Best Ohio Online Casinos 2024

While real money online casinos are still illegal in Ohio, players in the Buckeye State can still enjoy a whole host of sweestakes and social casinos.

We’ve compared the best social and sweepstakes casinos in Ohio below, covering everything from game selection and bonuses, to payment methods and security features.

Best Online Casinos in Ohio

With an ‘Excellent’ 4.9/5 TrustPilot rating, we’ve been providing expert recommendations since 2004. Each casino we review is carefully evaluated according to eight essential factors:

  • Safety & Security
  • Payout Speed
  • Banking Options
  • Software Quality
  • Game Variety
  • Bonus Offers
  • Mobile Compatability
  • Customer Service

Read more about our eight-step review process


Online Casino Blacklist

Some online casinos fail our testing standards to such a degree that we feel it necessary to publish them on our blacklist. An online casino can make it onto this list for a variety of reasons but typically means the casino has exhibited a history of bad behavior and receives lots of player complaints. Avoid any site we’ve listed on our casino blacklist.
Multiple barriers exist on site with the intention of obstructing your ability to retrieve your bonus; intentionally perplexing terms and conditions are deliberately confusing and customer support takes on an aggressive approach.
The use of a budget software provider by Lake Palace is evident in its performance. On top of this there are many problems related to payments: it does not support Neteller payments and refrains from processing withdrawals during Friday to Sunday. Additionally, there have been instances where the casino failed to compensate affiliates and advertisers when transitioning between regulators.
At Fenix Casino, it appears that bigger withdrawal requests undergo a prolonged processing period, and any accumulated bonuses are seized unless cashed out within 45 days.

Best Online Casinos in Ohio 2023

Wow Vegas

You can’t go wrong choosing Wow Vegas as the sweepstakes casino to play at in Ohio. While the site only hit the market last year, it’s already earned a sterling reputation in the industry. 

One of the main reasons for this is all the games that are featured on the site — more than 300 in total. This gives players the opportunity to choose games to their liking and even try out new games they’ve never played before.

There are many different bonuses that are available here, including a Welcome Bonus that gives you free Coins just for signing up, and a First Purchase Bonus that adds to your total should you decide to make a purchase at the site.

Speaking of purchases, should you decide to conduct financial transactions at Wow Vegas, you’ll have reputable payment methods to do so with. And if you can redeem Coins you earned for real money to cash out, you can use third-party sites such as Skrill and Trustly to get your money.

Wow Vegas is a sleek and modern site, as the developers paid close attention to all details when designing it. The gameplay is solid and smooth, regardless of whether you’re playing on a desktop, laptop or mobile device.

Pulsz

Pulsz is another good choice when it comes to sweepstakes casinos available in Ohio. That’s because there are, again, roughly 300 different casino games to choose from, with the online slot games leading the way in terms of quality.

The Welcome Bonus gives all new players a good head-start with free Coins. A First Purchase Bonus helps to maximize your dollar when you make a purchase at the site. And there are extra rewards available through ongoing promotions that don’t require you to spend any money.

Should you rack up enough Coins through your winnings, you can redeem them for cash to withdraw from the site. 

Stake

Some people who gamble online don’t like to use traditional payment methods to do so. Stake understands this well, so it only offers cryptocurrency as a payment and cashout method.

This is one of the ways in which this sweepstakes site is trying to separate itself from the others in the Ohio market. Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin, USDC, Chainlink, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum are all crypto options players can choose from for transactions at Stake.

The site isn’t all about the crypto options, though. It made sure to stock its catalog of games with about 300 titles to attract players of all different kinds. It even made sure to work with some of the best iGaming developers in the world such as Hacksaw Gaming and Pragmatic Play, so that gamblers could see there were games they could trust.

The Welcome Bonus the site offers to new players gets them started with sufficient free Gold Coins to play whatever game they want. The First Purchase Bonus is a nice match on top of whatever Gold Coins you decide to purchase. There are even slot-based challenges that the site runs from time to time, giving players even more chances to add to their Gold Coins total.

Gambino

Gambino is considered a social sweepstakes casino, since you won’t have the opportunity to redeem G-Coins that you earn on the site into real money. Instead, the focus is on having fun playing games, earning higher VIP levels through your gameplay, and then sharing your progress on social media sites. 

