Golden Nugget Online Casino Review
- To enhance the casino theme, the Golden Nugget online slot uses traditional playing card icons to create lower value combinations. The classic format that pays out when matching symbols cross a line from left to right is used here, with 2x, 10x, and 50x your line bet claimed when the least valuable symbols appear.
- In June 2020, it reached a deal to acquire Golden Nugget Online Gaming Inc., also owned by Fertitta. That deal closed at the end of 2020. Landcadia III raised $500 million from its IPO in October.
Top Takeaways for 2021
After testing 20 online sportsbooks for our 2021 review, here are our top findings on Golden Nugget:
- Make no mistake, Golden Nugget is an online casino before it is an online sportsbook. The Golden Nugget app opens in its casino section. Also, there are more bonuses and promotions geared towards casino players, as opposed to sports bettors.
- The Golden Nugget app opens in its casino section. Furthermore, there are more bonuses and promotions geared towards casino players, as opposed to sports bettors.
- Odds and bet variety are competitive at Golden Nugget, which offers standard and advanced bet types across 16 different sports.
Golden Nugget Online Gaming is a leading online gaming company that is considered a market leader by its peers and was first to bring Live Dealer and Live Casino Floor to the United States online gaming market. GNOG was the past recipient of 15 eGaming Review North America Awards, including the coveted 'Operator of the Year' award in 2017, 2018.
States Supported: Michigan, New Jersey and Nevada.
Casino: Golden Nugget offers 799 online casino games in Michigan, New Jersey and Nevada, including 744 slot games, roulette, blackjack, virtual sports, and virtual poker games. Note: This review focuses on sports betting and not casino.
Overall Summary
| Feature | Golden Nugget |
|---|---|
| Overall | 3.5 Stars |
| Sports & Bets Offered | 4 Stars |
| Odds | 4 Stars |
| Live Betting | 3.5 Stars |
| Mobile Betting | 3.5 Stars |
| Bonuses & Promotions | 3.5 Stars |
| Education | 4 Stars |
Sports and Bets Offered
Throughout the year, Golden Nugget offers action on 15 different sports. All of the most popular U.S. sports are available as well as international favorites such as Aussie Rules, Rugby, and Cricket. For a sportsbook that focuses on the casino part of its business, I found Golden Nugget provides an above-average amount of sports and bets.
Note: Due to Golden Nugget’s affiliation with the Houston Rockets, the sportsbook will not be offering wagering on the Houston Rockets or Rockets’ game-day opponents.
Bet types :Golden Nugget offers the following standard bet types: parlay, teaser, round robin, future, prop, moneyline, total (over/under), and spread. Golden Nugget also offers the following advanced bet types: system, trixie, patent, and 2x3 parlay folds. I was impressed by the advanced bet types, which very few sportsbooks offer.
Prop bets: Golden Nugget offers an average variety of prop bets. An example of a prop bet is “Will Ben Roethlisberger throw over or under 278.5 passing yards” or “Who will score 1st in the first quarter between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals.”
Cash Out Feature: Like most sportsbooks, Golden Nugget offers a cash-out feature. This feature allows you to amend your original bet and lock in a profit or a loss by settling your bet (or a portion of your bet) early, without having to wait for the event to finish. Knowing you can cash a bet out early incentivizes you to watch every game you bet on, or at least get scoring updates.
Golden lines (daily odds boosts): Like most sportsbooks, Golden Nugget offers odds boosts called Golden Lines.
Golden Nugget also offers 5 cent lines on certain games, denoted by gold font in the mobile app and on the website. Five cent lines are for spread bets. Written as -105, you would have to bet $105 to win $100. Typical spread lines are -110, meaning you would have to bet $110 to win $100. These 5 cent lines helped Golden Nugget offer above-average odds, on average, for spread bets (see odds section below).
Gallery
Odds
As denoted by the table below, Golden Nugget offers good odds on NHL moneyline bets and NBA spread bets. For comparison, if average NBA spread odds on a team are +130 at other sports betting sites, Golden Nugget might offer odds at +140. In this example, every dollar wagered would return $1.40 at Golden Nugget versus $1.30 at other sites.
