Assuming that the state you live in allows it, you have the option to bet online for sports. Again, this is all subject to whatever regulation your state requires.
Below you can see which states in the US have either accepted online sports betting, are waiting on it, or have been against it in total. Here are the states:
Alabama: Not yet legal, but legislation has been proposed back in April. This legislation was to start the Alabama Sports Wagering Commission to oversee betting activities.
Alaska: Not legal, but in 2020 they have added sports betting under consideration for a later date for discussion.
Arizona: Not legal, but the legislation has been proposed. If passed, this would allow federally recognized Native American tribes that have a gaming license to operate sportsbooks in the state entirely.
Arkansas: Legalization was passed and began full operation in July. The first official sportsbook for the state was Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. However, the state is still prohibiting mobile online wagering and is yet to decide on this aspect.
California: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed. So talks on this would likely happen at a later date.
Colorado: Colorado is the 19th state to legalize betting. On May 1, 2020, a handful of operators have given residents access to open accounts online and place wagers.
Visit our Online Gambling In Colorado page to learn more about legal updates.
Connecticut: Not yet legal, but the legislation has been proposed. The bill would limit the number of locations for sports betting. This would allow betting at two primary locations in Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos.
Delaware: Legal and continues to look into more opportunities. As of June, three casinos have full operation and are looking to add more in addition to mobile betting.
Florida: Not yet legal, but the proposed bill was back in November 2019. This one does not seem to get the ball rolling.
Georgia: Not legal, but the legislation has been proposed. Back in early 2019, this bill would allow no more than ten sports gambling licenses to be handed out in the state.
Hawaii: Not legal, but this legislation has been proposed. In January of 2019, this bill was said to help create a newly formed corporation to help facilitate sports betting.
Idaho: No legalization, and nothing has been put in for it either.
Illinois: Legal, with a prohibited side to betting on in-state college sports. It will also make gambling available to a variety of locations within the state.
Indiana: Betting on pro and college sports became legal around September 2019. This includes both mobile and in-person betting being allowed at multiple locations.
Make sure to check Online Gambling In Indiana for more details.
Iowa: Iowa has legalized sports betting in 2019. Multiple sites began to take bets shortly after the end of that summer. The state law allows for betting on both professional and college sports.
Kansas: Not legal and five sports betting bills have been proposed, but none currently have any hearing date set.
Kentucky: Not legal, but has had multiple sports gambling bills proposed. Most likely, no action until at least late 2020.
Louisiana: Not legal, but there has been legislation proposed. State lawmakers failed to pass the law in time, but this would have allowed sportsbooks for the state's casinos and race tracks to begin. No timetable has been set for when they can try again.
Maine: Not legal, but they nearly passed a law that would have allowed for the use of in-person and mobile sports betting on professional and college sports but not the in-state ones. However, the bill was quickly vetoed by the state's governor. You might get to see something again around 2021.
Maryland: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed for the second straight year. There have at least been talks about this, and maybe 2021 will hold a better future for online sports betting.
Massachusetts: Not legal, but legislation proposed as several bills have been offered. This would allow the use of online sports betting without the use of land-based casinos.
Michigan: Governor Gretchen Whitmer put bills into action in late 2019. This allowed for both sports betting and online gaming within the state. Casinos in the state were able to start taking wagers in March of 2020.
Minnesota: Not legal, but in 2019 a bill was proposed. This bill would have legalized sports gambling at the state's two horse racing tracks, their 21 tribal casinos, and the potential use through mobile devices. However, it never did make it passed that legislative session.
Mississippi: Legal as of 2018. Once the congressional hearing was official in 2018, Mississippi took action immediately to allow online gambling.
Missouri: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed several times. It is yet to be determined if the state will soon take any action or keep putting it off.
Montana: Legal through regulation of the state lottery. As of March 2020, the state is enjoying online sports betting.
Nebraska: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed and could likely be passed soon. Nebraska’s state senator, Justin Wayne, classifies sports betting as "authorized games of skill." So this would allow sports wagering, fantasy sports, and poker in Nebraska once the bill is finalized.
Nevada: Very legal. This has been for quite some time and has been the gambling region of the US for many years.
New Hampshire: Legal as soon as 2020 hit the calendar. The state has also agreed to a six-year contract with DraftKings, allowing mobile sportsbooks to be utilized.
New Jersey: Legal and has been since 2018. They have been considered as the leading advocates for the congressional hearing.
Learn more about the Garden State gambling scene, here: Online Gambling In New Jersey
New Mexico: Somewhat legal. New Mexico’s case is unique and somewhat confusing. There is not any legislature that says that gambling is either legal or illegal.
The loophole to this is found through tribal gaming casinos. This has allowed the Pueblo of Santa Ana tribe to open their in-state casino. So really it is a coin flip if someone wanted to argue it.
New York: Legal as of July 2019. The state tried to legalize sports betting back in 2013, but it never really made it anywhere.
There are looking for ways to expand their market share and to return more revenue from competitors. They are also looking at mobile and online betting platforms.
North Carolina: It is legal, but not yet started.
All gambling within North Carolina is run exclusively through the Cherokee tribe. The state passed the bill in July of 2019 that allowed sports betting to be conducted too.
