Table of Contents
Online Gambling in Alaska in 2024
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Scott Kacsmar
- June 27, 2024
Bettors are at a disadvantage when it comes to winning real money at online betting sites in Alaska. As of 2024, the state has not legalized the most popular forms of online gambling, including sports betting, horse racing betting, casino gaming and poker.
But that does not mean online gambling is hopeless for Alaskans. They just have to join offshore gambling sites where they can enjoy offshore sportsbook betting and casino gaming to win real money.
In this guide, we will show you the best offshore sites to join, why we selected them as the best and the difficult history of legal gambling in the Last Frontier state.
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SPORTSBOOK
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TRUST SCORE
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ONLINE SINCE
1996
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Expert Review
Read Review
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BONUS
$500 Cash Bonus
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CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2001
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
20% Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2002
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
30% Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2001
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
$250 Free Bet
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
1996
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
100% Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
|
SPORTSBOOK
|
TRUST SCORE
|
ONLINE SINCE
2011
|
Expert Review
Read Review
|
BONUS
$750 Cash Bonus
|
CLAIM BONUS
CLAIM BONUS
|
Table of Contents
Top Sites for Online Gambling in Alaska
Using the performance metrics in our grading system, which we will explain later, we have created a list of the 10 best online gambling sites for Alaska bettors. These online betting sites are all located offshore in places where online gambling is legal, such as Costa Rica or Panama.
- BookMaker – Top choice for sports bettors
- Heritage Sports – Great for cashback programs
- Bovada – Top choice for poker and prop bettors
- BetOnline – Exclusive casino games and poker
- BetAnySports – Best for reduced juice and lottery fans
- BetUS – Best for getting expert analysis and picks
- WagerWeb – Great option for crypto fans
- JustBet – Fixed odds horse racing and high limits
- Everygame – Excellent site design
- SportsBetting.ag – Unique sports promos and contests
Is online gambling legal in Alaska?
Yes, but there are no locally-regulated online options. The closest that Alaskans can come to getting online action is through playing daily fantasy sports. Fantasy sports is largely considered a game of skill and lacks any element of chance, so it’s not the typical online gambling experience that players seek.
For online platforms, Alaska sports betting, horse racing, casino gaming and poker have yet to be legalized as of 2024. Until Alaska shows signs of changing its attitude toward gambling, there are plenty of online gambling brands operating offshore that will gladly offer their services to players in Alaska.
Comparing the Top Alaska Gambling Sites
Below, you will find in-depth reviews for our top 10 online betting sites for Alaska bettors. These offshore gambling sites will make sports fans happy with their favorite sports, including NHL betting and college football betting. They all have plenty of casino gambling with live dealer games, slots, video poker and table games. You will get a full betting experience with horse racing tracks from around the world and maybe even a poker room at the right site. Find your favorites below for the online gambling experience that suits you best.
1. Top Choice for Sports Bettors: BookMaker
Key Features
- Sportsbook has the earliest lines
- Great reward program
- Very good mobile site
Our No. 1 online gambling site is Bookmaker.eu. Since 1996, it has been a leader in the industry for getting sports betting lines out first. What value does this have? It allows bettors to place a good bet on their favorite number before the general public starts to spend money on the game and shift those lines before the game starts. Sharp bettors love BookMaker for this reason, and new bettors looking for value will also enjoy the early lines.
But beyond the early lines, you get a very good mobile site for live betting, competitive odds, deep markets of niche sports and international leagues and a wide variety of betting markets (parlays, futures, teasers, props, etc.).
The casino section may not have the most games, but you will find plenty of newer options for exciting games and you can play Keno. You also get RTP info on every game, which gives you an estimate of the average rate of money returned to the player for every $100 bet. The closer the RTP is to 100%, the better that game will be to play over the long run. This is the only site that divulges such info on its casino games.
BookMaker also has a great reward program with three tiers where you can earn great reload bonuses. The third tier is only for recreational accounts, but you can contact a good customer support team at BookMaker to see if you qualify for that. New players are automatically enrolled and, they’re not left out, as BookMaker offers welcome bonuses.
2. Great for Cashback Programs: Heritage Sports
Key Features
- Best site for cashback programs
- Competitive odds and early lines for MLB and NFL
- Free birthday parlay ($500 value)
One of our favorite online gambling sites is Heritage Sports. Once a site for VIPs, anyone can join it from Alaska today. You will find a very good sportsbook with reduced juice (-108), a wide array of international markets for live betting, and one of the best mobile site designs.
Heritage Sports does promos and cashback the best. You can get a daily rebate in the racebook, a monthly rebate for your net casino losses, and every quarter a rebate for your sports betting volume. You also get a parlay for your birthday for free (maximum value of $500), and every eighth deposit is free if you go seven deposits without a withdrawal of winnings.
