Is gambling illegal in my state, or is sports betting legal in my state? Where is US online sports betting legal or legal in person? If you’ve come here wondering that, we’ve got you covered. It’s a common question amongst US-based sports bettors these days. As you may be aware, the State of New Jersey challenged the 1992 federal law banning sports betting outside Nevada — and won. That law was known as PASPA, or the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
New Jersey’s legal battle against the NCAA and the major pro sports leagues reached the United States Supreme Court in 2017 in a case known as Murphy v NCAA (formerly Christie v NCAA). On May 14, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of NJ in a 6-3 decision. Now that PASPA has been eliminated, states are free to legalize sports wagering, and some already have: New Jersey, Mississippi, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island. Our sports betting legislation tracker is updated regularly. Check below the map, too, for links to relevant information in your state.
If you’ve come here looking for sportsbook reviews, check out the DraftKings Sportsbook review here and FanDuel Sportsbook breakdown here. For an history on federal and state gambling laws go back to the American Revolution, check out our article here.
US Sports Betting Bill Landscape
Hover over any state to find out what, if anything, is happening in terms of sports betting legalization there.
More Info by State
| STATE | STATUS | BILL/LEGISLATION | MOBILE / RETAIL SPORTSBOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No action | ||
| Alaska | No action | ||
| Arizona | Pending | A new bill introduced in 2019 would legalize sports betting, only at "federally recognized Indian tribes" with a tribal-state compact with AZ. | Probably retail only |
| Arkansas | Legal but not live | A referendum on the Nov. 6 2018 ballot allows several casinos to open and permit legal sports betting. Regulators may issue casino licenses to four casinos across the state, and those casinos could then offer gaming, including sports betting. | Retail only to start |
| California | No recent action | It's a mess and may be a while. A bill proposing a constitutional amendment to permit legal wagering didn't go anywhere. | N/A |
| Colorado | Pending | Voters will decide in a Nov. 2019 ballot referendum whether to legalize or not. | Would be both |
| Connecticut | Pending | Several bills are on on table but a tug-of-war between stakeholders and tribal-state compacts have stalled progress. | Would be both in any final bill |
| Delaware | Legal | Grandfathered under PASPA; no new legislation deemed necessary | Retail only |
| District of Columbia | Legal but not live | The Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018 legalized sports betting in D.C. The Council voted in February to bypass an RFP process and award a sole-source contract to Intralot to roll out the city's only mobile sportsbook. | Both |
| Florida | Pending | There's been some chatter and one bill on the matter but ultimately the Seminole Tribe will dictate how and whether legal sports betting proceeds | To be determined |
| Georgia | No action | ||
| Hawaii | No recent action | A bill to study legal sports betting went nowhere | |
| Idaho | No action | ||
| Illinois | Pending | The Governor is in favor and included sports betting revenue in his budget, and numerous hearings have taken place. Still no model has emerged as a front-runner and it's to-be-determined | Likely both if and when a bill passes |
| Indiana | Legal but not live | An 11th hour bill passed before the session closed in April, and it will become law sometime in May. | Both |
| Iowa | Bill to legalize awaiting Gov. Reynold's signature | A pretty good bill passed in April 2019. It only needs the governor's signature now. | Both |
| Kansas | Pending | Lot of bills on table, lot of talk, no real action. | |
| Kentucky | Pending | Lot of bills on table, lot of talk, no real action. Proponents saw major pushback from conservative/religious groups | |
| Louisiana | Pending | Bill has passed state senate to legalize on casino premises. Vote would ultimately have to go to parish-by-parish vote. | Retail |
| Maine | Pending | They're moving forward with a "concept bill" | To be determined |
| Maryland | Pending | Big topic of conversation but an effort to get it on the ballot for a referendum failed in 2019. | |
| Massachusetts | Pending | Whole lot of bills on table and a governor in support. There's a decent chance for it to happen in 2019. | Would be both |
| Michigan | Pending | The legislature passed Brandt Iden's sports betting and iGaming bill at the end of 2018, however the outgoing governor vetoed it. Iden will press on this session and there's been movement. | Would be both |
| Minnesota | Pending | Rep. Pat Garofolo will introduced a bill that legalizes sports wagering on premises of tribal casinos, only. | Retail only |
| Mississippi | Legal | Sportsbooks went live in August 2018, however a measure to allow statewide online/mobile sports betting failed in 2019. | Retail only |
| Missouri | Pending | There's several bills bouncing around the legislature, with various degrees of support. To be determined. | Probably both |
| Montana | Legal, not yet live | Bill passed in May 2019 to legalize through the Montana Lottery in bars and taverns | Retail only |
| Nebraska | No action | ||
| Nevada | Legal | Mecca of sports betting since 1949 or so | Both |
| New Hampshire | Pending | A few bills in play | May be both |
| New Jersey | Legal | Went live in June 2018 | Both |
| New Mexico | Legal-ish | There's sportsbooks operating at three tribal sportsbooks currently, a pair of them near Albuquerque, as the state AG has interpreted the tribal-state compacts as allowing sports wagering | Retail only |
| New York | Pending | It's complicated. There is language in the Upstate New York Gaming Development Act of 2013 that would permit sports betting at the four commercial casinos, but not online/mobile. Regulations are in the works to move forward here. | May be retail only for now |
| North Carolina | Pending | A bill on the table would legalize at a pair of tribal casinos | Retail only |
| North Dakota | Pending | Two bills to legalize are were on the table but didn't pass before the 2019 session closed. | Unclear |
| Ohio | Pending | Ohio policymakers are taking their time behind the scenes; House and Senate differ as to who will regulate. | Probably will be both once they reach consensus on other issues |
| Oklahoma | Pending | In a holding pattern. Need buy-in from state tribes | |
| Oregon | Pending | Oregon's Sports Action Lottery, which allowed parlay wagering on NFL and NBA games at times from 1989-2007, was grandfathered in under PASPA. The State Lottery now has plans to roll out a sports betting game on its app for 2020 | To be determined |
| Pennsylvania | Legal | Just waiting for mobile platforms to become available | Both |
| Rhode Island | Legal | Legalized in 2018 at the state's two casinos, Twin River in Lincoln and the Tiverton, which launched in late 2018. | Both, although there's a constitutional challenge to the 2019 law allowing mobile wagering |
| South Carolina | No action | ||
| South Dakota | No action | ||
| Tennessee | Legal, not yet live | The first online/mobile-only bill | Online only |
| Texas | No action | ||
| Utah | Never | ||
| Vermont | Pending | Legislature has seen a few bills but none yet with traction | Unclear |
| Virginia | Pending | In 2019 were three bills on the table. HB 1638, HB 2210, SB 1238, in a state with no casinos and one racetrack. | Likely at least mobile at some point |
| Washington | Pending | There's two House bills in the legislature, HB 1992 the other HB 1975. HB 1992 would legalize sports betting at horse tracks, OTBs and tribal casinos. | Unclear |
| West Virginia | Legal | Senate Bill 415, aka the "West Virginia Lottery Sports Wagering Act" passed in March, legalizing sports betting in the Mountain State. | Both, but no online/operators after the only one went offline |
| Wisconsin | No action | ||
| Wyoming | No action |
