? Best Online Baccarat Casinos for Real Money

Baccarat is one of the oldest casino games in the world. Despite being hundreds of years old, variations of baccarat games are wildly popular still to this day. In retail casinos, baccarat games are not far behind blackjack. With the launch of online casinos, gamblers were introduced the opportunity to play online baccarat games from the comfort of their own homes.

We at BonusFinder tested various online casino sites to determine which platforms are the best for real money online baccarat. In the following review, we introduce the online casinos that provided the best baccarat experiences. Note that this article does not cover all online baccarat casinos in the US, as we only included the few that we personally enjoyed the most.

BonusFinder went on a mission to find the best online baccarat sites for American players. If you’re curious about our findings, check out the rankings below!

BetMGM: Our Favorite Overall Experience

Let’s start with a personal favorite, BetMGM. BetMGM Casino is available in four states, and each casino offers baccarat games. BetMGM baccarat selection consists of seven online baccarat games: this includes both live dealer baccarat titles and software-based baccarat tables. The games run smoothly both on desktop and mobile device, though we did prefer playing live dealer baccarat on desktop over mobile. That’s just personal preference though, as we tend to find most live casino experiences better on desktop, regardless of the game and the casino.

In addition to the admirable selection of baccarat online games, BetMGM has an excellent casino bonus for new users. You can claim a $25 no-deposit bonus upon registration, plus up to $1,000 in deposit matches. While not explicitly an online baccarat bonus, you can use the casino bonus credits to play baccarat online. Playing baccarat will contribute a pretty standard 20% toward the bonus wagering requirements.

BetMGM NJ Baccarat Highlights

• First Person Golden Wealth Baccarat
• First Person Lightning Baccarat
• NHL Baccarat

DraftKings Casino: Best Selection of Baccarat Games

Next up is the biggest surprise of the bunch, DraftKings Casino. While DraftKings is mostly known for DFS and sports betting, the casino platform is nothing to frown at. Playing online baccarat at DraftKings was actually a thoroughly enjoyable experience. What we particularly enjoy about DraftKings as a baccarat casino is that it’s available in the biggest casino gambling states, offers a competitive welcome bonus, and has an extensive baccarat lobby that’s extremely easy to find.

Somewhat surprisingly, DraftKings offers the most interesting online baccarat options. In addition to the usual software versions, DraftKings has exclusive DraftKings baccarat table games. DraftKings has numerous software versions and live baccarat tables, providing the best game selection among baccarat online casinos. DraftKings also has exclusive baccarat games, which is extremely rare. If you’re looking to play live dealer baccarat, we’d recommend heading over to DraftKings Casino.

Baccarat at DraftKings

• DraftKings High Limit Squeeze Baccarat
• DraftKings Lunar New Year Baccarat
• DraftKings Speed Baccarat

Golden Nugget: Best Wagering for Baccarat

Golden Nugget Casino is one of the biggest casinos in NJ. Furthermore, it’s also widely available to baccarat players in regulated gambling states, which consequently increases its points as a viable baccarat option. Overall, we found playing baccarat at Golden Nugget enjoyable, but compared to the two casinos above, it falls just a tad short. While there are fewer baccarat tables than the previously introduced casinos, Golden Nugget makes up for it in other ways.

Golden Nugget Casino offers software baccarat table games from NetEnt and IGT, plus a 24-hour live baccarat table. Golden Nugget’s welcome bonus, Deposit $5, Get $50, has a major selling point in its wagering requirements. After depositing $5, you receive $50 in bonus credits that have a wagering requirement of 1x!

Golden Nugget NJ Casino Baccarat

• DraftKings High Limit Squeeze Baccarat
• DraftKings Lunar New Year Baccarat
• Live Baccarat

Caesars Palace Online Casino: Biggest Welcome Bonus

Caesars Palace Online Casino is another massive operator that’s available in four states. Caesars Entertainment has a history of providing excellent gambling experiences, so we expectations for Caesars’ platforms tend to be high by default. Luckily, playing online baccarat with Caesars Palace Online Casino lived up to our expectations.

Caesars Palace Online Casino offers four versions of baccarat. While this is notably less than what BetMGM offers, we could still choose between regular software baccarat and immersive live games like first-person baccarat. The deposit match bonus is up to $2,500, making it the biggest welcome bonus in the US.

With all that said, Caesars Palace Online Casino website is not our favorite, which places it lower on our list. It’s quite bland and kind of difficult to navigate, making the gaming experience more tedious than necessary. We also noticed that when searching ‘baccarat’, the results only show three out of four games. While this isn’t a huge deal, it’s good to be aware that the search function might filter out some results.

