States That Legalized Sports Gambling

Sports betting in the United States has changed dramatically since May of 2018 when PASPA was repealed. In fact, the changes are taking place so quickly, it's actually a bit challenging to keep up. This is not a bad thing though - it means that the sports wagering industry is expanding to fill the void that US bettors have felt for the last several decades, and state lawmakers are on board for the most part with pioneering the launch of the domestic US sports betting industry.

Following PASPA's nullification, state-regulated sports betting has come onto the scene to provide a second avenue for betting along with the handful of trusted offshore sportsbooks that have legally and reliably provided their betting services to American sports fans for decades. To assist in helping everyone stay in the know regarding which states allow or prohibit these different forms of sportsbook gambling, we've broken the information down in a few different ways.

Where Is Sports Betting Considered Legal In The United States?

The sports betting measure on the Maryland ballot doesn’t outline a framework for sports betting. The referendum simply asks for a yes or no from state voters on whether sports betting should be legalized. The lack of specifics for Maryland’s sports betting bill stems from complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The gambling map is always evolving as North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington recently passed bills to legalize sports betting. Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio and Vermont. In May 2018, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates. The water continues to rush through. Three more states adopted legalized sports wagering this week, with Maryland, Louisiana, and South Dakota. Online Betting: States where legal online sports betting has a long way to go. Be it conflicts with gaming rights of local Native American tribes or lack of demand, the future of legalized sports. The state of play: Sports betting is now legal and fully operational in 18 states, plus Washington, D.C. Another four states — Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington — have passed bills legalizing it this year, but are not yet operational.

Before May 2018, only one state had full-service state-regulated sports betting options, that state being Nevada. At this moment in time, the number of states offering legal domestic sports betting is 19. In addition, US players are permitted to access offshore sports betting sites in most states except in Connecticut and Washington, where lawmakers have established state laws outlawing access to all forms of online gambling. Residents in every other state can legally access offshore sportsbooks without violating any type of state or federal laws.

List Of States That Have Already Legalized State Regulated Sports Betting

What states offer legal sports betting locally? Currently, more than 20 US states have legalized state-regulated sports betting options, though you can reduce that number by one if you consider the tribal loophole used by New Mexico Indian nations to not qualify as specific state approval.

A significant number of states have passed legislation to authorize sports gambling in their state but have yet to launch any sportsbooks while additional states have legislation pending.

Here is a breakdown of the states that have already passed legislation allowing domestic sports betting entertainment as well as states that have pending active legislation in the works. States with ** indicate that they have legalized state-regulated sports betting but have not yet launched any brick and mortar or online betting options.

• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Mississippi

• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina**
• Oregon

• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Virginia**
• West Virginia
• Washington**
• Washington D.C.

List Of U.S. States That Don't Criminalize Offshore Betting

Even if you don't live in one of the above states which have passed legislation to legalize sports betting, there are still plenty of options to bet on sports while remaining within the confines of the U.S. law. The most important thing to understand on the legal side of things is that there are only 2 states which specifically make gambling via an offshore site illegal. These include Washington and Connecticut. So you won't be breaking any laws if you reside in any other state and choose to bet with an offshore sportsbook.

States Where Online Sports Betting Is Considered Illegal

A few states have taken an extra measure to strengthen their enforcement of anti-gambling laws to keep their residents from engaging in any form of gambling on the Internet, including online sports betting:

• Washington
• Connecticut

These two states are the only ones that have taken this approach as of early 2020. They each have specific state laws that outlaw all forms of gambling on the Internet, regardless of the source. Their prohibition of online sports wagering does not mean that they won't legalize state-regulated brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, as Connecticut has some betting legislation on the table right now and Washington just passed a sports betting bill of its own.

There are also a few states that have enacted laws specifically to prohibit state-regulated sports wagering, including:

States That Legalized Sports Gambling Losses

• Utah
• Vermont
• Alaska
• Hawaii

We've seen that this can change as well, as Hawaii already has a pending sports gambling bill in its legislature.

