Sports wagering states

Here's what to know about sport betting laws by state. Key Takeaways Gambling on sporting activities typically requires working with an individual or company that accepts bets, also known as a sportsbook. These can either be retail locations that offer in-person bet placement or online and mobile platforms, depending on state laws.

Alaska, California, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma have either pre-filed or introduced bills in the state legislature to legalize single-game sports betting or have scheduled voter referendums on the matter. Even if sports betting has been legalized, restrictions may still apply and can vary by state, such as limited authorized operators, few permissible bet types, and a minimum age requirement.

Understanding Sports Betting Sports betting is a type of gambling that revolves around predicting and wagering on the outcome of competitive physical activities. The term sports betting can encompass athletic competitions, such as basketball or American football, non-athletic events i. There are several different types of sports bets, with some of the most common being spread bets, prop bets, totals, and moneyline bets.

Spread bets are wagers that a team will either win by or should they lose cover a specific number of points. Prop bets refers to wagers on specific events i. With moneyline bets, the amount won is based on the likelihood a particular team will win or lose i. Of these four, prop betting is unique, in that there are five states where this is the only permitted bet type. Sports betting activities are typically facilitated by sportsbooks , which are companies or individuals that accept bets.

A sportsbook is functionally the same thing as a bookmaker , though the latter term is typically used solely in reference to an individual person. Physical sportsbooks may be found in professional sports venues, casinos, racinos combination race track and casino , etc.

If a sportbook offers betting on races but is located outside a racetrack, this is known as off-track betting OTB. Previously, sportsbooks in the U. Following a Supreme Court decision, many states have introduced new legislation to legalize both sportsbooks and, by extension, sports betting itself. Sportsbooks make money by setting their odds so that they will generate a profit in the long term.

As is the case with any form of gambling, the house always has the advantage, and there is always a negative expected return for the gambler. Of this number, the majority 30 states and Washington, D. The remaining seven states—Alaska, California, Georgia, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma—have either pre-filed or introduced bills in the state legislature to legalize single-game sports betting or scheduled voter referendums about the issue.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a sports betting bill into law in May The law went into effect in July and allows for online sports betting and retail sportsbooks at the four casinos inside state lines. Check out the best Kansas sports betting sites Louisiana The first legal sports wager in Louisiana occurred in October The Paragon Casino Resort moved forward with its retail sportsbook a few weeks before commercial casino locations in the state began accepting wagers of their own. Online sports betting launched in the Pelican State in February There are more than a half-dozen apps available, and the number is likely to grow over time.

Note that 55 of the 64 parishes in Louisiana permit sports betting, and the other nine do not. Check out the best Louisiana betting sites Maine Maine legalized sports betting in May after Gov. Janet Mills signed off on LD The legalization came after a failed attempt in , when Mills surprised lawmakers with a veto over concerns about betting on elections and spelling bees.

State regulators have estimated that a launch could occur at some point between August and sometime in Maryland Casinos in Maryland began accepting sports wagers in December , more than a year after voters approved the activity to take place in the state. Maryland law allows for as many as five dozen sportsbook apps to offer service in the state. However, there is no clear timeline for the launch of online sports betting in Maryland.

Get the latest Maryland sports betting news Massachusetts At the eleventh hour of a marathon session, lawmakers passed Massachusetts sports betting in August Charlie Baker signed it into law on Aug. The law permits online sports betting and retail betting in the state, but does not designate a launch day. Reports indicate late or even early is likely for MA sports betting sites to go live.

Get the latest Massachusetts sports betting news Michigan Michigan allowed sports betting at retail locations starting in March However, the first online wager did not occur until January The launch included a wave of sportsbook apps, and the state now features 15 online sports betting sites, which is the max that can launch under Michigan law.

Check out the best Michigan sports betting sites Mississippi Mississippi was one of the earliest states to open its doors for sports betting in However, since the debut, the state has remained committed to retail sports betting as the primary option. Online sports betting is technically legal — there is one active app in the state — but you can only bet via a mobile device if you are physically on the premises of a casino.

Montana Sports betting became active in Montana in March Get the latest news on Montana sports betting Nebraska Nebraska has legalized retail sports betting for its citizens and visitors, but no sportsbook is open for business yet. Regulators continue to work with casino interests in the state to plan out the logistics and practical concerns of accepting wagers at horse racing facilities in Nebraska.

The June gambling expansion that permitted the implementation of retail sportsbooks at these locations did not, however, include provisions for online sports betting. Nevada Nevada was the home of American sports betting for decades and remains one of the hubs of the activity, particularly with regard to oddsmaking. There are hundreds of retail sportsbooks in the Silver State, as well as more than a dozen online sportsbooks. Nevada does require people who wish to bet online to visit casinos in person to register for an online account and deposit money, however.

The industry is strictly controlled by the New Hampshire Lottery, which has so far permitted only a single sportsbook — DraftKings — to operate in the state. There are also retail locations in Dover, Manchester and Seabrook. In , New Jersey became one of the first states to allow sports betting and the first non-Nevada state to allow online sportsbooks.

Since then, New Jersey has arguably become the top spot for sports betting in the US. Check out the best NJ sports betting sites New Mexico New Mexico is an unusual member of the fraternity of states to allow sports betting before the end of However, several of the tribes that call New Mexico home have claimed that the language of their compacts with the state and their rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allow them to offer retail sports betting. The tribes have not met with any serious resistance from state authorities on this matter so far.

Online sports betting is not legal in New Mexico. New York Sports betting has technically been legal in New York since , but the existence of PASPA and some logistical hurdles did not permit retail sports betting to proceed until However, sports betting remained a little-used option due to the driving distance for many people to reach legal sportsbooks in the state. Online sports betting debuted in the Empire State in January , and New York quickly grew to be the largest sports betting state in the country in terms of handle.