Meanwhile, Golden Nugget offers below average odds on NFL moneyline bets. For comparison, if average NFL moneyline odds on a team are -110 at other sports betting sites, Golden Nugget might offer odds at -115. In this example, every dollar wagered would return $.87 at Golden Nugget versus $.91 at other sites.
| Feature | Golden Nugget |
|---|---|
| NFL Moneyline | Below Average |
| NFL Spread | Average |
| NFL Total | Average |
| NBA Moneyline | Average |
| NBA Spread | Good |
| NBA Total | Average |
| NCAAF Moneyline | Average |
| NCAAB Moneyline | Average |
| Soccer Moneyline | Average |
| NHL Moneyline | Best |
| NHL Spread | Average |
| NHL Total | Average |
| Odds | 4 Stars |
Methodology: To score Odds, Moneyline.com gathers data from 21 sportsbooks over several months. For our 2020 Sportsbook Review, over 10,000 data points were collected for spread, moneyline, and over/under (bets).
I collected odds for spread, moneyline, and total bets for over 75 NFL games, 75 MLB games, 75 NBA games, 75 NHL games, 75 Soccer games (various leagues), and 75 NCAA Football and 75 NCAA Basketball games. When collecting odds, I collected the same games simultaneously for each sportsbook, ensuring data accuracy.
Live Betting
Live betting is one area that left me wanting more. While Golden Nugget does offer some of the most common live betting features, the usability can be enhanced. For example, when you click on the back button after viewing a game’s live bets, you have to re-select “live games” to view live games again. I also experienced a few seconds of loading time when switching between live games, a minor complaint.
Instant bets: Golden Nugget does not offer many instant bets. For example, you cannot bet on the next drive of an NFL game or the next point in a tennis match. Instant bets are available at sportsbooks such as DraftKings, FanDuel , and BetRivers.
Live match tracker: Golden Nugget offers an industry-standard match tracker for live betting sports such as basketball, hockey, and soccer. The match tracker has a live clock, displays the score by quarter, and even shows which team is attacking in real-time. Golden Nugget lists running clocks for individual games, although a different format is used in the live betting menu. Also, I did not see a match tracker for NFL games, which was odd.
Golden Nugget Pa
Golden Nugget does offer some live stats in its live match tracker. For example, Golden Nugget lists goal attempts, shots on target, corner kicks, offsides, and more for soccer games.
Live Streaming: This feature allows users to stream games live from their phones. Unlike FanDuel and SugarHouse, Golden Nugget does not offer live streaming. This feature is only available for soccer and tennis games for sportsbooks that offer it.
Gallery
Golden Nugget App
The Golden Nugget mobile app is not as user-friendly as I would like. The primary focus on casino games put a damper on my sports betting experience.
Likes: It is easy to view banking information, current promotions, and customer support options in the app.
Dislikes: The app opens up in the casino portion, as opposed to the sportsbook portion. This is annoying if you don’t play casino games. I also noticed the app doesn’t load games and menus as fast as other apps such as DraftKings and FanDuel .
Statistics: Golden Nugget includes statistical previews of most games, an uncommon feaure. Golden Nugget displays each team’s last five matchups, overall records, and historical over/under records for NFL games.
Gallery
Education
The quality of education is good enough where beginners will have a good understanding of the most popular bet types. The education, which can be found in the “help center” in the app and on the website, contains a few descriptions of popular bet types and images showing what the bets look like in the app.
For more education, see our guides on how to read odds, different bet types, and bonus rollovers, or check out industry leaders such as DraftKings and 888sport.
Gallery
Bonuses & Promotions
Although Golden Nugget offers a few sports betting promotions, most of the promotions are focused on the casino portion of the sportsbooks offerings. While I don’t typically play online casino games, I was impressed by the overall selection of casino-based bonuses.
New customers: Golden Nugget offers new customers a risk-free bet up to $100. While this isn’t bad, sportsbooks such as BetRivers and PointsBet offer risk-free bets up to $500. For casino players, Golden Nugget offers an instant casino match up to $1,000 plus 200 free spins on the 88 Fortunes Megaways slot machine.