Currently, you can only bet in person at both of the Cherokee tribes’ casinos. They are looking for more features and the future for sports betting in the state as of 2020.
North Dakota: Nothing legal yet, but legislation was proposed once in 2019. It was said that lawmakers profoundly rejected this proposal to approve sports betting.
Ohio: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed. By the looks of things, it might not happen for the state. They are leaning more towards the negatives and not wanting to pass anything.
Oklahoma: Not yet legal, but legislation has been proposed. This bill would expand the tribal and state gaming compacts to include sports betting. However, there has not yet been any action taken.
Oregon: The State has had legalized betting in place for a while, so no new bills must be passed to get this down. They did not start taking bets until August 2019. More to come if they decide to want to add any new bills.
Pennsylvania: The state became legal in September 2018. The state has also made progress for online and mobile betting.
Rhode Island: U.S Supreme Court made a decision recently and offered sports betting. You can find this exclusively at two locations within the state. The future of online and mobile betting is currently on its way.
South Carolina: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed. If you want to gamble today in South Carolina, you can do this only on casino riverboats. The state legislature has proposed bills in recent consecutive years, but no action has been taken yet.
South Dakota: Not yet legal since legislation has been proposed but later struck down. However, there is a chance for a petition that could appear in the next voting ballot.
Tennessee: The State of Tennessee is legal for sports betting, but has not yet started. Back in 2019, this became a great change, but no one has done anything about it yet.
Texas: Not legal, but this proposed bill would allow both mobile and online betting on professional and college sports. The state requires that voters approve a referendum amending of the state constitution.
Utah: Not legal and very likely to never have anything betting related within the state. They are arguably one of the most popular states against any form of betting.
Vermont: This state also is very conservative, as they do not have much gambling to go on. However, the move for online betting is somewhat on the table for discussion.
Virginia: Legal since April 2020. You might be able to see this state have sports betting apps by the end of 2020 if everything stays on track.
Washington: Not legal, but legislation has been proposed with a couple of different features. The state currently has two bills on the table. One of them would permit sports gambling at tribal casinos in the state while the other bill would limit sports gambling licenses to just horse racing tracks. They both have similarities with neither of them allowing for mobile or online betting.
Washington D.C.: Legal since 2019, but the motion was put in place in 2018. Residents can thank the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018. The city has its sports wagering app and website that is controlled by the DC Lottery.
West Virginia: Legal since August 2018. They became the 5th state to legalize sports betting, so they have been around for a while.
For more in-depth knowledge visit our: Online Gambling in West Virginia page.
Wisconsin: Not legal or any action yet. The state has been relatively silent on the whole matter, and no one knows when it will happen.
Wyoming: Not legal since the bill was voted down. In early this year, a bill that attempted online-only betting was voted down. There is no word on the action for the future of sports betting for the state.
Sports To Bet On
There are a wide variety of sports to bet on, such as football, soccer, baseball and much more. Of course, these are all dependent upon the sportsbook that you choose and what betting opportunities they offer.
Most sportsbooks offer traditional American sports, as well as many overseas competitions. Some of the biggest sporting events to bet on in the US include the Super Bowl, World Series, and the NBA Finals.
Legal Side of Things
Each state has the right to sports betting, as defined in the 2018 Congressional Hearing. So it is up to each state whether or not they want to legalize the activities of betting within state lines.
For sportsbooks, this means they have to be legit and hold various licensing each year to stay relevant and legal. These also cost a lot of money, and some states have a ridiculously high amount of fees associated with it.
As mentioned, each state will have its own guidelines on how they want sports betting to be handled. Some states have allowed everything, while others have limited a lot.
Public Opinion
The public has mostly been positive on the views of sports betting. Legalizing the move has brought many jobs and a high revenue boost to the states that accept it.
However, states like Utah are completely against any form of gambling. So you can see that not everyone thinks this is a good idea.
Some states have allowed the public to vote on the issue before even taking it to the next step of a bill. This is great because it gives you a good idea of how everyone thinks of the movement.
Partnerships In Sports
Since more stars have accepted sports betting laws, there have been great opportunities for sportsbooks and professional organizations to form a partnership. Some have even joined teams directly to make the deal even better.
For example, the NBA and MGM Resorts was the first deal for basketball. The deal is reportedly $25 million for three years. For the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, you can find Horseshoe Baltimore (Caesar's group) to be in a partnership.
As you can see, leagues are taking into account that there is more money to be made here. With certain leagues looking into the positives, this makes the betting experience much better for everyone.
The American Gaming Association Campaign
One of the most important messages through all of these deals and legislation is that you need to be safe and have a good grasp of what you are doing. The campaign was the Have a Game Plan, Bet Responsibly.
Sports betting is only going to go up from here. The AGA is leading the gaming industry with its responsible sports betting promotions and acts.
The campaign has four simple guides to follow:
- Set yourself a budget and abide by it
- Keep it social and play with friends, family, or colleagues
- Stay informed and learn the details of the games you are playing
- Play only with trusted licensed, regulated operators
Remember that when it comes to sports betting, nothing beats being responsible. If everyone can get on board with this, sports betting will become a great movement.
