Best gambling VPNs in 2024: access betting sites abroad
These days, most of the gambling is done online. Online gambling sites provide people with a lot of benefits, however, they’re also problematic due to restrictions imposed by certain countries (e.g. people cannot play Duelbit or Roobet if they’re located in certain states in the US, etc.)
That’s where a VPN for gambling steps into the scene – with many gambling sites being blocked geographically and only allowing access from certain countries, a good VPN can be a matter of life and death.
Today, we’re walking you through a couple of good VPNs that can be used to access sports betting websites and other services online.
Best gambling VPNs for DraftKings sports betting
- NordVPN – the best VPN to access any online bet site
- Surfshark – reliable and affordable sports betting VPN for gambling sites
- IPVanish – a simple and secure gambling VPN for online betting in the US
- ExpressVPN – a lightning-fast VPN solution to access online gambling sites
- Proton VPN – offers a geographically-diverse server fleet to access sports betting websites and other gambling sites
Access gambling and betting sites from anywhere
Accessing gambling sites with a VPN provider is easier than you could imagine - just follow these steps:
- Head over to the official site of the vendor and download NordVPN.
- Launch NordVPN and connect to a country that is not being blocked by the online gambling website (you should be able to derive a list of available countries by looking at the privacy policy):
- Once your IP is hidden, visit the online gambling website again. The block? Bypassed.
Finally, consider a couple of suggestions to help you bypass blocks imposed by online gambling sites:
- What online gambling sites do we want to access? Is it a reputable website or an online bet site run by a no-name guy from a basement? Do your research.
- Does the online bet site block access from certain countries? If the most likely answer to this question is “yes”, we need to use a VPN.
- What countries are being blocked by the service? Is the list of such countries mentioned in the privacy policy or elsewhere?
Answers to these questions are vital: by answering them, we will know what VPN to choose to bypass the block imposed by online gambling sites.
Best gambling VPNs in 2024
Now that you have answers to these questions, choose a VPN. To make the work easier for you, we have compiled a list by looking at the criteria important for privacy geeks and online gambling aficionados alike: the number of countries you can connect to, the number of servers offered, and so on – everything’s important, so have a look through our list and decide for yourself!
1. NordVPN – the best online gambling VPN
NordVPN is the best VPN for online gambling sites for most general use cases – the VPN has more than 5900 servers in over 60 countries around the world which means that the VPN will be able to walk around the restricted country and unlock pretty much any online bet site that exists.
NordVPN supports Onion over VPN, its Dark Web Monitor feature will alert you once your account details are leaked to the web, most of their rented servers are in an owned, maintained, and fully managed network, and it even offers you the ability to get your own dedicated IP address.
In addition to everything, the service can also be bought physically from retail stores in the US including Best Buy, Target, and other stores (we recommend you pay cash to preserve your anonymity.)
2. Surfshark – the second-best VPN for online betting
Surfshark is yet another perfect choice for online gamblers and online bettors. A great VPN option all around. The servers of Surfshark are guaranteed to be 100% RAM-only, all of their servers run on the most recent software updates, and are wiped from time to time as well: the service keeps no logs too.
The existence of Surfshark is incredibly good news for gamblers – one can bet on an unlimited number of devices, choose from thousands of servers in 100 countries, allow specific applications and/or websites to bypass Surfshark’s VPN if there’s a necessity to both gamble and do other things at the same time, and the camouflage mode of Surfshark will ensure that even your ISP won’t be able to observe your activity on the web. Even better, once you’re using Surfshark’s VPN you won’t need to make use of ad blockers anymore – Surfshark will block ads and related junk before they can even reach your browser.
3. AtlasVPN – a cheap VPN solution
If you’re searching for a cheaper alternative than the VPNs we’ve already mentioned, check out AtlasVPN. It’s a beginner-friendly VPN with a strong focus on security: AtlasVPN is one of the cheapest VPN offerings on the market with features unique to itself.
