Gambling is one of the biggest pastimes in the world. Whether it is someone
who likes to play scratch tickets from the local convenience store or a
high-stakes sports bettor, a lot more gambling than you may realize is taking
place on a daily basis. One way you may be able to notice is with a simple
search for gambling apps in the app store for your mobile device. That search
will result in hundreds of responses, and in that group, you will find
everything from apps for learning purposes, some for full casinos, and others
for games you probably didn’t even know existed.

The easiest way to find gambling apps is to head to the app store on your phone and type in the word “gambling,” but the results may surprise you. While you may be looking for a specific game, you will see many different gambling options listed. Let’s take a look at some of the main categories of popular gambling apps. However, due to strict federal and state regulations, the Apple app store does not allow US customers to access real money gambling applications. Rather, legitimately licensed and regulated gambling destinations located outside of the US can legally offer their services to American residents through the use of mobile browsers. First, players can use some of the free mobile casino games available via the App Store and Google Play Store. These never pay out real money but may allow players to purchase additional credits or coins. The second, and more popular option, is using practice mode in mobile gambling apps or on casino sites.

The popularity of gambling apps is undeniable now – they are here to stay.
With the advancements in technology and the more lenient stance on gambling
around the world, we expect that gambling apps will continue to fill up your
phone. For now, let’s look at how these apps became so popular and what games
are downloaded more than others.




The Difference Between Popular and the Best Gambling Apps

We have to point something out when we talk about the popular gambling apps
on the market today. If you go simply by the top lists that are provided by the
app stores, you will find some decent sites there, but we think you need to do
more digging when considering a real money gambling app for your deposit.

This site has a team of gambling experts that look at all the apps on the
market, but we look at much more than the number of downloads of any particular
app. The enjoyment that comes from a gambling app comes from more than just one
thing, which is why our site and app reviews take into consideration a whole
host of criteria. We look at everything from the app design to the game
selection, and from the payment options to the promotions and bonuses offered by
the operator. All of these factor into the overall gambling experience, so
rather than give you a list of the most popular gambling apps, we have compiled
a list of our most recommended apps.

This list below reflects the highest-rated of all the gambling apps that our
team has reviewed over the years. You will see that they aren’t all casinos or
poker sites, and this mix means that there is a recommended app for whatever you
are looking to play on your device. We encourage you to read the full reviews of
these sites, or if you are willing to take our word for it, just click on the
links above and add them to your device.

The Gambling App Market

So how did gambling apps get this popular in the first place? Well, it is a
little more complicated than you might imagine. We all know that gambling in
some form has been around as far back as we can track, with several “bones”
games originating in ancient China. Over the years, the way gambling was
delivered to players changed with the technology. Betting in local shops and
casinos was soon joined by telephone sports betting. Internet gambling changed
the entire industry, with players now able to stay in their homes to play the
majority of their favorite games for real money.

When smartphone technology grew in the early 2000s, it was clear that this
was going to be a way to deliver games of chance to players right to the palms
of their hands. However, the platform developers were going to have a say about
how and when these new “apps” were going to be available. Every app needs to be
approved before being launched, and the two main platform providers, Google and
Apple, had a very conservative stance on gambling. Both companies at first
rejected the notion of real money gambling apps on their devices, citing concern
for the public as one of the main reasons for the lack of approval.

What these companies couldn’t stop was players finding ways to gamble via the
browsers on the very same devices, so after much deliberation, each came up with
their own set of rules regarding gambling apps. As soon as the position was more
favorable for real money gambling, the floodgates opened.

Today, you can see the effects of the app world on gambling. Between online
poker apps, lottery apps, and full gaming platforms, you can access any type of
betting via an app on your phone or tablet. We are certain that when the United
States finally finds a way to regulate online gambling properly, there will be
another mad dash for memory space and approval in the app store.

Popular Gambling Apps

The easiest way to find gambling apps is to head to the app store on your
phone and type in the word “gambling,” but the results may surprise you. While
you may be looking for a specific game, you will see many different gambling
options listed. Let’s take a look at some of the main categories of popular
gambling apps.

Casino Apps

Having a full casino in your pocket seems too good to be true, but these
days, it is very much a reality. There are hundreds of available casino apps,
some focused on one or two games, with others offering every game you would find
in Vegas. One thing is for certain: players love to pick up their
phones and beat a slot machine within a couple of clicks, as can be seen by the
most popular casino apps.