The casino section does not have the newer, flashier games found at rival sites, but it has over 140 online slots, dozens of table games and live dealer games with solid limits. The nicest part is you can try every casino game for free before spending any real money to discover your favorites.
Speaking of money, any bonus funds accumulated at Heritage Sports can be used anywhere on the site with no restrictions, a rare feature. They also have relatively low rollover requirements. This makes up for the site offering one of the lower welcome bonuses for new users.
3. Top Choice for Poker and Prop Bettors: Bovada
Key Features
- Best choice for poker fans
- Prop builder is our favorite
- Points never expire in loyalty program
What does Bovada do best to maintain its status as one of the most popular offshore gambling sites? It does virtual racing better than anyone as you can bet on virtual horses, greyhounds, camels and supercars. It does prop betting better than anyone with an excellent prop builder that can build parlays with ease over a wide array of markets. It also does poker the best with the No. 1 poker network in traffic for American players on its side. You can play tournaments and cash games, including Texas Hold’em and Omaha. Bovada is dishing out $2 million a week in poker prize money.
But the biggest knock on Bovada would be that it does not offer the common ongoing promos for returning users, including risk-free bets, reload bonuses, free spins or even a daily rebate on the racebook. But Bovada makes up for this by offering a great reward program where you can accumulate points that never expire and can redeem them for bonus bets or poker entries.
If you enjoy poker and betting props in sports, then Bovada is absolutely worth signing up for to win real money today. If you use crypto, it is a must as you can earn up to $3,750 in bonus funds over your first three crypto deposits using Bovada promo codes.
4. Exclusive Casino Games and Poker: BetOnline
Key Features
- Hundreds of exclusive casino games
- Large limits and fast payouts
- Bad-beat jackpots available
For one of the best multi-purpose online gambling sites, you cannot go wrong with BetOnline. You get a sportsbook that has plenty of markets for live betting, a prop builder that gets the job done, great alternate lines and opinionated lines like -107 and -113.
The casino has a huge library with hundreds of slots, though unfortunately, this is a site that lacks demo versions to try for free. But you will have fun figuring out which are your favorite games to play, and they also have plenty of table games and specialty games. Even without demos, they make trying new games enticing thanks to the generous BetOnline promo codes available.
BetOnline also has poker software for tournaments and cash games that only Bovada can outdo. You are also eligible to send in ideas for your own poker tournaments. The site offers high limits and fast payouts, making it an ideal destination for high rollers. But novices looking for their first offshore gambling site experience will also find a lot to enjoy with BetOnline.
5. Best for Reduced Juice and Lottery Fans: BetAnySports
Key Features
- Best for reduced juice (-105 lines)
- Lottery winners get 80% better payouts
BetAnySports has the best reduced juice lines (-105) around. But you have to find where they are in a confusing layout in the sportsbook, with five different links to lines offered and a sixth link that goes to its very good player prop builder.
But once you figure out the layout of the site, you get a very good gambling experience complete with a racebook, a very unique lottery section and a great casino with eight different choices to play. The casinos do share some of the same game titles, but each casino has its own unique feel to it.
BetAnySports does a great job with live dealer games to make you feel like you are at a real casino with the dealer able to address you by your name if you wish. This is the value of modern betting and technology with video chat.
Finally, lottery fans have their best site to pick, as BetAnySports has its own lotto section. You can play your favorite numbers on different drawings from around the country each day. Winners reportedly get an 80% better payout, too. BetAnySports also strives to add value with its welcome bonus packages, offering rebates, reduced juice and more.
Our Rating Methodology
We will get into more detail about our rating methodology later, but the best online betting sites will share a lot in common when it comes to offering the best online gambling experience possible. To make our top 10 list, these offshore gambling sites should score well in offering competitive odds and a wide variety of betting markets, useful promotions, payment methods, customer service contact options and a quality mobile site and user interface.
Alaska’s History of Gambling Laws
Leave it to Alaska to give gamblers the cold shoulder. For a state that does not have a lottery, gambling facilities with a poker room or any slot machines, it makes sense that there is little in the way of legal gambling, in-person or online, as of 2024. The conservative attitude toward gambling persists in Alaska to this day.
It was back in 1960 when the Alaska Department of Revenue took over as the overseer of gambling activities in the state. But there would be few activities until 1984 when pull-tab games were legalized. But when it came time to vote on allowing casino gaming as you would find at commercial casinos, voters came out by a near 2-to-1 margin in 1990 to vote against it.
In 1993, Alaska made it to where third-party vendors were supervised by the state with the pull-tab games they were selling. Finally, 1995 introduced a brief period of a gambling alternative with cruise ship gambling. But the law expired late that year and it was discontinued.
While tribal casinos would soon open around the state, they lacked the slot machines found at most other land-based casinos in America. With pull-tab games, they are closer to bingo halls than full-fledged casinos.