Understanding States’ Rights

The United States Department of Justice issued a Formal Opinion in 2011 clarifying that the Wire Act only pertained to US-based online sports gambling businesses. This freed up states to issue legislation that would legalize online casinos and poker.

However, the application of this law changed in 2018 with the repeal of PASPA and again in 2019 with another clarification of the law's reach post-PASPA. Now the Act simply prohibits any interstate gambling transmissions for all state-regulated gambling, meaning that state gambling businesses are not permitted to accept wagers across state lines. This interpretation is being challenged in court, so the application of the Wire Act could change yet again.

Until its repeal in May of 2018, PASPA was a federal ban that superseded states’ rights. There was an argument against the ban stating that it violated states’ constitutional rights. PASPA prohibited states from authorizing or licensing sports betting enterprises themselves. After being sued by the major sports leagues in the US, NJ decided to do something about PASPA.

New Jersey was victorious in their historic Supreme Court case where they are argued that PASPA violates their rights as they tried to authorize sports betting in 2014. SCOTUS ruled that PASPA was indeed unconstitutional and rendered the law null and void and has therefore placed the authority to regulate sports wagering into the hands of the individual states.

Make Your Voice Heard

You can help with the ongoing US sports betting legal disputes by contacting your state representatives and encouraging them to vote on matters you support. Contact your state representatives and tell them to support sports betting legislation. If you visit our state bill tracker page - you will see a map with all the states. If you click on that map you will see a list of all pending bills for any given state. If a state is not 'clickable', you will know there are no sports betting bills pending for that state.

Understanding The Legal Gambling Age Of Each State

One of the most stringent protocols for any gambling sector is age verification. States have gambling age requirements to prevent minors from gaining access to both brick-and-mortar and online gambling platforms. Most states have a minimum gambling age somewhere between 18 and 21. However, most state-regulated sports betting platforms that we've seen launched require participants to be at least 21 years old, but there are a few exceptions. Be sure to check with your state’s gambling laws before participating in gambling to ensure you are within your legal limits.

What The Future Holds For Legal Online Sports Betting In America

This depends on whether the 2019 DOJ opinion on the Wire Act will be challenged in court (though it has received a temporary injunction on its new 'interpretation'). This new opinion flipped the domestic market on its head as it placed many restrictions on operations, forcing providers to be 100% intrastate-supported and compliant by mid-2019. However, New Hampshire and other states are attempting to challenge this opinion in court, and so far things are looking good.

Sports Gambling - By The Numbers

Be the legal situation as it may, sports betting still happens. American bettors are flocking to regulated offshore sportsbooks or illegal online and offline bookies to place their wagers. Sports gambling is a billion-dollar industry.

To put things in perspective, check out this information provided by the American Gaming Association of sports betting statistics from Super Bowl LIV (2020).

• 26 million—Number of American adults to bet on SB54
• 5 million—Bets placed online/offshore
• $6.8 billion—Total Super Bowl betting handle
• $154.7 million—Legal bets placed in Nevada
• $6.65 billion—Gray-market bets placed everywhere else
• 97.7%—Percentage of all bets placed through non-US-licensed means
• 25%—Increase in total Super Bowl bets from the previous year

The AGA is also estimating that a total of over $40 billion will be wagered on MLB games during the next season. Imagine if this type of revenue was being regulated. Since the market already exists, why not put regulations on it to make it work towards our mutual benefit?

A poll conducted before the repeal of PASPA by the Morning Consult asked NFL fans their opinions on sports betting legislation. Nearly three times as many NFL fans believed the federal government should lift the ban on sports betting. The majority also believed that individual states should have the power to decide if they want sports betting, not the federal government. Americans want to bet on sports, and they've made it clear.

States That Legalized Sports Gambling

Voice Your Opinion

It was a big year for sports betting in 2019 as nine states legalized the activity, bringing the total of states with legal sports betting to 20.

As neighboring states post increasing sports betting revenue, pressure builds for lawmakers to provide a regulated environment to bet on sports and capture money that could be put toward education or other programs.