The goal of Gambino is not only to give players fun casino games to play, but to use these games to bring together larger communities of players online. Thus far, it’s done very well at accomplishing this goal.

There are about 130 casino games that you can choose from here, which ensures that there’s something for everyone. The number of free G-Coins you’ll get for signing up for a new account at Gambino is more than any of the other sweepstakes casinos on this list provide. And should you choose to purchase more, a First Purchase Bonus will help you maximize the number of G-Coins you get.

Golden Heart Games

Want to give back to a greater cause while you play online casino games in Ohio? Then choose Golden Heart Games. 

A portion of every purchase made at the site is donated to charity. In fact, players who make the purchases are even able to choose which charity they want the money to go to.

Golden Heart Games has mostly bingo and slot machine games, with just one video poker title and one blackjack title. It’s a destination for online slot players as a result, but a very good one.

There are many bonuses and promotions that Golden Heart Games runs that provide free Coins to players — whether you’re signing up for an account for the first time or making your first purchase. 

And when you build up enough Coins in your account, you can redeem them for real money that you can cash out.

Fortune Coins

The differentiating factor for Fortune Coins is that they offer progressive jackpot slots, which offer the biggest payouts of any game at online casinos. Many sweepstakes casinos don’t offer this type of slot game, which helps to separate Fortune Coins from much of the competition.

Because of the fact that they feature these games, Fortune Coins’ development team did an excellent job of making sure that their games play very well on mobile devices. The games can still be played on desktops and laptops, of course, but they paid extra attention to the mobile experience.

When you create an account at the site for the first time, you’ll be greeted with free Gold Coins. Then, you can always purchase more if you need to through the reputable payment methods the site offers. These same methods can be used to cashout real money if you’re able to convert Gold Coins you earned.

There are just 50 total games at this site, but you’re really coming to Fortune Coins for the progressive slot games and not a huge selection.

BetRivers

If a huge selection is what you want instead, then it’s BetRivers where you want to go. That’s because there are thousands of casino games to choose from at this provider, which expands their appeal to potential Ohio gamblers.

While the game selection is enormous, the flip side is that you won’t have the chance to redeem Virtual Coins that you earn for real money. That might be a bummer to some, but BetRivers is still a solid choice for people who want to simply have fun playing online casino games. 

New players get many Virtual Coins deposited into their account for free. You can also purchase more if you want, and BetRivers’ First Purchase Bonus adds to the amount even more.

Pulsz Bingo

Pulsz Bingo is a more focused sweepstakes casino site, at least in terms of the games that they offer. There are only slot and bingo games available here, but the titles that they’ve chosen are top-notch.

Players can have fun with the 17 Megaways slot games that are featured on the site. Many other sweepstakes casinos don’t have these games, providing Pulsz Bingo with a nice marketing pull for players.

Pulsz Bingo is very much focused on the quality of the titles they offer as well as the quality of gameplay. They’ve created a very well-designed site that plays extremely well on both mobile devices and traditional computers. This is a very important factor when you’re playing modern video slot games such as the Megaways titles.

You’ll get a No Deposit Bonus that’s very competitive when you sign up for a new account, providing free Gold Coins and two sweepstakes coins to get you started. You can also purchase more if you want, and maximize the amount in your account with the various ongoing bonuses and promotions.

McLuck

The final sweepstakes casino on our list is perhaps the newest. McLuck is a slot-focused online casino that has more than 300 titles available — many of which come from the most reputable iGaming developers in the industry, including Pragmatic Play.

Free Gold Coins are given to every new user who creates an account for the first time. Should you want more at any time, you can purchase them using the reputable payment methods that are available. 

For now, this site operates only as a fun, social sweepstakes site. It doesn’t allow you to take Gold Coins you’ve earned and redeem them for real money, though that could be an option down the line.


Best Online Casino Bonuses In Ohio

  1. Sign Up Bonuses: All new players who sign up for an account at a sweepstake casino will get free coins via a Sign Up Bonus. This is a welcome bonus, in essence, that rewards players just for creating an account at the site. It’s only available if you haven’t had an account before.

