States Sports Betting Is Legal
American States Where Online Sports Betting is Legal Nevada and New Jersey were some of the first to take advantage of this, passing legislation almost immediately. As of July 2020, there are 12. As it stands, eight American states, including Nevada, offer legal online sports betting. Seven other states have recently passed legislation to legalize it and are on the verge of officially.
Sports betting now legal in 25 states. Posted by Mike Florio on November 5, 2020, 9:26 AM EST. In May 2018, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates. The water continues to rush through. Sports betting in the United States has taken off in the last few years, and there are many reasons for this spike in popularity. Of course, the biggest reason for this is the recent surge in its accessibility, as more and more states legalize and regulate sports betting. Sports betting is legal in the state of Oregon, but the options are limited. The State Lottery, who also regulates the industry, launched its sports wagering app called Scoreboard in 2019. Alternatively, you can place in-person wagers at the Chinook Winds casino.
Online sports betting and other forms of wagering have been restricted for some time, with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 preventing fans from placing bets on games. Some exemptions existed, but this mostly only favored Nevada and a few other states.
In 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that this law was unconstitutional, paving the way for states to set their own rules on sports books. This means that, unlike many European countries, where laws are uniform across the territory, Americans living just a few miles from each other may be subject to very different laws on betting.
American States Where Online Sports Betting is Legal
Nevada and New Jersey were some of the first to take advantage of this, passing legislation almost immediately. As of July 2020, there are 12 states that allow online sports betting in the country, although they each have different rules.
New Jersey
New Jersey offers the widest range of online sports betting with around 17 different licensed sports books. Online casinos are also legal, meaning New Jersey-ites can enjoy new slot games in 2020 as well as betting on a wide array of sports.
Nevada
Online sports betting is possible in Nevada, but you must first create your account while inside a physical casino first.
Indiana
Sports betting websites have been operating since 2019, with a broad selection of bookmakers to choose from. Users can sign up, deposit and place wagers from their computer or mobile device, but there are some restrictions on in-game betting.
Pennsylvania
Most major online bookmakers operate in Pennsylvania where online wagering has been allowed since 2019. The state is a big market since it has one of the biggest populations in the country and a high proportion of sports fans.
Colorado
First allowed in May 2020, sports fans in Colorado already have a good selection of sports books to choose from. It also has some of the most liberal rules surrounding sports betting, with online registration and depositing, no in-game restrictions and wagers on college teams allowed.
Illinois
Illinois passed legislation that allowed online sports betting in June 2019 but the first brands didn’t begin accepting registrations until Q1 of 2020. Existing physical casinos in the state have an 18-month head start over national online brands.
Iowa
After sports betting was permitted in May 2019, several sports books have begun operating in the state. However, until 2021 fans must visit a sports book or casino in-person to create their account.
Mississippi
Mississippi first legalized sports betting in 2018, but it requires bets to be placed inside a casino, even if the customer wants to use their smartphone.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire has allowed sports betting since July 2019 although wagering from a smartphone wasn’t permitted for another 5 months. Only a handful of brands operate in the state right now, but more are expected to open soon.
Oregon
Sports betting is allowed in Oregon but only through the state-operated Oregon Lottery.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is the only state to allow betting at 18 instead of 21. However, like Oregon, it’s only permitted through the state lottery.
West Virginia
Sports betting in West Virginia has been legal since August 2019, with full online and mobile services allowed.
Which Will be the 13th State?
While there are still 38 states that don’t allow sports betting, it is expected that many more will pass legislation that will change this in the coming months and years. Some of these are expected to do so much quicker than others, including:
- Kentucky – A bill to legalize sports betting was blocked earlier in 2020, but commentators believe this to only be a temporary hurdle
- Ohio – In May 2020, the Ohio House Finance Committee voted to progress a bill that will legalize sports betting in the state. It was approved by the House the next day but still needs to be approved by the Senate.
- Connecticut – Like Kentucky, a bill had been progressing in early 2020 but it has been hit many hurdles.
