few months.