  2. No Deposit Bonuses: Sweepstakes casinos also offer No Deposit Bonuses from time to time. These are promotions that give players free coins for doing certain things. It could be simply for logging into the site every day, or for doing other things the casino wants to incentivize you to do. You don’t need to make a purchase to qualify.

  3. Deposit Match Offers: Sweepstakes casinos offer players the opportunity to purchase additional coins if they want them. When they do, they can qualify for Deposit Match Offers. These bonuses match the amount of coins you purchase up to a certain amount, essentially giving you as much as twice the number of coins for half the price.

  4. Free Spins: Sweepstakes casinos may also offer Free Spins that you can use at particular slot machine games. This could be new games they are featuring or games they just want to try to push, for whatever reason. You can use these free spins to play the specific slot games without having to risk any of your coins. You also get to keep any of the winnings you earn.

  5. Loyalty/VIP Programs: Most of the Ohio online casino sweepstakes sites will offer a Loyalty/VIP Program. Players earn points based on how much they play, how much they risk and which games they play. These points accumulate and then can eventually be redeemed for swag, prizes, free spins, entry into contests and potentially even real money.


Are Online Casinos Legal in Ohio?

State law allows for commercial land-based casinos and racinos to operate within Ohio. There are even sportsbooks within the state that can operate out of retail locations. As of the start of 2023, Ohio allowed online sportsbooks to operate within the state’s borders, which does provide some hope that legal online gambling will be expanded in future years.

As of right now, though, Ohio online casinos are not allowed to operate legally. While the approved casinos can partner with sports betting operators to offer both land-based and online sports betting, they aren’t allowed to offer casino games online.

That’s certainly a bummer not just to players in the state but also lawmakers who may be concerned they could fall behind other neighboring states that offer legal online casinos, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan. 

Still, players can enjoy online sweepstakes casinos, where they can play fun casino games and have a chance to win real money.


Sweepstakes Casinos in Ohio

While a traditional online casino in Ohio isn’t allowed to operate legally, there are plenty of sweepstakes casinos operating right now. Many offer traditional casino-type games and even the chance to cash out real money prizes.

The way it works is that these sweepstakes casinos are free to play at. They use coins as the currency on the site rather than real dollars. Players use these coins as if they were real money to place bets at whatever games are available at the site.

If players run out of their free allotment and want to purchase more — or just want to top off their account — they can do so by buying them. There are even promotions and bonuses that these sites offer to maximize the amount of coins you get.

Then, some of these casinos even offer the opportunity to redeem the coins you’ve earned into real money, which can then be withdrawn into your bank account.


The Future of Online Casinos in Ohio

With so many gambling options already available in the state — including online sports betting — it’s very possible that Ohio online casinos could be approved in the near future. Nothing is on the table as far as legal proposals to do that, though. So, for now, sweepstakes casino sites are the best option for players.


Facts About Gambling in Ohio

  • There are 11 commercial casinos that operate within Ohio, seven of which are racinos and four of which are traditional land-based casinos. While these casinos can partner with sportsbook operators to offer online sports betting, they cannot offer casino games online.
  • Gross gaming revenue in Ohio for 2022 was $2.33 billion. 
  • Ohio’s gambling industry is estimated to have an economic impact of $3.61 billion on the overall state.
  • The gambling industry in Ohio supports nearly 20,000 jobs throughout the state.
  • Ohio collects a 33% tax from all gross casino revenue. That money is then divvied up to many different sources, including counties, schools, law enforcement agencies, and gambling and addictions funds.
  • The Ohio Casino Control Commission is responsible for all oversight and licensing of gambling activities in the state.

