Casinos in Idaho

The Best Casinos in Idaho

The Biggest Casinos in Idaho

Are There Indian Casinos in Idaho?

As we’ve already touched on, Idaho is dominated by Indian or tribal casinos, which are defined as licensed gambling establishments on native American land. These entities offer a unique wagering experience and lead to significant job and wealth creation in the state, so here are three more resorts operated by some of the region’s six tribes.

Racinos

Racinos are gambling resorts that combine a horse track with casino facilities, but you won’t find any in Idaho. In truth, there’s little demand for such resorts in ID, while the existing gambling legislation only allows for tribal casinos and ‘class 2’ video games at present. There are also licensed horse racing tracks in the state, where limited pari-mutuel betting is permitted by law.

Are There Cruise Ship or Riverboat Casinos in Idaho?

As you can imagine, riverboat or cruise ship casinos refer to resorts that are located at a dock or waterway. There are more than 50 such venues dotted across six US states, although the current law in Idaho means that riverboat casinos are outlawed state-wide. Still, you can satisfy yourself with the huge range of Indian casinos present in the region!

Full Idaho Casino List

There is a total of eight land-based casinos in Idaho, dotted across eight different cities. Two of these are located in Plummer, while locations such as Worley, Lewiston, Bonners Ferry, Kamiah, Blackfoot, Fort Hall and Pocatello, all have tribal casino venues.

It’s interesting to note that most of the casinos are established on native land in either the north or south of the state, and we’ve detailed the full list and the distances between some of these resorts below!

Expected New Casinos

We’ve already touched on the fact that casino gambling in Idaho is permitted at land-based Indian resorts, but there are currently no plans to introduce online wagering or sports betting in Idaho gambling cities. In fact, ID is one of the few states where no recent bills have even been proposed, and this is unlikely to change in the near-term.

Gambling in Idaho

Casino Games in Idaho

In this section, we’ll break down the range of games legally available to Idaho casinos, and where you can find your favourite slots, table games and cash poker tournaments!

Gambling Legal Situation in Idaho

Taxation of Winnings

As with all US states, gambling winnings in Idaho are taxed at a federal rate of 24%. The state also applies a levy of 6.925% on such winnings, with this applicable to all prizes of $5,000 or higher.

Idaho Gambling Laws

History

Gambling undoubtedly has a checkered history in the state of Idaho, and this is unsurprising given the region’s Constitution and its approach to gambling nearly 125 years ago. Back then, it was declared that there would be no “lottery or gift enterprise”, and it has taken considerable amounts of time and conflict to introduce gambling in the state in any form.

• 1953: Commercial slot machines have been banned since 1953, after a brief six-year period in which such terminals were allowed to operate in Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Garden City. While slots are still considered unconstitutional, however, an Idaho state lottery was approved in 1988, albeit after a sustained legal fight and years of unsuccessful proposals.
• 1988: This blazed a trail for tribal gaming to follow, and it was during the same year that the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was implemented. This allowed various Idaho tribes to operate their own casino and lottery operations, and while there has been some tension surrounding the deployment of video gaming machines at Coeur d’Alene, nine successful Indian casinos have since opened within the state’s borders. Over time, we’ve also seen the introduction of a 6.925% state tax on gambling winnings, which is applied alongside a federal levy of 24%.

Upcoming Changes in the Gambling Regulation

As it stands, the gambling laws in Idaho remain relatively settled, with Indian casinos currently meeting the market demand and offering a wide array of slots and games. Similarly, Idaho is one of the few North American sites that doesn’t plan to introduce a bill legalizing online or mobile gambling anytime soon, despite the nationwide push to regulate sports betting.