When voters had a chance to allow a state gambling commission in 2008, over 61% again voted no. But maybe things would change after 2018, when the Supreme Court overturned PASPA, allowing all 50 states the right to vote if they want to have legal sports betting. Many states have done so in the five years since, but Alaska has not been able to get anything going on this front for the retail gaming section or the online gaming industry.
It was in February 2020 when Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced a bill that would bring a state lottery and legal sports betting to Alaska. Unfortunately, COVID-19 all but killed that bill before it could get going. Two years later, Rep. Adam Wool had a new bill to legalize online sports betting, which would reach the Labor and Commerce Committee before it too stalled.
This is why the best bet in Alaska in 2024 is to use offshore gambling sites to bet on sports, horse racing, casino gaming, poker and more. The legal process is going to take some time to get things moving in Alaska, a frigid gambling state to say the least.
Key Features of the Best Gambling Sites
In the following sections, we are looking at the key features that separate the offshore sites in our grading system. You will find the best online gaming sites offer quality experiences in these metrics.
Competitive Betting Odds
The house odds at the sportsbook are usually very competitive among the different options, but often you will find slight edges to take advantage of, like getting reduced juice (-105 or -108 lines) or opinionated lines (-107) instead of betting on standard -110 odds. This is why sports bettors like to have an account with multiple online sportsbooks to make sure they are getting the best odds and bets.
Betting Markets
For all sections of the online gambling sites, we expect a wide range of betting markets and games available. The sportsbooks should have plenty of sports, leagues and betting types. The casino should have everything from slots and video poker to table games, specialty games and live dealer games. The racebook should have plenty of exotic wagers in addition to win/place/show bets. The poker room should give you cash games, tournaments and plenty of playing styles, including Texas Hold’em with Limit, Pot Limit and No Limit games.
Banking Methods
In 2024, we expect to see a wide variety of payment options at online gambling sites. This should range from your traditional methods (credit card and debit card) to more modern methods like eWallets and crypto. The deposit process also includes limits and fees that we make note of.
Promotions & Bonuses
Promotions are a great way to get users to join a site and stick with it for the long haul. You can expect a generous sign-up bonus paid out in bonus bets for your initial deposit. But the real gold here may be the ongoing promotions like deposit bonuses, risk-free bets, reload bonuses, odds boosts, parlay boosts, insurance bets and good programs for loyalty points and referring friends.
Live Dealers & Live Betting
The ability to do live betting is a huge advantage for an online gambling site. Sports bettors want to see great event coverage for in-game betting because the most popular games should have live bets that go beyond just the spread, total and moneyline. We like to see props available as live bets too. Live betting can be a fantastic way to hedge a pre-game bet or turn a boring game into an exciting one to watch.
For casino players who may not feel that electronic table games are as random as they can be, live dealer games are an excellent alternative. Thanks to video chat, you can see a real human dealer dish out your cards for blackjack or spin the wheel in roulette. Some sites even offer to call you by your name, and you can chat with other players via texting. This is a very fun way to do casino gambling online as if you were in a real casino.
User Interface
Players using these online gambling sites will have many betting markets to choose from, including a casino, sportsbook, racebook and maybe even a poker room depending on the site. We need a quality user interface that makes it easy to jump from one section to the other, and from one gaming market to another. You should be able to quickly go from playing a video slot game to placing a parlay on the sportsbook. We also want a site that has things neatly organized, with a cashier section that makes it simple to do deposits and withdrawals.
Mobile Site Quality
Since most bets are being placed on mobile devices, these sites must offer strong mobile sites. The offshore sites lack downloadable apps for your phone, so you can use mobile sites that are optimized to run smoothly on a smaller screen. It is especially important for mobile sports betting where we often need to bet quickly and lock in those odds for live betting markets and more. The site should be able to handle high traffic of users at key times on gameday.
Customer Support
There are many reasons you could use the help of a good customer support team while using online gambling sites. We judge the best to have 24/7 support and the most varied ways to contact the site, including a message form on the site, an email address, a phone number and live chat.
Security Features
If you plan to win money online at online gambling sites, you better plan on sharing identifying data on yourself, including your name, address, email, phone number and possibly your social security number for identity verification. This is why we put a big emphasis on only trusted sites that have a long track record of successfully dealing with customers in the online gambling industry. These are the sites we feel most comfortable with protecting our sensitive user data.
Alaska Online Gambling
In the following sections, we are looking at the forms of gambling Alaska bettors have at their disposal from an online perspective.
Alaska Online Sports Betting
Alaska sports betting has yet to take off despite the state having almost five years to make a move since PASPA was overturned in May 2018. But if you want to bet on sports from your mobile device in Alaska, you will have to join offshore sports betting sites like Bovada, BookMaker, Heritage Sports, BetOnline and BetAnySports.