AtlasVPN is perhaps the most widely known for its SafeSwap feature allowing us to surf the web from multiple rotating IP addresses at a time: when the SafeSwap feature is in use, the IP address that you use to surf the web automatically changes once in a while making your identity and your online activity even more difficult to track and observe – that may be an upside for gamblers looking for even more privacy than an ordinary VPN can provide. The AtlasVPN appliance also blocks malware and stops third-party trackers in their tracks.
4. PureVPN – great choice for location-aware gamblers
PureVPN is another VPN you should consider when accessing online gambling sites. It’s the first VPN with an always-on audit feature, it’s built for hypersonic speed, can be used to unblock streaming services or for torrenting, can be used as a gambling VPN, and it has many more upsides.
The people behind PureVPN thought it all out – the service even allows you to upgrade to a dedicated IP address that will be used by you and you alone, and the service also offers a bunch of tools such as PureKeep (a password manager letting you manage all of your data securely), PurePrivacy (a service letting you assess and improve your online security posture), and others.
5. Proton VPN – for gamblers-privacy geeks
Proton VPN is based around the privacy-conscious tech of Proton: remember ProtonMail? Yup, they also offer VPN services.
Proton VPN offers a free tier of their services with servers available in the US, the Netherlands, and Japan, and all paying users also unlock access to all premium services made by Proton aside from the VPN itself (these services are ProtonMail, ProtonCalendar, and ProtonDrive.)
Users using the Proton VPN service can protect up to 10 devices at a time and enjoy high speeds when browsing and streaming, as well as fast torrenting speeds and use Tor over VPN as well. Proton VPN also has specially designed services to protect its users from adware, trackers, and other types of malware.
Best gambling VPNs compared
To make the best decision, please look at our product table:
Brand | NordVPN – the best offer | Surfshark | AtlasVPN | PureVPN | ProtonVPN |
Review | Review | Review | Review | Review | Review |
Rating | 4.90 / 5.00 | 4.70 / 5.00 | 3.50 / 5.00 | 4.40 / 5.00 | 4.00 / 5.00 |
Servers | Over 5900 servers in 60 countries | Over 3200 servers in 100 countries | 1000 servers in 42 countries | 6500 servers in 78 countries | 3000 servers in 69 countries. |
Simultaneous connections | 6 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 10 | 10 |
Compatibility | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick | Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, DD-WRT applet | Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, ChromeOS |
Audited Independently? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, but only as of recently (the end of 2022.) | Yes |
Lowest Price | 3.09€ a month for the Standard package (2-year plan) | 2.19€ a month for the 2-year plan | Offers a free tier | $2.14 a month for the 2-year plan (3 months free) | Offers a free tier |
Some may choose a VPN for gambling simply judging by the location count – and for online gambling, that’s understandable. If you’re looking to access online gambling sites, don’t choose a VPN by only looking at the brand: evaluate everything. The things to evaluate and consider include the OS that you’re running, whether you’re planning on gambling on the go with Android or iPhone devices, and any additional work-related things you may need to accomplish.
NordVPN may be the simplest option to choose to access sports betting websites and for work-related activities, but if you are specifically looking for a VPN originating from Switzerland, you might want to look into ProtonVPN. To add to that, gambling may not be your only requirement – as such, it’s crucial to evaluate what you need on top of sports betting very carefully.
How we pick and test these VPNs
We’ve curated our list looking at the following factors:
- What’s important for online gamblers? We already know – the more locations, the better. Also, we look if the VPN is based in a remote country and, if applicable, privacy add-ons.
- Which country does the VPN provider originate from? For many, using a VPN from a five-eyes country may not be ideal for privacy purposes. It’s better to choose a remote provider with servers in Iceland, Panama, British Virgin Islands, or elsewhere.
- What features does the VPN provider offer? All VPN providers are different. One might be cheaper than the other, but the other may offer more locations, servers, or security features to choose from. Will you choose the price over the features? Your call.
- What devices does the VPN work on? For some, such a feature may not be important, while for some, it will be crucial – for those who gamble on-the-go, that’s a must.