Poker Apps

Poker is a game that really benefits from being available in an app. Many
poker tournaments take hours to complete, so for someone to be able to take that
poker table with them on the move has made the game much more convenient. These
days, poker apps are some of the most popular in any app store, and even the
ones that are for free play only are growing in popularity.

Betting Apps

Sports betting continues to be incredibly popular in Europe and other regions
where it is legal. In the United Kingdom, for example, sports betting is part of
the culture of the people who live there, so someone pulling up a sports betting
app at the family dinner table would be considered acceptable behavior. In these places, betting apps are incredibly popular and are gaining in overall use with
the introduction of live betting, which gives players a chance to bet more than
once during a sporting event.

Horse Racing Apps

Without the app industry (and online gambling as a whole), it is difficult to
say where the horse racing industry would be today. With fewer people heading to
the racetrack than ever before and less people watching on the television, the betting on outcomes of races has become more
important than ever to the business. Having the option to be able to make wagers and
even watch the races from within a betting app on a mobile device has given new life to
this failing horse racing industry.

Conclusion

We are only in the infancy of this app-driven market. As mobile technology
continues to improve, so will the apps we use for everything in our daily life.
This includes gambling apps, which will continue to grow in popularity as new
games are added, new delivery methods like virtual reality are made more
affordable, and when the restrictions on gambling apps are lifted in many
countries where gaming is very popular in other forms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Are Social Gambling Apps so Popular?

First off, we here at his site don’t consider social gambling apps to be
gambling at all. Being able to buy chips for real money with no way to cash them
back out for cash means that they have no value, and while you are playing games
that are similar to those in a real-money environment, these apps are for
entertainment. That is why these apps are so popular – because they don’t
require you to use cash (although people do to the tune of billions of dollars
annually), but they are driven by achievements as aspiration.

If Apps like Sudoku Are so Successful, Why Can’t There Be Gambling Versions of Them?

There are some sites that are trying to cash in on the gambling aspect of
games of skill. Companies like Skillz have created a template for
tournament-style head-to-head competitions in games like Sudoku for real cash,
although the legalities around these games are still unclear. And of course, the
esports world is turning video gaming into a form of gambling with popularity so
high that people are filling arenas to watch the top teams in the world battle
for huge prizes.

Do Daily Fantasy Apps Really Count as Gambling Apps?

Of course, they do! Daily fantasy sports burst onto the gambling scene in
2012 and has not looked back! Finding a loophole in the US gaming laws, daily
fantasy was able to draw a massive following in a short period of time, and
while the market is now maturing, it was built with mobile apps as the main
delivery method. Today, more players use apps to access their DFS accounts than
any other means.

If you want to know more about how to get started with a quality mobile gambling app and what’s available for real money gambling via mobile in general, then keep reading through this page. If you just want to get going with using the best gambling apps available right now, click on one of our recommendations below.

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The mobile sector of the online gambling world has grown over time to the point that it has overtaken computer play as the most popular way to gamble. This mirrors a similar growth of mobile usage in other areas, which has primarily come thanks to the proliferation of mobile-friendly content.

Now people from all over the world use mobile gambling sites and real money gambling apps for betting and gaming on the go.

The list above or below of the best sites with mobile gambling apps is kept regularly updated by our online betting and gaming experts. Our team regularly bet on sports and play casino games from their mobile devices, so they know exactly how to identify the best real money gambling apps to use.

Gambling App Store

These mobile gambling apps have been extensively vetted by our team to ensure that they are safe to use for all customers that sign up. Each one offers a unique gambling experience on your mobile device and we truly believe that you won’t be disappointed in any one of these that you choose to play at.

If you’re wondering about our vetting process, our rankings are based on a variety of factors, which is the next thing we address on this page.

  • Safety and security – Vital for real money gambling apps
  • Compatibility – Apps should work on multiple mobile devices
  • Ease of use – Online apps should be easy to use
  • Banking – Gambling apps need different options for depositing and withdrawing
  • Bonuses and promotions – The best apps are generous to new and existing customers
  • Payout speed – Withdrawals from gambling apps should be as quick as possible

The above list is not exhaustive by any means. It shows the most important criteria, but there are many more factors that need to be assessed when ranking gambling apps. Rest assured that we are extremely thorough in our evaluations, and only the very best apps make it onto our list.

In addition to ranking the best real money gambling apps overall, we’ve also ranked the top apps in a variety of different categories. Let’s look at those before moving on.