Existing customers: Golden Nugget offers 1 – 3 ongoing promotions for sports betting and 3 – 7 ongoing promotions for casino games. The ongoing promotions for sports betting are not as good as those offered by the sportsbooks mentioned above.
Gallery
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for an app to play online casino games and occasionally bet on sports, I would recommend Golden Nugget. Golden Nugget offers hundreds of casino games, competitive odds, and a good selection of sports and bets.
That said, if you are solely interested in sports betting, Golden Nugget is not the best option. No question, there are better sportsbooks available that offer more bets and better promotions, alongside a superior mobile app.
About Golden Nugget
Golden Nugget is a casino and sports betting brand under the Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ: GDEN) umbrella. According to Wikipedia, Golden Entertainment operates casinos, taverns, and slot routes. It was formed in 2015 by the merger of Golden Gaming (founded in 2001 by Blake Sartini) and Lakes Entertainment. It is the largest tavern operator and largest slot route operator in Nevada.
What states is Golden Nugget sportsbook legal in?
Golden Nugget Casino Atlantic City
Golden Nugget is legal in Michigan, New Jersey and Nevada.
What deposit methods does Golden Nugget offer?
Bettors can currently deposit via debit/credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Amex), online bank transfer (ACH), PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, PayNearMe, prepaid gift cards, VIP Preferred, and cash at certain casinos.
| Feature | Golden Nugget |
|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $10 |
| Total Deposit Methods | 9 |
| No Debit/Credit Card Deposit Fees | Yes |
| Deposit Min/Max - Debit/Credit Card | $20/$25,000 |
Golden Nugget Online Casino Reviews
What withdrawal methods does Golden Nugget offer?
Golden Nugget currently processes withdrawals via online bank transfer (ACH), checks, PayPal, Neteller, prepaid gift cards, VIP Preferred, and cash at certain casinos.
| Feature | Golden Nugget |
|---|---|
| Minimum Withdrawal | $10 |
| Total Withdrawal Methods | 8 |
| Check Payout Speed is < 10 days | Yes |
| No Withdrawal Fees - Check | No |
| Withdrawal Min/Max - Check | $10/N/A |
What is the minimum deposit at Golden Nugget?
The minimum amount required to open an account at Golden Nugget Sportsbook is $10. The minimum withdrawal amount is $10.
What kind of customer support does Golden Nugget offer?
Golden Nugget offers phone, email, and 24/7 live chat support. The support I got was quick and consistent. For my testing, I asked sportsbook-related questions as opposed to casino questions.
What sports can you bet on at Golden Nugget?
Golden Nugget currently offers the following sports.
| Feature | Golden Nugget |
|---|---|
| Total Sports Offered | 15 |
| Aussie Rules (AFL) | Yes |
| Baseball (MLB) | Yes |
| Basketball (NBA) | No |
| Basketball (NCAA) | Yes |
| Boxing | Yes |
| Cricket | Yes |
| E-Sports | No |
| Football (NFL) | Yes |
| Football (NCAA) | Yes |
| Golf (PGA) | Yes |
| Hockey (NHL) | Yes |
| Horse Racing | No |
| MMA (UFC) | Yes |
| Rugby (League) | No |
| Rugby (Union) | Yes |
| Soccer (EPL) | Yes |
| Soccer (MLS) | Yes |
| Tennis | Yes |
| Sports & Bets Offered | 4 Stars |
Methodology
For the BettingBuck.com annual best online sportsbooks review published in 2020, a total of 2,300 data points were collected over six months and used to score sportsbooks. Additionally, odds data was collected for each sportsbook on over 1,400 bets to give each sportsbook a comparative odds ranking.
Sports betting sites were scored across seven core categories to computer an overall rating: total number of sports and bets offered, odds, live betting features, mobile apps, educational resources, ease of use, and current bonuses.
Learn more about how we test.
About the author: Joey Shadeck Joey Shadeck is the lead writer for Moneyline.com and content strategist for Michigan-based Reink Media Group. He has closely tracked sports betting in the United States for the last two years, compiling hundreds of data points across dozens of sportsbooks. He has 6 years of online betting experience with hundreds of bets placed during that time.