- What’s the price of the services offered by the VPN provider? No sane person will pay thousands for a VPN. Not in this day and age – are there any cheaper alternatives to the same thing?
For most general use cases, NordVPN will do the trick – however, for those searching for more countries to connect to in order to access online gambling sites, PureVPN may be the source to use.
Tips for picking the best gambling VPN
While using a VPN to access an online bet site is an option, always be wary of the capabilities of the VPN itself and make sure to conduct thorough research before choosing any specific option – free gambling VPN services are often not the best choice (we discuss them below), but just as free VPNs might not be a fit, paid VPN services may not solve all of your problems too – factors to consider when choosing a VPN provider to access online gambling sites include, but are not limited to:
- How many countries the VPN has servers in – the more countries are available, the wider the choice for you and the better the chance that the online bet site in question is going to be unblocked.
- How many servers the VPN has – the more servers that are available, the less chance of the servers becoming crowded and the bigger chance to access the online bet site without any problems.
- Reputation of the VPN provider – it should come as a given that if you choose a no-name VPN provider, expect worse quality than that of a reputable source; always evaluate your choices – paying less for a VPN might hurt you in the long run. Not all free VPNs come for free – if it’s free, you (or your traffic) are the product.
- The location of the VPN provider – if you’re planning to use a VPN for gambling, it’s best to avoid using a VPN originating from one of the Five Eyes countries: opt to use a VPN from Panama (NordVPN) or the British Virgin Islands (PureVPN) instead.
To each their own, of course, but here are some of the best VPNs for each of those scenarios from our point of view:
- Price – use AtlasVPN. The cheapest option when it comes to VPN solutions of concern.
- Locations – if you want to have a lot of countries to connect to on the table, use Surfshark. Surfshark has 100 countries you can connect to – you will certainly find the location that’s perfect for you.
- Country of origin – use ProtonVPN or NordVPN. NordVPN is based in Panama, and ProtonVPN is based in Switzerland: services originating from these countries are obliged to keep no logs and are perfect for your privacy.
- Additional features – consider using NordVPN (at an extra cost, it comes with a password manager, a data breach checker, or a service called NordLocker as well – it can give you up to a terabyte of storage.)
For you, the results of these choices may not be the same. That’s absolutely fine! At the end of the day, the choice is yours – all of these VPNs are good in their own regard, and even if you go wrong when using any of them, you can always get your money back. No problems on this front!
To pick the best VPN for a gambling-specific use case, make sure to look into:
- The number of countries you can connect to – a VPN with locations in 10 countries will have lesser chances of bypassing an online gambling service than a VPN with locations in 50 countries.
- Reviews – CoolTechZone, Cybernews, YouTube, and even users on Reddit are your friends on this one. Perhaps someone has tried to use the same VPN for online gambling already? How did it go? Did it successfully unblock services? What are the caveats of the VPN provider? All answers to these questions will be answered here.
- The company itself – this goes hand in hand with reviews. What are people saying about the company that built the VPN? Is it a no-name brand, or a worldwide company like NordVPN?
- The policy of the VPN – can it be used to unblock online gambling services? If not, don’t bother.
- The speed of the servers – the last thing you want to do is connect to a VPN and your Internet speed grinding to a halt, right? The VPN provider should provide you with the speed of their servers. If they don’t, reach out and ask.
Why is a VPN necessary for gambling?
For some, using a VPN for online gambling may come as a surprise. For others, though, a VPN to access online gambling services is an absolute necessity – VPN services that let us bypass or unblock gambling services come with a couple of upsides:
- Location change – no more geo-restriction blocks to access gambling sites! Once you change your location, you will be able to access gambling sites due to them thinking you’re from a location that isn’t blacklisted. You may even be able to bet on different things! Interesting, isn’t it?
- Privacy – concerned about someone snooping on your connection when gambling? Say no more. Any good VPN will encrypt your connection and route all of your data through an encrypted tunnel. The things you browse through online will be known to you – and only you. Not even your internet service provider will know what you’re doing online!