- Maryland – A bill was approved by the Senate in early March 2020 but it’s not yet clear when it will be approved by the House.
- Missouri – The state of Missouri has been considering sports betting for some time, but there have been delays for it and other matters in recent months, meaning it’s not yet clear when it will pass.
Of these five, either Ohio or Maryland is likely to be the first to permit betting but these could still be derailed.
Click your state to view current legal sports betting status.
Legal Sports Betting No Legal Sports Betting
Nearly three years removed from the Supreme Court striking down a 1994 ruling that banned sports betting, it seems as if a new state legalizes sports betting every day. We got a slow start with New Jersey leading the way, but have since added nearly two dozen additional states.
Most recently Colorado legalized both in-person and online sports betting, and your state may be next! As of June 2020, 23 states have legalized sports betting, another 4 have already passed bills, and an additional 18 states have pending sports betting bills.
Just because your state has passed a sports betting bill does not mean that sports betting is available in your state. In some cases there is a pending affective date, in some cases, the startup costs or tax rates were set unrealistically high. Click on your state below to find out where sports betting stands as of today.
Click on your state for a complete breakdown
Colorado Sports Betting
Illinois Sports Betting
Sports Wagering States
Iowa Sports Betting
Michigan Sports Betting
New Hampshire Sports Betting
Ny Sports Betting News
New York Sports Betting
Ohio Sports Betting
Pennsylvania Sports Betting
Virginia Sports Betting
West Virginia Sports Betting
States That Sports Betting Is Legal
Where is Sports Betting Legal?
New states seem to be legalizing sports betting every month. As of June 2020, there are 23 states that have legal sports betting. Of those 23, only 13 have legal mobile or online betting. Below is the complete list of states that currently offer legal sports betting.
State | Date Legal | Mobile |
---|---|---|
Arkansas | 7/1/2019 | No |
Colorado | 5/1/2020 | Yes |
Delaware | 6/5/2018 | No |
Illinois | 5/9/2020 | No |
Indiana | 5/8/2019 | Yes |
Iowa | 5/13/2019 | Yes |
Michigan | 12/11/2019 | No |
Mississippi | 8/1/2018 | Yes |
Montana | 5/3/2019 | No |
Nevada | 2010 | Yes |
New Hampshire | 7/12/2019 | Yes |
New Jersey | 5/1/2018 | Yes |
New Mexico | 10/16/2018 | No |
New York | 6/10/2019 | No |
North Carolina | 7/26/2019 | No |
Oregon | 8/27/2019 | Yes |
Pennsylvania | 5/1/2019 | Yes |
Rhode Island | 6/22/2018 | Yes |
Tennessee | 5/1/2019 | No |
Virginia | 7/1/2020 | Yes |
Washington | 3/25/2020 | No |
Washington D.C. | 3/1/2020 | Yes |
West Virginia | 8/1/2019 | Yes |
When Will Sports Betting Be Legal in the Remaining States?
So, what about the other 27 states? The list below gives you a projected date for each of the states that has a sports betting bill in progress. If there are no prospects for legal sports betting in the near future you will simply see NA next to the state. Most of these states already have legal DFS through both FanDuel and DraftKings.
State | Expected Date |
---|---|
Alabama | 2021 |
Alaska | NA |
Arizona | 2021 |
California | 2021 |
Connecticut | 2021 |
Florida | 2021 |
Georgia | 2021 |
Hawaii | NA |
Idaho | NA |
Kansas | 2021 |
Kentucky | 2021 |
Louisiana | 2021 |
Maine | 2021 |
Maryland | 2020 |
Massachusets | 2020 |
Minnesota | NA |
Missouri | 2021 |
Nebraska | NA |
North Dakota | 2021 |
Ohio | 2020 |
Oklahoma | NA |
South Carolina | NA |
South Dakota | 2021 |
Texas | 2021 |
Utah | NA |
Vermont | 2021 |
Wisconsin | NA |
Wyoming | NA |