Best Gambling Apps by Category

In what follows, we’re going to break down everything you might want to know about playing on mobile online gambling apps. We’ll walk you through how to get started, the available types of mobile gambling apps, compatibility issues, safety and security, and more.

Because there are so many different popular devices and mobile operating systems, there are a variety of ways to get started playing via mobile, and they largely depend on what type of smartphone or tablet you’re using.

Each individual type of device or OS can have multiple ways to get started gambling, and the method you use can be dependent on the site itself. We’re going to walk you through each of the major possibilities so that you know what’s available when you start gambling with mobile apps.

App Store Options

Most of the major operating systems like iOS and Android have some variation of an app store (or multiple app stores) where you can download various applications directly to your phone from an organized interface.

If you’re looking to play with a specific casino or betting site, they will often give you a link that will direct you straight to the download page from your respective app store. Alternatively, you can look for that gambling site’s name specifically using your app store’s search function.

Gambling App Store

It’s worth noting that searching for something very general like “mobile slots” in an app store is not ideal because you can turn up a lot of low-quality results, even if they’re free apps, which we’ll cover more below.

Aside from that, these app store download options make it easy for you to add everything to your phone or tablet that you need to play all from one place, and that makes them perfect even for players who may not be confident dealing with technology.

One method that was made popular before most devices had web browsers was to simply allow you to put in your phone number so that you could receive an SMS/text message with a download link for the gambling app in question. Even though most browsers have the ability to open download links directly these days, some sites will still use this type of option.

It’s another good choice if you aren’t confident with technology or if you just like convenience since it’s hard to get lost or confused with this straightforward process.

  • Put in your phone number and request a download link
  • The link will come to your phone via an SMS/text message
  • Tap on the link to open it
  • Confirm that you want to download the app

It will be downloaded and installed on your device automatically. All you have to do then is open the online gambling app and get started.

In comparison to using an app store, we actually prefer the SMS/text link option because it makes it harder to get sidetracked or accidentally download the wrong thing.

Scanning QR Codes

Sometimes you will have the option to use a QR code to open a download link for the app software. This is a bit more of an advanced approach, and it takes about the same amount of time as either of the above options, so there’s not really any significant advantage.

If you see something that looks like a square barcode with a bunch of tiny black and white squares on it, then that’s probably a QR code. You scan it with a special mode on your phone, and it acts like a link that can open up a website or download for a mobile gambling site.

In essence, it’s a fancy version of sending you a link to get the app. There’s no major advantage to using a QR code to download a mobile gambling app, so if you’re not comfortable with it, then just use either of the above methods if they’re offered.

Once you’ve used one of the above three methods to download the betting or gaming app to your smartphone or tablet, all you need to do is create an account to start gambling.

We have a number of tips down below to help keep yourself and your funds safe and secure when you’re creating this gambling account, but it’s a pretty straightforward process otherwise, and it’s just like creating an account at any other website.

With that having been said, it’s critical that you include your real information like your name, address, and so on.

Gambling

This is not a time to put in fake information for the sake of privacy. The sites are required to use the information you put in to verify your identity to satisfy the requirements of their gambling license, and this helps to avoid situations of fraud, money laundering, and other issues.

Types of Online Gambling Apps

There is a lot to choose from when it comes to picking out the best gambling apps to play on, and there are even other apps that are used as tools or utilities to help you while you play.

It can feel like you’re being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool when you try to navigate all of this for the first time, so we want to show you exactly what to expect from the different kinds of apps for mobile gambling.

If you were to search for a mobile online casino in an app store, you’d find a whole lot of play money-only options for just about every type of game or way to gamble that you can think of. However, there are some real disadvantages to downloading these gambling apps.

  • You never have the option to play for real money on the same games
  • The games are typically low quality and are made just well enough to pass the app store’s software standards
  • The companies that run these games often focus primarily on marketing, so you’ll have to deal with a lot of ads or having your information used to market to you

Some play money apps are free, while others require you to pay for them. If you’re wondering what’s in it for the developers with the free options, the free apps almost always generate funds by forcing you to view advertisements on a regular basis before you can enjoy your play money mobile games.

Casino Apps Free

To avoid these disadvantages, we strongly suggest sticking with the real money gambling app options we gave on our list of recommended sites at the top.

Many have play money options or similar features where you can enjoy the action with play chips until you’re ready to get in the mix for real funds.