- Works on any mobile device – all VPN providers will come with apps available to Android and iOS devices alike. You will be able to bypass gambling restrictions not only on PC but on your mobile devices as well!
With these upsides, though, a natural question might arise – is using a VPN to gamble even legal?
Is using a VPN to gamble illegal?
The short answer is: it depends. In some authoritarian and totalitarian countries (Iraq, Russia, Belarus, North Korea, etc.) using VPNs as a whole is illegal, so using VPNs to gamble would also be, of course, illegal.
The same works the other way around as well – if you find yourself using a VPN to gamble in a country where sports betting or gambling itself is illegal, yes, you’re committing a crime. To put it simply, using a VPN for online gambling is legal unless you’re in a country that has banned VPNs or gambling altogether. In all other cases, though, you’re fine. See the table below to understand when not to gamble or use a VPN:
Country | What’s Illegal & Why? |
Brunei | Online & Offline Gambling – Brunei is an Islamic country, meaning all forms of gambling (offline and online) are prohibited. |
Singapore | Online Gambling – Singapore has prohibited online gambling since 2015. |
Cyprus | Online Gambling (except for sports betting) – Cyprus prohibits all forms of online gambling except for sports betting where a license must be acquired. |
UAE | Online & Offline Gambling – UAE prohibits both offline & online gambling and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority prevents users from accessing casinos. |
North Korea | VPNs – North Korea has banned VPNs. Online & Offline Gambling – North Korea has banned all forms of gambling for all of its citizens except for visitors (tourists) visiting the country for a short period of time. |
As a rule of thumb, many countries that ban VPNs include authoritarian governments, while many countries that ban gambling do so either partly, according to religious beliefs, or in other corner cases.
Popular gambling websites
Sure you’re not located in a place where online gambling is illegal? Want to gamble? Check out our list of the most popular online gambling sites!
Online Gambling Website | About & Site Location | Blocked? |
Betobet | Allows users to bet on a wide array of sports. Located in Curacao (Part of the Netherlands.) | In some countries – Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, the UK, USA, and US Virgin Islands. |
FanDuel | An online sportsbook – the site features all major U.S. sports (NBA, soccer, golf, boxing, etc.) Based in New York (has offices in Edinburgh) | In some US states including Arizona, Hawaii, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, and Washington. |
Bet365 | One of the “main” Internet betting websites. Based in Stoke-on-Trent (has offices in Manchester, Gibraltar, Malta, Bulgaria, and Australia) | In some countries (see below) – use NordVPN to bypass restrictions. |
1xBet | Initially a Russian casino – maintains operations in Malta, Cyprus, and Nigeria. Based in Limassol, Cyprus. | In some countries including Portugal, France, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Cuba – use NordVPN to bypass restrictions. |
DraftKings | Allows users to enter fantasy sports-related content and allows users to bet on all of the five major American sports (NFL, NHL, NBA, PGA, and MLB.) Based in Boston, Massachusetts. | Banned in many countries except the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Canada, Ireland, and Malta. Can be unblocked with NordVPN or other services. |
Vbet | A famous online sportsbook. The service is also affiliated with Russian Poker Tour (one of the biggest offline betting-related events in post-Soviet countries.) Based in Curacao (part of the Netherlands.) | No |
The best VPN to bypass all of the restrictions would be NordVPN – with over 5900 servers in 60 countries, you will be able to access online gambling sites within no-time.
Banned gambling websites
Now that you’re familiar with some of the most popular online gambling sites, you’re probably wondering if any of them are banned and if so, in what parts of the world are they banned? The short answer here is that some of the aforementioned VPN services are indeed banned – here are some of the most popular online gambling websites that are being blocked in certain areas of the world. If you find yourself using them, make sure to use NordVPN to connect to a country that isn’t on the blacklist:
- Betobet blocks access from Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, the UK, USA and US Virgin Islands.
- FanDuel blocks access from some US states including Arizona, Hawaii, Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, and Washington.