The state allows only nine online sportsbooks. Check out the best NY sports betting sites North Carolina North Carolina is an unlikely member of the group of sports betting states, but, thanks to a law, the Tar Heel State allowed for wagering at tribal casinos in the state to begin. The third property is still working out the details but has indicated that it plans to open a sports betting facility as well.

Online sports betting remains illegal in the Tar Heel State, despite numerous efforts to the contrary. Get the latest news on North Carolina sports betting Ohio Ohio sports betting sites are scheduled to go live on Jan. The state set Jan. Residents and visitors can expect up to 25 sports betting sites alongside several live sportsbooks and lottery kiosks around the state.

Get the latest news on Ohio sports betting Oregon Sports betting is legal and available in Oregon in both retail and online formats. However, those who wish to conduct in-person sports betting can find sportsbooks at several tribal casinos in the state.

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania has been home to sportsbooks since

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Even sports betting in Puerto Rico , while technically not a state, has been authorized. 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. 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 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.

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 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? 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.

Since then, it has become one of the highest-grossing state sports betting operations in the United States. Rhode Island Rhode Island is home to the eighth smallest population of any state, which consequently limits the upside of long-term sports betting expansion.

Retail sportsbooks have been servicing Rhode Island residents since Tennessee Tennessee is truly a unique situation when it comes to the U. Tennessee sports wagering was legalized in Virginia Virginia launched its first wagering initiatives in January Virginia law sets a limit on a final total of 11 operators, so four more can join in eventually.

West Virginia West Virginia is a sneaky hub for all forms of online gambling with the state making pushes to legalize and regulate both mobile sports wagering and online poker. Despite its small population and lack of any pro sports teams, some of the most prominent operators work in the state including DraftKings and FanDuel. Wyoming The least populated state in the country has surprisingly worked to legalize sports betting over the past two years with the first mobile wagers placed in September In fact, Delaware was the second state in the U.

Maryland As of summer , Maryland was in the midst of a legal limbo to allow mobile operators in the state despite residents voting to approve online wagering in November Retail sportsbooks have been operating since December , but the stalling of mobile operators from entering the scene will pose more challenges for the market.

Maryland has the potential to be a lucrative market with the law allowing for up to 60 online sportsbooks and as many as 30 brick-and-mortar betting locations. Mississippi Mississippi has a surprisingly strong sports betting scene active within its borders, but this will always be limited as long as mobile wagering is barred. The first retail sportsbooks began operating in August There is one loophole for online sports betting that can possibly be exploited in the future.

People in the state can place mobile bets while physically inside casino locations. Mississippi is unlikely to fully implement mobile wagering in the near future. North Carolina North Carolina enabled retail sports betting in July , although it is limited to two separate tribal casinos on the western side of the state.

These brick-and-mortar casinos in the state first started receiving bets in March South Dakota South Dakota opened up its first brick-and-mortar casino sportsbooks in September after legalization in November Potential Upcoming Sports Betting States California There have been multiple ballot proposals to legalize sports betting over the past few years, with voters poised to get the chance to initiate the change. There are two proposals on the table, one for online wagering backed by the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings and an in-person only bill backed by California Tribes.

Californians will vote in fall , though many observers say the competing referendums are longshots. Florida Florida is a largely untapped market for most forms of gambling, particularly for the online platforms. The state took bets for just two months to close out before the situation was halted due to a federal judge striking down an agreement between the Seminole tribe and the state. There has been an appeal, but no decision.

Kansas Kansas legalized sports betting in May that authorizes 12 mobile sportsbooks. Additionally, the state allows wagers at four separate brick-and-mortar casinos. Kansas is likely to begin taking its first sports bets in the fall of Maine In April , Maine approved a bill to allow the four major tribal councils to partner with major operators for in-person bets.

The bill does not allow online betting. Nebraska Nebraska is one of the more interesting cases of all the possible states considering implementing a full-scale sports betting movement. Three constitutional amendments that voters backed in November have been passed to enable Nebraska to enter the industry.

With those approvals, it appears that the full legalization of sports betting in Nebraska is on the horizon. Types of Legalized Sports Betting While states differ in their approach to sports betting, most have approved all the staples of a Las Vegas-style sportsbook. Single Game Single-game bets are the most common wager type, and all online sports betting sites offer them to customers.

These types of bets are restricted to one game, unlike parlays and other betting markets that are spread across multiple contests. Moneylines, spread and totals bets are the divisions of single-game betting that create the most handle each year. Betting on the moneyline is a bet on a team or athlete to win a sporting event outright. Spread bets provide a handicap on one side or multiple sides of an event with odds that are typically close to even or plus vigorish. Totals bets are wagers that deal with the final score or outcome going over or under a betting line.

Parlay Parlays are the type of bets that sportsbooks make the most money on due to the low likelihood of the bets winning. Because of the low likelihood of winning, the odds are typically quite long and can provide massive paydays. This is the allure that attracts sports bettors to these long-term losing plays.

An example of a parlay would be a three moneyline parlay where individual teams are selected to win outright. Props Props come in all different types of formats, but the most common are player props. Bettors can wager on overs and unders for statistics for individual players like strikeouts, rebounds and goals.

These are some of the most common types of wagers in the sports betting world. Props are not limited to player markets either. They can be extended out to team props and game props. Typically, these are bets that are not directly tied to the final outcome of the game in terms of its score. Live Live or in-play betting has become extremely popular in the world of online sports betting.

All forms of straight bets and parlays can be found on live betting formats so that bettors can place wagers in the middle of games. Prior to the creation of live betting, bets were limited to being placed before games and at select sportsbooks, some bets could be placed at halftime. Now, any moment in time during a sporting event can be wagered on.