Baccarat Versions at Caesars Palace Online Casino NJ

• IGT Baccarat
• First Person Baccarat
• Live Dealer Baccarat

Borgata Online Casino: Best Mobile Baccarat

Last but not least on the list is Borgata. As opposed to the other sites introduced previously, Borgata is available in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which inevitably puts it a bit lower on my list. That said, Borgata shines in other aspects.

You can play baccarat online with Borgata’s excellent bonus that combines no-deposit money with a $1,000 deposit match. Borgata Casino also offers seven different games of online baccarat, ranging from regular software-based baccarat to live baccarat tables – and even NHL baccarat. So, if you’re in NJ or PA, give Borgata’s online baccarat games a try!

Online Baccarat at Borgata Casino NJ

• First Person Golden Wealth Baccarat
• Baccarat Live
• First Person Lightning Baccarat

? How We Ranked the Best Online Baccarat Casinos

When ranking the best online baccarat casinos, there are a few main categories that we pay special attention to. Naturally, all of the online gambling sites recommended are regulated and licensed sites accepting US players. Our evaluations of these real money online casino sites take the following factors into consideration:

• Selection of baccarat games:
  this is a bit of a no-brainer, but the best online baccarat sites need to have a good variety of baccarat game options. We’re looking for online gambling sites that preferably offer multiple baccarat games, both live dealer baccarat games, and software-based games. Furthermore, if a casino operates in various states and offers baccarat on all of its sites, it’s going to reflect positively in our review.
• Best online casino bonuses:
  We’re looking for casino sites that have either welcome bonuses or ongoing promotions that also baccarat players can enjoy.
• Overall online gambling experience:
  at the end of the day, the best baccarat casino will offer an overall enjoyable gaming experience. We’re looking for smooth live baccarat games, easy registration processes, and professional customer support staff.

Many online casinos have baccarat games, and our review only covers the casinos that we personally enjoyed the most. This review does not include all of the legal online baccarat casinos available for American players.

For more information about our review process, visit our How We Review page.

? How to Play Online Baccarat

Playing baccarat online is, in essence, the same as playing baccarat for real money in a brick-and-mortar casino. The base rules are the same, but instead of sitting at a physical table, you’re sitting in the comfort of your own home, taking on either a virtual dealer or a real live dealer. Baccarat is one of the most popular casino games for a good reason, as it’s extremely beginner-friendly. So, if you’re new to card games and would like an easy game to start with, baccarat is an excellent option.

If you’re not familiar with the rules of baccarat, you can find extensive guides on your chosen casino site to help get you started. We’ve also introduced the basics of the game below, but for a more thorough read about baccarat, visit the BonusFinder Baccarat Guide or Baccarat Rules page.

Basic Rules of Baccarat

Baccarat is actually a very simple game. When a round starts, you bet on one of three possible outcomes: the banker bet, the player bet, or the tie bet (not taking any variations of side bets into consideration). The dealer then deals two cards for the banker and the player. Then, the dealer counts the value of the player’s two cards and, depending on the hand, either deals an additional card or doesn’t. The baccarat hand that’s the closest to 9 wins. Simple, right? Yes, but there’s a bit more to it.

Baccarat has different card values from the usual, but they’re pretty easy to remember:

• Ace: worth 1 point
• Cards 2-9: worth their face value
• 10 and face cards: worth 0

After the dealer has dealt the first two cards, there are a few possible outcomes depending on the hand values. If the hand total value is more than 9, only the second digit counts (so, for example, cards 5 and 9 would equal 5+9 = 14, where only the latter digit 4 counts). The dealer moves to the banker after the player hand has set.

• If the player hand value is 0-5, it will be dealt a third card. The value of the player’s third card, alongside the banker’s initial two-card hand value, determine if the banker draws a third card. Banker always draws on 0-2.
• If the player hand is 6 or 7, it stands. If the player stands and the banker has 0-5, the banker is dealt a card.
• If either the player or banker hand scores 8 or 9, the hand is considered a natural win and ends immediately.

The three bet options have different payouts as follows: Banker pays 1 to 1 and commission, Player even money 1 to 1, and Tie 1 to 9. Banker bet has the highest odds of winning.

Side Bets

Baccarat tables also offer the option to place side bets. These are not as common and, much like tie bets, have a high payout rate alongside a notably high house edge. Common side bet types are pair bets, which are wagers on the banker or player’s first two cards being of the same value.

