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When we talk about online casinos in the USA, most of us immediately think of FanDuel, DraftKings, or perhaps the growing number of sweepstake casinos. What many of us do not associate with the American market, however, are the so-called offshore casinos. By pure coincidence, while we were researching an entirely different article, we stumbled upon an interesting trend. It appears that certain casinos are actively targeting the USA — but these are not the familiar operators carrying an MGA license or a Curaçao license. These are what we refer to as offshore casinos.
In Europe, the term “offshore casino” is often used for operators that target one country while being licensed in another. But the casinos we are talking about here are an entirely different category, and they do not hide it. Several of them rank openly for search phrases like “best offshore casino USA” and “best offshore casino.” This caught our attention at iGamingToday.com, and we decided to take a closer look at who these operators are, how they get traffic, and how they actually function. It is almost hard to believe that this is happening in 2026.
Online casino is legal in some states — and not legal in others
iGaming and online casinos in the USA are regulated at the state level. Today, only seven states offer fully regulated online casino gambling, leaving 43 states where it remains illegal. Sweepstakes, which some might consider a form of online casino, operate across a much wider portion of the country. Offshore casinos therefore have access to a very large potential market — even though it is difficult to imagine that the people behind these casinos care much about which states are regulated or not. This is important to remember: online casino and sports betting are regulated state by state in the USA. According to a report from Yield Sec, Americans spend more than $67 billion dollars on offshore casinos. It’s worth noting that much of this volume likely goes to crypto casinos and gambling sites only accessible via VPN. The offshore casinos we refer to here are something entirely different — and far more visible.
No contact info, no license details, and customer service that doesn’t work
When we reviewed the offshore casinos ranking for searches like “best offshore casino,” we were genuinely surprised. We are used to operators sharing limited information, but several of these casinos take it to another level: no information about the company behind the casino; a phone number that technically works, but immediately hangs up when you call (tested from several phones); no physical address; only a single email address — which, surprisingly, did reply. For players, this means one thing: you have no idea who you are dealing with. There is no regulator, no address, and no dispute process. If something goes wrong, email is your only option. A few operators claimed to operate under an Anjouan license, but most provided no licensing information whatsoever.
TrustPilot reveals how many players use offshore casinos — and what their experiences look like
There is little public information available about these offshore operators. What we did find, however, were large numbers of TrustPilot reviews. Many of them followed the same pattern: withdrawals being cancelled or delayed for up to two weeks; payouts being reduced; accounts being closed when players win; customer service impossible to reach. Across all offshore casinos targeting the USA, the average TrustPilot rating was around 1.5. While online casinos often attract more negative than positive reviews, the consistency of these complaints is striking.
Despite the fact that these casinos do not use American flags or market themselves explicitly to the U.S., TrustPilot data clearly shows that most players are American.
How do they get traffic?
This part is particularly interesting. When we analyzed keyword data in Ahrefs, we found that these operators rely almost entirely on affiliate traffic. They do not appear in paid traffic listings, and they have little to no organic visibility under their own brand names. When we flipped the perspective and looked at who does rank for keywords like “offshore casinos,” “best offshore casino,” and “offshore casino USA,” a clear pattern emerged. Multiple large websites rank for the same search terms, with similar page structures and promoting the same offshore casino brands. In many cases, it appears to be the same affiliate network operating multiple sites — including crypto pages, esports pages, and even some iGaming industry sites (!). This strongly suggests that the offshore niche is extremely lucrative — and that competition is surprisingly low.
Limited competition
Now that we understand how these offshore operators function and how they receive traffic, the competitive situation becomes even more surprising. When you search these keywords in Google, there is almost no real competition. A few affiliates working with licensed brands have attempted to create landing pages for these terms, but it genuinely looks like some actors have found a niche with very little competition and enormous upside. I
t even appears that several of the ranking websites are competing primarily with themselves — something almost unheard of in iGaming. Unlike the sweepstakes market, where the competition is intense and everyone wants a piece, the offshore casino niche seems to offer lower volume, but an extremely lucrative setup.
A hot potato no game provider wants to hold
Another revealing detail is the game offering. You will not find the typical titles from well-known studios. Instead, the games are unbranded, missing developer information, and without documentation on fairness or game mathematics. This makes it impossible for players to know whether the games are legitimate or fair — and naturally, no established game provider wants to be associated with operators like these.
Who enforces this?
We are not lawyers, so we will not speculate too much about legal risks for these offshore casinos. But what is clear is that gambling enforcement in the USA largely happens at the state level. We have seen this in the sweepstakes space, where cease-and-desist letters are sent out individually by states.
Keeping up with new offshore operators could easily be a full-time job. Because these operations are so easy to set up, shutting down one brand usually leads to a new one appearing immediately. Federal authorities have so far focused more on sports betting and match fixing. That may change — and it is difficult to know how enforcement is prioritized internally. What seems likely is that if offshore casinos continue refusing to pay out winnings or drift into outright fraud, enforcement will eventually tighten.
European operators should pay attention to affiliates promoting offshore casinos
It may be valuable for operators in Europe to follow what is happening in the USA. The same affiliate websites that promote offshore casinos to American players are active in Europe, where they promote fully licensed brands. In a world where compliance requirements are increasing for both affiliates and operators, understanding potential risk is becoming more important.
Bad for players — and bad for the industry
The most concerning part is the pattern we see from reviews and from the operators themselves. When an operator ignores basic rules, there is a high chance they also ignore standards related to responsible gambling and player protection. Players are the ones who suffer. Some may argue that as long as online casino remains illegal in most U.S. states, players will naturally look elsewhere. That is true — but the structure of these offshore operations suggests they are not built with the player’s best interests in mind.
For the industry, this creates reputational problems. Offshore casinos operating this way undermine the legitimacy the regulated iGaming ecosystem works hard to build. We want a legitimate market, strong products, fair terms, and, above all, a safe environment for players.
