Online banking is a popular online casino deposit option. You’ll usually have to connect your bank to the casino and the transaction. You can deposit as little as $5.
Minimum Deposit Casinos
People love minimum deposit online casinos. These casinos allow you to start playing for little money, even as low as $5. This guide covers everything you need to know about these cost-friendly online casinos. We will share the operators with the lowest minimum deposits. We will rank the best ones and cover the welcome bonuses available. This way, you can enjoy the ultimate gaming experience without breaking the bank.
Best minimum deposit casinos
Below, we have ranked our top choices for various low deposit minimums. We break them down by limit so you can find the budget that works best for you.
$5 minimum deposit casinos
| Online casino | Minimum Deposit | Banking Method | Legal In |
| DraftKings Casino | $5 | Visa or PayPal | MI, NJ, PA & WV |
| Golden Nugget Casino | $5 | Visa or PayPal | MI, NJ, PA, & WV |
$10 minimum deposit casinos
| Online casino | Minimum deposit | Banking method | Legal in |
| FanDuel Casino | $10 | Visa or PayPal | MI, NJ, PA & WV |
| PokerStars Casino | $10 | Visa or MasterCard | MI, NJ & PA |
| bet365 Casino | $10 | Visa or MasterCard | NJ & PA |
$20 minimum deposit casinos
| Online casino | Minimum Deposit | Banking Method | Legal In |
| betOcean Online Casino | $20 | All | NJ & PA |
| PlayStar Casino | $20* | All | NJ |
*not technically a $20 minimum deposit online casino, but if you want to collect the welcome bonus, you need to deposit at least $20
Note: No real-money online casinos offer deposits as low as $1 because of bank processing fees. (However, you can usually go this low if you choose to pay cash at the casino cage, but that is inconvenient for most.)
If you want to play casino-style games for free or for deposits as low as $0.99, check out our list of $1 minimum deposit casinos page.
What is a minimum deposit casino?
Quite simply, a minimum deposit casino is one in which you don’t have to deposit much of your money to begin playing the games. All online casino sites require you to have a minimum deposit in order to offset the processing fees. About half of the legal and regulated sites in the U.S. will let you deposit as little as $5 to play on the site. Most of the rest of the online casinos in the U.S. have a $10 minimum. A few make you deposit $20 before you can play.
Any online casino that has a minimum deposit higher than $20 is very likely an illegal, offshore site, which I would not recommend.
Note that this is just the minimum needed to play on the site. Sometimes you need to deposit more to trigger a bonus. For example, Playstar has a minimum deposit of $10. However, in order to claim the welcome promo, you need to deposit at least $20.
If you want to play online casino games for free or for purchases as low as $0.99, you can play on social or sweepstakes casinos instead. Despite their free nature, these sites do let you redeem winnings for cash prizes.
Best banking options at minimum deposit casinos
Debit cards
Some online casinos don’t take credit cards (and some states don’t allow you to use them for online gambling). However, pretty much all sites take debit cards.
PayPal
The most popular e-wallet is not accepted by every casino, though many will welcome this. The charges occur when you funds and receive your cash out. Minimum casino deposits are $5 in most cases.
Venmo
Venmo is accepted by slightly fewer online casinos than PayPal. But players love using this method when possible, as you never face fees from the casino to use it.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay is becoming more and more popular across the country—and online casinos are following suit. More and more operators are accepting Apple Pay to fund your .
Play+
Play+ cards function similarly to how a debit card would, except you use them in specific places such as online casinos. Deposit minimums are typically $5.
Cash at the cage
If you happen to live near a partner land-based casino (a big if), cash at the casino cage is honestly your best option. There are no minimums for deposits or withdrawals and absolutely no fees.
PayNearMe
PayNearMe is not my favorite option because it does require a fee. Basically, you create a barcode online and bring it to a participating store, like CVS. It works, but the store charges you for the service.
Pros and cons of making a small casino deposit
Once you’ve decided to start playing at an online casino, making a minimal deposit is generally a wise approach. However, it’s a tradeoff, as a minimum deposit does come with a few challenges as well. Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks of minimum casino deposits.
Pros
- Allow access to exciting real money slots and casino games for players without big gambling bankrolls.
- Unlock bonuses and promotions that include extra spins and credits.
- Allow players to test out several casinos without a big financial commitment.
Cons
- Doesn't take maximum advantage of deposit bonuses.
- Transaction fees are larger as a percentage of the deposit amount with some methods.
- Bankroll for games can be too small for the natural swings.
Best casino games to play with minimum deposits
If you are hoping to play at an online casino after a low minimum deposit, not every game will be the right fit for you. After all, a bankroll of $10 doesn’t last you very long on a high-roller table game.
That said, one big advantage of playing online is that the stakes start a lot smaller than in a brick-and-mortar casino. For example, instead of a $5 minimum for blackjack, you’ll often be able to bet from 50 cents per hand.
Here are a few of the top casino games to look for if you are depositing the minimum, along with a few tips to give you the most bang for your buck.
Slots
Slots are the most plentiful and most popular games at all top Real Money Online Slots
Video poker
The smaller house edge of video poker games (assuming you know the basic strategy) makes these games a great choice for low deposits. You can play many variations for small stakes and make your bankroll stretch quite long. Keep in mind, though, that the volatility of “ Video Poker
Table games
At many casinos, the most popular way to enjoy table games, such as live dealer games start at $1 per hand, making them unsuitable for tiny bankrolls. However, you can find smaller stakes on the software-based equivalents.