As we mentioned above, the best real money mobile gambling apps will have free play options where you can enjoy the games and betting without having to actually wager money. Instead, they’ll keep a score or balance of virtual chips to let you keep up with how you’re doing.

However, you can have opportunities to win real money prizes without making monetary wagers. No-deposit bonus opportunities are one way to do this with sports betting apps and casino apps. You can also play in online poker freeroll tournaments, which have no entry fee but allow you to win real money payouts if you place high enough.

For most players most of the time, this is a lot more fun than straightforward play money games since you have an actual chance to win something of value without having to risk your own funds.

Gambling Tool Apps

Online

Additionally, there are a variety of mobile apps that act as tools or utilities to assist you while gambling. What’s available depends on how you’re gambling, but you can check out resources like the following.

  • Sports betting tips
  • Online poker starting hand charts
  • Blackjack strategy tables
  • Video poker hand calculators

These aren’t for everyone, and you don’t have to use them, but they’re worth mentioning for players who enjoy focusing on strategy when wagering.

One potential problem that mobile gamblers can run into is the fact that not all software or apps are compatible with all mobile devices. This means that you can find yourself in a situation where you want to play with a site that doesn’t have a viable mobile software option that works for your smartphone or tablet.

In what follows, we’re going to break down how compatibility issues can happen, how they can be avoided, and why our recommended online gambling apps keep you from having to worry about this in virtually all cases.

Native OS Apps vs. Mobile Web Apps

Some online gambling apps have been designed to work with one specific mobile operating system only, and that will almost always be either iOS or Android since those are the two most popular operating systems. These are called native OS apps, and while this approach is popular for a lot of other types of mobile software, it’s actually the least popular option in the online gambling world.

Virtually all of our top recommended suggestions are based around mobile web options instead. This is because all operating systems for mobile have web browser apps, and that helps ensure that players from all types of devices and operating systems are able to get in on the action.

In essence, since the sites become full screen anyway, it gives you an experience that’s just as good while keeping the compatibility issue from holding you back.

Adobe Flash was the platform used for most of the early mobile gambling options, but it fell to the side with HTML5 taking its place. HTML5 is better in virtually every aspect of the experience compared to Flash, particularly regarding giving players a better overall performance on the same hardware.

However, not all types of gambling will use HTML5 to create graphical displays and so on like what you see in online slots. Instead, you’ll often see regular responsive web pages used with mobile sports betting apps because it makes it easier for the operator to keep the betting odds fresh and updated regularly.

HTML5 is great because it offers a super-strong performance while being compatible with nearly every modern mobile device. However, we don’t want you to think that there’s something wrong with a site if HTML5 is not used, particularly if you’re betting on sports via mobile.

Tablets, Smartphones, and Screen Sizes

One of the things we check for when making our recommendations is that they work on all different types of screens, including large tablets, mid-sized tablets, and a variety of smartphone screen sizes.

With HTML5, screen size is largely irrelevant because the scaling is great and everything is designed to be high-quality and easy to view regardless of whether its scaled to a small or large size.

It’s a bit different with apps, though. They don’t always scale the same way, and even the top real money gambling apps are sometimes optimized for tablets or smartphones but not both.

We’ve done the research on all of our recommended mobile gambling apps so that you don’t have to, and you can check out which screen sizes are available.

However, there is a caveat to this. Smartwatches are not compatible with very many mobile online gambling apps at all. The screens are simply too small to allow the kind of intricate interaction that most types of real money gambling require.

Safety and Security With Real Money Online Gambling Apps

A significant number of players hesitate to gamble via mobile because they aren’t sure about the potential security risks. If you check out the sites that we have recommended, you can see from our reviews that we have checked them out to make sure that their mobile gambling software is fully secured and safe to play with.

With that said, there are still a few security things that are beyond the reach of the mobile apps themselves, so we recommend you follow the steps below to keep your account information and financial details safe.

For the sake of convenience, many mobile gambling applications will allow you to save your username and/or password for future sessions. We highly recommend against this.

If your phone or tablet is lost or stolen, you’ll have enough problems on your hands without having to worry about someone logging into your real money gambling app and cleaning out your balance. If you keep things set up to automatically log in, then they can do this in just a few taps on your screen.

This is why it’s so critical to not use the automatic log-in features that some software providers put into their apps.

Use Different Names, Emails, and Passwords

Again, if your phone is lost or stolen, it gives a person access to all of your email accounts and other types of accounts that are logged in on your device. If the email you used for your mobile gambling account is automatically logged in on your smartphone or tablet, then it’s really easy for someone to reset your password to get into your account.