Those sites will have your favorite sports, your favorite teams and a wide variety of betting markets to choose from, including live bets.
Alaska Daily Fantasy Sports
Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) have been popular for about a decade now, and even Alaska is comfortable with allowing DraftKings and FanDuel to operate as the two biggest names in DFS. You can join those sites to partake in DFS in Alaska, building the best rosters of players you can under the salary cap to produce the most points in contests. This is not considered traditional sports gambling because it is viewed as a game of skill where you compete against other players rather than a game of chance where you are betting against a bookmaker.
Alaska Online Horse Race Betting
This should not come as a surprise because of the climate, but there are no horse racing tracks in Alaska. Horse racing is not legal in the state. This is a dog sled racing (or “dog mushing”) state. If you want to bet on horse racing, the only online options available are offshore racebooks like those found at Bookmaker.eu, Heritage Sports, Bovada and BetOnline. That will allow you to bet on the big Triple Crown races and other key races at dozens of horse racing tracks from around the world.
Alaska Online Casinos
There is no legal platform for online casino gaming in Alaska. Slot machines are not even allowed at the tribal casinos in the state. Therefore, you must join offshore casino sites if you want to enjoy the best online casino games, including slot machines, video poker, table games (blackjack, baccarat, roulette, etc.), specialty games (Keno) and more. They also tend to have live dealer table games, allowing users to enjoy games like blackjack and roulette with a real dealer as if they were at a casino in person.
Alaska Online Poker
Online poker is not legal in Alaska, and there is some other bad news for poker fans, you can’t even find a land-based poker room. This is why many are playing online games of poker at offshore sites such as Bovada, BetOnline and Everygame. You can enjoy poker tournaments, cash games and video poker machines at those sites to win real money.
Alaska Online Lottery Games
Alaska does not have a state lottery, nor does it allow participation in multi-state draw games like Powerball and Mega Millions. But for lottery fans seeking online options to play from home, you are in luck if you check out BetAnySports. It has a whole lottery section where you can play your favorite 2-to-5-digit numbers on a daily basis in drawings for many states around the country.
Alaska Online Bingo & Keno
Alaska is home to several bingo halls, as charitable bingo is one of the few popular forms of legal gambling in the state. But if you want to find some basic bingo games online, you will have to visit popular online bingo sites or try the several bingo games offered in the Bovada casino.
Other Online Gambling Options in Alaska
Alaska is home to some regulated social games and charitable gambling, such as raffles and poker games in private residences with friends. It is hard to do things like that online, but the pull-tab games you find in the state can be sold online by trustworthy Alaskan sites.
How to Create an Online Gambling Account
If you want to join offshore betting sites, you must be prepared to share some personal info and deposit real money. We walk you through the simple registration process below.
Step 1. Sign-Up
Visit the site you wish to join and start the sign-up process like you would at any site. Be sure to choose a password that you are not using elsewhere and will not share with anyone.
Step 2. Verify Your Account Details
Your account must be verified by another simple process. Just enter personal information such as your name, address, email and mobile phone number. The site is likely to send you an email or text that has a confirmation link or code to enter to verify your account.
Step 3. Deposit Funds
Now your account needs to be funded. Before you start the deposit process, read the details of the sign-up bonus for new users, since it is a one-time offer based on the size of your first deposit. Once you are ready to make that deposit, head to the cashier and choose the deposit method that suits you best.
Step 4. Enjoy Gambling Online
Your account is verified and ready to gamble with real money. Be sure to have fun and bet responsibly.
FAQs – Gambling Online in Alaska
Does Alaska allow gambling?
There are very few legal forms of gambling in Alaska. Residents can play daily fantasy sports, or enjoy charitable pull-tab games, dog sled racing and bingo. Offshore sportsbooks, though, are only bound to the online gambling laws where they are located. For that reason, they offer online action to Alaskans.
Can I bet on sports online in Alaska?
Alaska’s conservative attitude toward sports betting means that there are no locally-regulated legal sportsbooks in the state. However, offshore sites can provide a great online gambling experience. Users can place sports bets, play online slots and more.
Can you play online poker for money in Alaska?
Yes, you can play online poker for money from Alaska, but the only way to do that is with the use of offshore sites that have a poker room such as Bovada, BetOnline and Everygame. You can play cash games and tournaments there for real money.
Are there casinos in Alaska?
Yes, there are 10 casinos in Alaska, but they are a far cry from the commercial casinos you may know and love. The casinos in Alaska are all located on tribal land and they do not offer poker games, nor do they have any slot machines.
Is BetOnline legal in Alaska?
Yes, BetOnline is a very popular offshore gambling site that is open to users in Alaska who are at least 18 years old. You will enjoy the high limits, fast payouts, opinionated lines on the sportsbook, poker tournaments and hundreds of exclusive casino games offered.