Bonuses at minimum deposit casinos
Even though you don’t have to deposit a lot at the online casinos listed on this page, you can still get some pretty impressive bonuses. These promos help you stretch your dollar even further. Here are just a few of the types of bonuses available:
No deposit bonuses
Yes, it is possible to play on online casinos with no deposit at all. This is almost always when you are brand new to the site, and the operator wants to allow you the ability to try the games out after making an . However, recognize that you have to playthrough this bonus before you can withdraw any winnings. BetMGM Casino, for example, gives you a $50 no-deposit casino bonus for creating an . One particularly nice term of that no-deposit bonus is that it only has a 1x playthrough. So use the bonus funds once, and you can withdraw your winnings.
However, most sites will not actually let you withdraw your winnings until you make a deposit. For example, to withdraw your BetMGM winnings, you need to make a deposit.
Free spins
Free spins (or bonus spins) are also often given when you first sign up (like the spins you get at bet365 Casino). And, much like the no-deposit bonuses we discussed above, you have to meet a playthrough on your winnings before you can withdraw. Plus, you usually need to have made a minimum deposit before you get the spins.
However, sometimes online casinos will offer bonus spins for existing players as well, based on things like playing a certain game or making a minimum deposit.
Cashback bonuses
A cashback (or lossback) bonus means that any net losses you have over a certain period of time will get refunded to you in the form of site credit, which will have a playthrough. For most sites that offer this kind of bonus, the timeframe is 24 hours. For example, with BetRivers Casino, any net loss you have after 24 hours is given back to you as bonus money, which you then have to play with at least 1 time.
Similar to bonus spins, online casinos occasionally offer this type of bonus to existing players as well.
Refer-a-Friend
The last two bonuses we will discuss are only for existing players at minimum deposit casinos.
A refer-a-friend bonus is pretty straightforward, just based on the title. Send a friend your personalized link or code (the site will provide this for you). If they sign up and make a deposit, you get bonus money!
Tournaments and events
Most online casinos will hold a special event at least once a week. Often these are slot tournaments, where whomever has the most winnings after a set period of time (a weekend, a night, the week, etc.) gets a bonus as well. On rare occasion, you can find these tournaments or special events for other games as well, especially if the game is new, and the site wants to introduce it to players.
How to sign up at a minimum deposit casino
If you have never created an at an online casino before, don’t worry; it’s a pretty straightforward process! Here are the steps you need to follow:
1. Choose the right casino for you
Of course, just because two online casinos have the same deposit minimums does not mean that they are necessarily equal. You want to do a little digging to find the best fit for you. Recall that in the lists up above, I put the casinos in a ranked order. Here were the factors I was considering:
- Banking methods
- Website/app experience
- Game selection
- Customer service
I would encourage you to research these factors to find your right fit.
2. Go to the online casino’s page
The only trickiness to this step is that online casinos have different welcome bonuses depending on how you access the site. But if you go to the tables at the top of this page and click those links, you will be taken to a PlayUSA review. On the review, if you hit the CLAIM BONUS button (like the screenshot on the right shows), you are guaranteed the best offers. Best of all, you will never need to enter a promo code if you use one of our links; it will be automatically applied.
3. Enter your information
Online casinos are required by law to record some of your personal information (these are known as Know Your Customer laws, or KYC laws). You may even be asked to a picture of your identification or a bank statement. However, rest assured that your information will be kept safe; online casinos are also monitored constantly to ensure that they follow the most stringent of cybersecurity protocols.
4. Make a deposit (if desired)
At some sites, you get an online casino no-deposit bonus just for making an . But for most operators, you need to make at least the minimum deposit to claim your full bonus. To do so, find a button labeled deposit (sometimes represented by a plus button). You can usually find that on the main lobby, like in the FanDuel Casino example to the right. However, with some sites, you need to enter into your section to do the banking.
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FAQ
Right now, DraftKings, Fanatics and Golden Nugget have the lowest minimum deposit thresholds of all real money online casinos at $5.
For sweepstakes casinos, WOW Vegas lets you make a purchase for as little as $0.49.
There are some online casinos that have no-deposit offers, such as BetMGM, Borgata, Virgin and Mohegan Sun. However, these no-deposit offers often are small and require playthroughs before you can withdraw. Also, some sites will let you play after collecting a no-deposit offer but will not let you withdraw until you have made a deposit.
And if you go to make a deposit (or a purchase, in the case of sweepstakes casinos), there will be a minimum and a maximum. No sites will allow you to deposit any amount you want, though the boundaries are usually very wide.
To find minimum deposit amounts at an online casino or a sweepstakes casino, you need to visit the cashier section. Typically, you will find this in the upper right-hand corner of a casino app, but it can occasionally be in a different corner of the screen or underneath another menu.
When you go to the cashier screen, the minimum deposit amount is usually listed. Sometimes, however, you have to click your preferred banking method first. Or, the casino will tell you if you try to deposit lower than the minimum amount. For example, if you try to deposit $1 and the minimum threshold is $5, that’s when the message may appear.
You should make a deposit based on whatever is most comfortable to you. Generally speaking, depositing more or less isn’t going to give you an advantage at an online casino. The exceptions to this would be if your banking method charges a flat transaction fee. In that case, a larger deposit will get you more bang for your buck, so to speak. Similarly, for your very first deposit, if the casino offers a deposit match bonus, you may choose to maximize your bonus by depositing a higher amount.
As long as you are using a regulated site (like the ones we recommend on PlayUSA), an online casino is absolutely safe. These sites have been thoroughly vetted to ensure that the games are fair, that you will be paid if you win, and that they have the most up-to-date cybersecurity protocols.
You can definitely claim bonuses at online casinos that have minimum deposits. You usually have to make only the minimum deposit to qualify for a welcome bonus or before you can withdraw any winnings. The minimum deposit casinos we have listed on this page also all offer bonuses for existing customers as well.