Likewise, they can use similar information from other accounts that you’re logged into to gain information to log in and cause havoc on your gambling accounts.

A solution to this is fairly straightforward: Use a new email address for your mobile gambling account, do not use it for anything else, and do not have it automatically logged in on your phone. While you’re at it, use a username and password unique to that site so that if someone figures out your username and/or password, that will not give them access to everything else.

Frequently Asked Questions About Mobile Gambling Apps

We know that players will have questions about gambling via mobile, especially if it’s their first time. Here, we have compiled some of the most asked questions so that you can get most of your answers first and know exactly what you’re looking at.

This depends on the type of gambling you’re doing and what kind of graphics, video, and sound have to be loaded. Here are a few examples.

  • Mobile Slots – Expect these to use a lot of data because of the high level of graphics, sounds, and sometimes video clips
  • Mobile Poker – This doesn’t use much data at all because the graphics are downloaded once and saved on your phone
  • Mobile Sports Betting – Again, not much data is used here because almost all of the information transferred is in text just like most of what you see on regular websites

Can you play via desktop using your mobile account?

For most sites most of the time, including virtually all of our suggested mobile gambling apps, you’ll have no problem using the same account to play on both the mobile and desktop platforms.

This includes sharing an account balance, playing many of the same games, and taking advantage of several of the same promotions. It’s essentially the same account, but you have multiple ways to play from it.

Are there mobile-exclusive online gambling bonus options?

This will depend on where you’re playing, but a large percentage of sites will have mobile casino bonuses, mobile poker bonuses, and special mobile sports betting promotions. You will also be able to take advantage of the regular desktop bonuses and special offers, which means tons of ways to get value while gambling on the go.

If you stick to legitimate gambling apps with a quality license and a solid reputation, the answer is yes. They use proper SSL technologies and trusted payment providers to protect their customers. All of our recommended apps do it.

Are there deposit bonuses available, if I use a real money gambling app?

Best online casino app

Yes, you can actually have more of them. A lot of gambling companies offer not only their standard options for mobile users, but some exclusive promotions that are only available on the go.

Does mobile gambling apps have lower quality than the desktop version?

Most of the time, the quality is identical. It can be slightly better on desktop on rare occasions, but that’s not the case with most gambling apps.

Is it legal to use mobile gambling apps from the USA?

The mobile gambling apps are no different than betting, playing casino games or poker on the internet. In other words, there are off-shore gambling platforms that accept US customers and it’s technically not illegal to use them. To learn more about this topic, feel free to visit our US gambling laws and regulations page.

Best Online Casino App

What mobile devices are usually compatible with online gambling apps?

It depends on the particular app you want to use. Many gambling sites nowadays are mobile-responsive, so they work on almost every mainstream device such as iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, and even BlackBerry.

As for the native apps, they are usually available on iOS and Android only.

If you want to play with virtual cash, you can usually enjoy Texas Hold’em Poker, slots, and classic card and table games like blackjack and roulette.

What Is The Best App For Gambling

The real money casinos and poker rooms usually support even more options like video poker, scratch cards, Omaha, and others. And of course, you can also bet on sports.

Gaming App Store

Can I use the same account to bet on mobile and on other platforms, like desktop or laptop?

With most bookmakers, you only need one account to bet on mobile and on desktop. Simply use the same credentials to log into your account.

How can I deposit and withdraw money to gamble on mobile?

You can use the same options that are usually available on desktop, such as credit and debit cards, e-wallets, crypto, and more. Some of the best gambling apps have even implemented pay-by-phone services. If you decide to use pay-by-phone, your money will be added to your phone bill at the end of the month.

Is it safe to use Wi-Fi networks to gamble on mobile?

Most gambling apps are secured well, so you should have no issues betting via Wi-Fi. However, we recommend you avoid unknown networks and public options that require no password.

We’ve researched and reviewed all of the mobile gambling apps from all of the biggest names out there, and we’ve put this information together in our list of recommendations to save you the trouble. While there’s a lot to learn about gambling with apps if you’re just getting started, the software is set up to make the learning curve as smooth and accessible as possible.

If you’re ready to get started, pick out a gambling site from our list, and follow our instructions for how to sign up and start playing.

Gambling App In Google Play Store

Alternatively, you can read the following reviews for more information on some our top-ranked gambling apps.

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