States Legal Sports Betting
The sports odds, predictions and handicapping information contained on this website is for entertainment purposes only. Please confirm the gambling laws and regulations in your jurisdiction as they vary from state to state, province to province, and country to country. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 effectively outlawed sports betting nationwide, excluding a few states: however, on May 14, 2018, the United States Supreme Court declared the entire law unconstitutional (Murphy v.
September 2020 produced record-breaking numbers for combined legal sports betting handle in the US. The nation’s 18 legal sports betting jurisdictions (17 states plus Washington D.C.) saw nearly $3 billion in wagers come in for September.
The return of NFL and NCAA football bolstered the surging US sports betting industry to its biggest month yet. Since the overturn of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018, legal sports betting in the US shows an upward trend with seemingly no sign of a slowdown in sight.
Six US states brought in more than $200 million in betting handle for Septemeber:
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. Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia currently permit state-regulated online sports gambling, with nearly two dozen additional states having launched land-based sportsbooks. Legal USA Online Sports Gambling. There are currently around 15+ states in the USA with legalized online sports gaming either already established and operating or with the legislation passed and the final regulation states being established allowing for legal and regulated online sports betting to people betting from inside state lines.
September 2020 Sports Betting Handle
| Overall Betting Handle | Mobile Betting Handle | % Handle From Mobile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $748,588,349 | $678,745,374 | 91% |
| Nevada | $575,069,930 | $315,472,779 | 55% |
| Pennsylvania | $462,787,394 | $414,100,359 | 89% |
| Illinois | $285,240,209 | $264,448,304 | 93% |
| Colorado | $207,655,942 | $203,882,793 | 98% |
| Indiana | $207,450,106 | $167,323,391 | 81% |
1. New Jersey ($748,588,349)
Powered by the biggest mobile sports betting market in the nation, New Jersey has topped the overall sports betting handle list every month for 2020. Since introducing sports betting shortly after the fall of PASPA, New Jersey has overtaken Nevada as the sports wagering capital of the US.
December 2019 marks the last time Nevada topped the list in monthly sports betting handle among US states, New Jersey brought in nearly $750 million in bets in September, breaking its own record for US states set just one month earlier.
Online sportsbooks in the Garden State took in 91% of all bets for the month, as the appeal of mobile sports betting continues to result in record-breaking handle and revenue numbers. The trend toward mobile wagering will likely continue for the foreseeable future, even after Atlantic City casinos are allowed to operate at full capacity.
2. Nevada ($575,069,930)
Once the undisputed epicenter of sports betting in the US, Nevada has ceded that title to New Jersey in 2020. The home of the Las Vegas Strip still took in more than $575 million in sports bets for September, however.
Mobile wagering accounted for 55% of overall bets, the lowest percentage of any state on this list. The appeal of betting in person at a Las Vegas sportsbook clearly still offers massive viability for the Nevada sports betting market.
Like the other states on this list, mobile betting in Nevada can be conducted from anywhere within state borders. Nevada operates with an in-person registration requirement, however.
3. Pennsylvania ($462,787,394)
Pennsylvania continues to emerge as a contender for the No. 2 sports betting state in the US. The launch of Barstool Sportsbook in Pennsylvania took the Keystone State to new heights in September, with a state record $462.7 million in betting handle coming in for the month.
Like New Jersey, Pennsylvania’s wagering handle is dominated by online betting. Mobile betting produced 89% of that $462.7 million figure in September.
Barstool Sportsbook joins one of the most competitive markets in the US with the Pennsylvania launch. FanDuel Sportsbook enjoys status as the No. 1 mobile sportsbook in the state, but Barstool will likely contend for that spot soon.
4. Illinois ($285,240,209)
Just four months into its journey as a legal online sports betting state, Illinois leapfrogged Indiana and into the No. 4 spot on the US sports betting handle rankings.
September proved the biggest month yet by far for the fastest-growing sports betting market in the US. Revenue reports from the Illinois Gaming Board showed over $285 million in overall handle for the month.
Of that figure, 93% of overall handle comes from mobile sports betting. FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetRivers run close as the top handle-producing mobile sportsbooks in the state.
Ilinois law requires in-person registration for an online sports betting account, but that mandate is currently waived through Dec. 12.
5. Colorado ($207,655,942)
Colorado and Indiana are neck-and-neck for the No. 5 spot in the US. Colorado’s mobile sportsbooks take in more than 98% of total bets.
With retail sportsbooks restricted to three small mountain towns in the Centennial State, online betting will likely continue to power Colorado’s booming sports betting industry. The state’s online sports betting license holders include DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, FOX Bet, BetRivers, and several other big brands in the sports wagering industry.
6. Indiana ($207,450,106)
Can Indiana surpass the surging sports betting markets in Illinois and Colorado? The sports wagering business is big in the Hoosier State, as September’s $207.4 million betting handle figure set a new record for the state.
DraftKings and FanDuel dominate the Indiana market share. Mobile wagering accounted for 81% of overall bets in September for Indiana.
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?
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
- Louisiana**
- Maryland**
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina**
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota**
- 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.
| U.S. States | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas |
| California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware |
| Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho |
| Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas |
| Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland |
| Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi |
| Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada |
| New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York |
| North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma |
| Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina |
| South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah |
| Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Washington D.C. |
| West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming | |
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 2021. 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:
- 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.
Fanduel Legal States Sports Betting
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.
Legal Sports Betting States 2020
To learn more about state gambling revenue, see our guide to sportsbook revenue by state, where we go into detail about each state's services and the money the local gambling industry is generating.