Popular Casino Games in Ohio

  • Slot machines: Slot machines are what built land-based casinos throughout the country. What started as basic three-reel slots has evolved with the help of technology to video slots with intricate symbols, themes, layouts and gameplay. They are still among the most popular types of games in a casino because they are fast-paced, can be played for a low amount and offer big payouts.
  • Poker: There are many different types of poker games in a casino, and all of them are quite popular. There are video poker machines that operate similarly to slot machines. There are also three card poker and Caribbean poker table games, and even poker rooms where players face off against each other. Each is unique in its own way, though all are based off the traditional poker hand rules.
  • Roulette: Roulette is another very popular casino game. It’s a pure game of chance, where players try to guess which number or color a ball will land on for each spin of a wheel. The roulette wheel has 38 different numbers (0, 00 and 1-36), which are either red, black or green. Players can wager on all different types of bets, and you can bet a minimal amount for each wheel spin.
  • Blackjack: Blackjack is one of the most popular casino table games. Each player gets two cards to start, with the goal being to beat the dealer’s hand. The goal is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. Blackjack is very popular because it’s a social game, and it has some great player odds.
  • Craps: Craps is a very communal casino game that is popular among high rollers. It’s a dice game in which players try to roll two dice and make different combinations of numbers that aren’t 7 (in most cases). The game is very popular because it’s exciting and can result in some big payouts. It also offers some of the best odds for players out of all casino games.
  • Baccarat: Baccarat is a very popular card game that involves either betting on the Player, the Bank or a Tie. There is a lot of personal strategy that goes into betting one wager over another, though when cards are drawn are set by rules that can’t be changed. The goal is for your hand to get as close to the number 9.

Land-based Casinos in Ohio

  • Hollywood Casino Columbus. 200 Georgesville Road, Columbus, Ohio 43228. (614) 308-3333. This sprawling casino and entertainment complex offers more than 2,200 slot machines, 100 table games and a huge poker room. There are plenty of dining and entertainment options on site, as well as meeting and event space.
  • Hollywood Casino Toledo. 1968 Miami Street, Toledo, Ohio 43605. (419) 661-5200. This Hollywood-run casino features 125,000 square feet of gambling, with more than 1,700 slow machines, 45 table games and even a separate poker room. There’s also a sportsbook, restaurants and bars, and plenty of entertainment options.
  • Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati. 1000 Broadway Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. (513) 257-2253. Hard Rock International is the operator of this casino property that was opened back in 2013. There are tons of slots, table games and a poker room available here, as well as event space, bars and lounges, dining options and plenty of entertainment.
  • MGM Northfield Park. 10777 Northfield Road, Northfield, Ohio 44067. (330) 908-7625. This is one of the state’s racinos. In addition to the 200 harness racing events that are held here throughout the year, the property also offers a sportsbook and a casino floor with more than 2,000 VLT machines.
  • Miami Valley Gaming. 6000 OH-63, Lebanon, Ohio 45036. (513) 934-7070. This is another racino that operates in the state, with live racing available seasonally. There are more than 2,200 casino games that are available on the casino portion of the property, along with a sportsbook, dining and entertainment options.

Responsible Gambling in Ohio

  • In Ohio, the Ohio Casino Control Commission is responsible for all oversight and licensing of commercial casinos. State law also specifies that a certain percentage of all gambling-related taxes go to problem gambling and addictions’ funds. 
  • The National Problem Gambling Helpline is available to people throughout the country, regardless of what state you’re in. It offers an easy way to seek direct help via a telephone line, text line and even web chat, all of which are available 24/7.
  • The Problem Gambling Network of Ohio provides programs, advocacy and training to people who either need help for problem gambling or want to help others suffering from a gambling problem. They provide many resources and can refer people to outside sources if need be.
  • There is also an Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline that is available to help people suffering from a gambling problem. They provide live specialists 24/7 via telephone and text lines. They provide resources on how to identify and prevent gambling problems. And they provide a list of local support groups and professional outlets to those who need further help.

FAQs

Can I play online casinos in Ohio?

Ohio online casinos are not legal as of yet. You do have the option to play at a sweepstakes casino, though. 

When will online casinos be legal in Ohio?

It’s possible that Ohio online casino gambling could be legalized in the future, but nothing has been proposed just yet.

Is it safe to play online casinos in Ohio?

As long as you choose a reputable and licensed sweepstakes casino, it is safe to gamble online in Ohio.

What’s the legal gambling age in Ohio?

To gamble at casinos in Ohio, you must be 21 years old. The legal gambling age for the lottery and horse racing is 18.

Who regulates gambling and casinos in Ohio?

The Ohio Casino Control Commission is responsible for all oversight and licensing of gambling facilities in the state.