While these kinds of baccarat bets are exciting, they’re highly unlikely and favor the house.

What is Dragon in Baccarat?

If you’ve played real money baccarat online, you’ve probably encountered the term ‘Dragon’. Dragon in baccarat refers to a popular side bet that’s widely available at American online casinos.

Simply put, dragon is a side bet where you wager on the gap between the banker and player’s hands. The bigger the difference between the two hands, the bigger your potential payout. Note that if the difference is less than four points, the bet is NOT considered a win. The payout table for a dragon bet looks like this:

As demonstrated by the table, the payout grows as the gap grows. While the 30-1 payout is definitely juicy, a win by 9 points is extremely rare. It’s a very risky bet that, most of the time, doesn’t pay off.

? Baccarat Versions

There are different versions of baccarat, some of which are more popular than others. We’ve listed down some examples below that you might or might not be familiar with. The mainstream version of an online baccarat game in the US is Punto Banco, but you could encounter other online baccarat variants as well.

• Punto Banco
• Mini Baccarat
• Chemin de Fer
• Baccarat Banque
• Speed Baccarat
• Baccarat Squeeze

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Live Dealer Baccarat

As many other casino games, baccarat also comes with various live dealer versions. Live dealer baccarat is one of the most popular casino games in US live casinos. Despite being vastly overshadowed by the supply of blackjack, most online casinos offer at least one or a couple of baccarat live dealer games. From what we’ve experienced, the majority of live dealer baccarat is provided by from Evolution Gaming.

Live dealer baccarat is as close as you can get to playing baccarat at a real casino table. There is a real person who’s dealing cards live while you and other players place your wagers, which admittedly adds a level of novelty and excitement to the game. Live baccarat also makes it possible to play a popular game mode that can’t be replicated in a software-based game: squeeze.

Baccarat Squeeze

Squeeze refers to a technique that a baccarat dealer uses to make the game a tad more exciting. In all simplicity, it’s a sort of a ritual to reveal the value of the card as slowly as possible by bending the card. The squeeze doesn’t affect the outcome of the game, but it’s an interesting mechanic that adds to the suspense.

? How to Play Baccarat with Casino Bonuses

All of the baccarat casinos introduced in this review have welcome bonuses for new players. While these casino bonuses offer excellent value, you might face some restrictions in the bonus terms and conditions that limit the games you can play. So, prior to picking an online casino bonus, make sure to check if the bonus funds are meant to be exclusively used on online slots.

Another point to note is the bonus wagering. Online casino bonuses come with playthrough requirements that prevent you from claiming the bonus and leaving right away. Different games contribute differently toward these requirements, with wagers on online slots contributing 100%. Table games always have a lower contribution rate, usually 20% or less, and baccarat is no exception to this. This is good to keep in mind especially when claiming deposit match bonuses.

? Online Baccarat Strategy & Tips

If you’re new to the game, you’re probably looking for the best baccarat strategy to increase your chances of bringing home winnings. While some argue that you could apply baccarat strategies in a retail casino, there are truthfully not many tips or strategies for playing online baccarat for real money. Playing baccarat online means that you can’t, for example, pick the table with the fewest decks.

That being said, we do have a couple of pointers that you might want to take note of. Still, my tips won’t ensure that you’ll win, as baccarat is a very luck-based game. For further insights, you can refer to this article about real money baccarat strategies.

• Manage your bankroll: you’ll find this tip applied to every and all casino games that pay real money, but managing your bankroll is something that can’t be emphasized enough. Keep your bets moderate if you want to play for a longer time. Also, check what are the bet limits in your chosen game.
• Bet on the banker: the banker bet has the best chance of winning. If you want to play it safe, bet on the banker. That being said, the player bet is not that far behind, as the difference in winning probability is just 1.23% in favor of the banker.
• Avoid the tie bet: arguably the best strategy out there. There’s simple science behind this tip – the tie bets have a high house edge, and while the 8:1 payout ratio is tempting, the chances of a tie are very small.
• Don’t bother with counting cards: you can’t count cards in online baccarat. Just take it easy, let Lady Luck do her work, and enjoy the game.

At the end of the day, baccarat is an exciting casino game that has little to do with technique or strategy. This is why we particularly enjoy the game: sometimes it’s nice to just place your bet and wait for the hands to settle. Baccarat offers plenty of excitement and suspense, plus it’s easy to grasp if you’re just starting with card games.

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Last updated: 07/25/2024