- Bet365 – the site is banned in Poland, Portugal, France, Belgium, Turkey, Romania, and the Netherlands: use NordVPN to bypass restrictions.
- 1xBet blocks access from Portugal, France, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Cuba – use NordVPN to bypass restrictions.
- DraftKings – the site is only available in the UK, Germany, Canada, Austria, Ireland, and Malta, but not in many other places. Can be unblocked with NordVPN or other services.
- Vbet isn’t banned anywhere at the time of writing this post.
- Betway, Dafabet, Pari Match, 1xbet, and others are banned in India for users of some ISPs (Vodafone and others.)
- All gambling sites are banned in Russia except in Altai, Krasnodar, Kaliningrad, and Primorsky regions.
- All unlicensed betting sites are banned in Estonia, Hungary, Italy and Poland.
Keeping up with online gambling safety
Using a VPN to access any online bet site is not without its risks – one can easily get his account frozen, banned, or lose all of his funds. Here’s how to limit that risk to a minimum:
- Use a reputable VPN – no-name VPNs are a no-go. Look into NordVPN and other choices we’ve mentioned in this article and you will be good to go: gambling online with a VPN is safe as long as you choose a reputable provider.
- Use a reputable betting company – there have been companies that have been removed from events for illicit activities. Do you want to gamble on their sites? Make sure to review the company behind the online service that you use for betting.
- Bet safely – only bet with what you can lose. We know it’s tempting to bet half of your savings attempting to win big, but the risk is rarely worth the effort.
Are free VPNs good for online gambling?
We’re afraid that the answer to this question is not very straightforward: it all depends on where the VPN is located, what countries it allows you to connect to, whether it logs information, and other factors.
In most cases, though, you’re better off using paid counterparts – if the service is free, you are the product. Some free VPNs throttle your data, no-name companies offering a paid service might sell your data to third-parties, and almost all free VPNs only have a couple of locations you can connect to. Is this the VPN you want to bypass online gambling services? Most likely not. If you’re searching for the best paid VPN to access online gambling services, go with NordVPN.
Final thoughts
Choosing a VPN to use on online gambling sites is not an easy thing to do. Online gambling certainly isn’t the most ordinary use case amongst the users of VPNs – both VPNs and gambling being banned in certain countries (Russia, Iraq, Belarus, North Korea, and elsewhere) only adds to that fact. There’s no complete list of gambling and betting sites that accept VPN providers with open hands – do your research on the website of the vendor, then try the VPN itself and see if it lets you bypass the service or not.
However, as all VPNs are built differently, choices do come easy – life doesn’t have to be hard, especially when you simply want to bypass gambling restrictions: the best choice in almost all cases would be NordVPN.
We sincerely hope that this blog has helped you to choose the VPN provider that fits your needs, and we’ll see you in the next blog!
Before you leave, though, do glance at some of the FAQs we have prepared for you: perhaps we’ve already answered a question that bothered you while reading this blog?
FAQs
Does a VPN allow you to gamble?
Yes, most VPNs do – the best VPN for general-related use cases is NordVPN.
Can you get in trouble for using a VPN to sports bet?
Not unless you use the VPN in a country that has banned betting, VPNs themselves, or get involved in fraudulent activity using the VPN.
Can DraftKings detect a VPN?
Yes – DraftKings checks your IP address and enforces geo-blocks if necessary. The same can be said about almost any other web service that exists though – that’s why it’s important to use services like NordVPN to hide your true location on the web.
Do online casinos track your IP address?
Yes – most online casinos log IP addresses when we register or log in to the system as a security precaution. It’s always a good idea to have a read through the privacy policy or terms of service of the online casino before you hit the ground running.
Can you use a VPN to bet on sports?
Yes, you can use a VPN to bet on pretty much any online bet site that exists – not all VPNs or websites are the same though, so do your research.
Is it illegal to use a VPN to gamble?
In most cases, no – it’s not illegal to use a VPN to gamble unless you‘re in a country that has banned VPNs or online gambling altogether.
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