By the end of this year, more than half of the US states could have sports wagering laws on the books. This week, American Gaming Association president and CEO Bill Miller said there could be as many as 30 US jurisdictions with legal sports betting at this time next year.

Counting Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, that would mean an additional eight states are coming on board this year. It’s challenging but possible.

For now, Legal Sports Report is eyeing these five states in 2020:

Kentucky

Sometimes governors say they support the regulation of sports betting in their annual state addresses. For a governor to endorse specific sports betting legislation so early in the year is unexpected.

But Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has a history of pushing for the legalization of sports betting during his campaign and as the state’s attorney general.

He came out strongly in favor of H 137 in his State of the Commonwealth address: “Rep. Adam Koenig has filed a sports betting bill. I fully support it, and we should pass it.” The camera flashed to Koenig, and even he appeared surprised.

The next day, Koenig advanced his bill to legalize sports betting for Kentucky’s racetracks, motorsports raceway and online. It would also legalize online poker and daily fantasy sports.

He said support is there in the House to pass the bill in short order, and the governor is eager to put his signature on it. That just leaves the Senate, which Koenig believes “isn’t there yet” on his bill, “but I don’t think they’re too far away.”

Ohio

Few states have spent more time working on crafting a bill than Ohio. H 194 received eight committee hearings, while S 111 got one.

It wasn’t all for nothing, as the sports betting legislation carried over to the second year of the two-year session in the Buckeye State.

Rep. Dave Greenspan tells LSR that his bill will advance through the committee and the House in short order.

However, it will then face a difficult negotiation in the Senate. Greenspan contends that 90% of the language of the bills is the same, but a big difference remains in what agency will oversee the activity.

A spokesman for the Ohio governor told LSR that he would rather see the legislature get sports betting regulation right than see special interests put together a ballot initiative.

The Ohio session goes to the end of the year, giving lawmakers plenty of time to figure it all out. Adding motivation, it’s likely every state bordering Ohio will have legal sports betting this year.

Connecticut

Sports betting legalization seemed far from becoming a reality in Connecticut last year.

The legislative effort focused on comprehensive gambling expansion, including sports betting, online gambling, and allowing commercial casino interests to be considered for a casino license. That had no chance in a state where gambling has been controlled by two Indian tribes for nearly 30 years.

Behind the scenes, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes were negotiating with new Gov. Ned Lamont. Those discussions broke down, resulting in Sen. Cathy Osten pushing for the ideal tribal bill to come up in a special session. Her colleagues balked.

But then the Hartford Courant released emails showing that discussions between the governor and tribal leaders were much closer than expected.

States That Legalized Sports Gambling

Lamont seems willing to punt on a comprehensive solution in order to get CT sports betting done this year, particularly if the tribes make concessions to the state on an online lottery.

It all bodes well the Constitution State to add sports betting. The legislative session, which begins next week, ends May 6.

Missouri

There is a lot of interest in legalizing sports betting in the Show-Me State. Legislators got a head-start on the session by holding a special committee on the topic in October.

In the opening month of the session, lawmakers have introduced six sports betting bills. The lack of consensus could be the reason for pause, but the enthusiasm portends well.

One bill already made the House floor, as Rep. Dan Shaul’sH 2088 advanced through the Special Committee on Government Oversight on Tuesday. The state’s legislative session runs until May 15.

Maryland

Legislative support appears to be there for Maryland to legalize sports betting, and lawmakers are wasting no time.

There are two sets of companion bills in the legislature, and they got a Senate hearing Wednesday with a House hearing coming next week.

Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is lobbying legislators to allow sports betting at the team’s stadium.

Ultimately, though, sports betting in Maryland will come down to the voters. Adding new types of gambling in the state requires a constitutional amendment by referendum.

Before breaking on April 6, the Maryland Legislature will likely put a sports betting referendum on the November ballot. Referendums can only happen in even years, providing urgency for lawmakers to move.

Like many of the other states on this list, there’s also pressure for Maryland to join its neighbors and not get left behind. Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware have sports betting, while Washington, DC is coming soon.