USA Legal Sports Betting Tracker

The first state to have a legal sports betting market, Nevada’s sportsbooks have been in operation since the state legalized sports betting in 1949. However, while it is certainly the oldest market, it’s no longer the leader as New Jersey has taken that mantle in recent years.

One aspect of the Nevada sports betting market that is currently holding it back is the need for in-person registration at a retail sportsbook before placing bets online.

June 11th 2018 saw New Jersey become the third state with a regulated sports betting market as Governor Phil Murphy signed Bill 4111- allowing single-event sports betting at casinos and racetracks. William Hill sportsbook accepted the state’s first sports bet on June 14th, a bet that was placed by Governor Murphy himself.

In the years since, New Jersey has become the leader in sports betting with the state posting a handle of $6,016,968,399 in 2020, easily beating Nevada.

Delaware became the second state to allow sports betting on June 5th 2018 when single-event betting was introduced at three of the state’s casinos. This was less than a month after the Supreme Court ruled that the federal law that restricted single-event sports wagering to the state of Nevada was unconstitutional.

However, despite the state’s early passing of sports betting, Delaware still lags behind newly established markets as there are no online sports betting options available.

On August 1st 2018, Mississippi sportsbooks began taking bets thanks to a sports betting law that was enacted in 2017 pending a favorable decision from the Supreme Court.

While in-person sports betting has been a success, the stipulation that those wishing to place bets online must do so when in a physical sportsbook has limited market growth.

August 30th 2018 saw West Virginia become the fifth state to launch a regulated sports betting market. The West Virginia Lottery Commission serves as the regulator for the market with the Hollywood Casino the first retail sportsbook in operation.

Mobile sports betting hit a few obstacles during its initial launch but has been running successfully since 2019.

On October 16th 2018, New Mexico saw its first legal sports bet even though the state had yet to pass any specific sports betting legislation. This is because the New Mexico tribal gaming compact allows “any or all forms of Class III Gaming”. According to federal regulations this includes sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see any online sports betting options in New Mexico unless the state introduces sports betting legislation.

In mid-November 2018, the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course started taking sports bets. The state has previously passed legislation in 2017 that covered sports betting, online poker, and daily fantasy sports (DFS). The bill then came into effect once the Supreme Court made its ruling in May 2018.

In 2020, Pennsylvania had the third highest sports betting handle for the year at $3,580,864,477.

On November 26th 2018, Rhode Island’s casinos launched their retail sportsbooks. This followed five months after Governor Gina Raimondo had included sports betting in the state budget. The state lottery became the sports betting regulator with only two physical locations allowed to offer sports wagering services.

In 2019, the law was amended to allow for mobile betting allowing William Hill to enter the market as the state's sole online sportsbook.

Arkansas became the ninth state to establish a regulated sports betting market on July 1st 2019. The Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort launched the state’s first sportsbook immediately while two more retail sportsbooks launched in the following months.

The state is historically conservative with regards to gambling, however, the success of retail sports betting resulted in government approval for a mobile industry which launched in March 2022.

On July 16th 2019, Rivers Casino in Schenectady took the state’s first legal sports wagers. Interestingly, this was six years after the state had passed a law that would allow four retail sportsbooks to open in New York. It was only after the Supreme Court ruling in 2018 that the state started to make concrete plans to establish a regulated market.

In April 2021, Governor Andrew Cuomo included mobile sports betting in the state budget. Nine operators were approved by the Gaming Commission later that year before mobile sports betting launched on January 8th 2022.

On August 15th 2019, Iowa sportsbooks launched three months after Governor Kim Reynolds signed a sports betting bill into law. The bill sees the Iowa Racing Commission regulate the industry with certain in-game prop bets on college games not permitted.

Mobile betting is allowed but with in-person registration required. However, this is set to end some time in 2021.

Oregon sportsbooks began taking sports bets on August 27th 2019. Interestingly, Oregon is another state that didn’t need to pass any specific sports betting legislation as the existing state laws allow for some forms of sports betting. As a result, the state’s tribal casinos didn’t even need to renegotiate their gaming compact in order to take sports bets.

Online sports betting arrived just two months later when the Oregon Lottery launched its sports betting app and website.

Indiana’s sport betting market opened for business on September 1st 2019. While wagering on pro and college sports is permitted, betting on high school sports or esports isn’t allowed. Regulations also allow providers to prohibit wagers at a sporting event through the use of a geofence.

The industry is regulated by the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Legal sports betting came to New Hampshire on December 30th 2019 with Governor Chris Sununo placing the state’s first wager on the New England Patriots. The state lottery oversees the regulation of the industry and while betting on college sports is allowed, betting on college teams within the state is not permitted.

With such a small population, it’s unsurprising that there is only one online provider. DraftKings is the sole online sportsbook, an exclusive right the operator won after promising the state 51% of its sportsbook revenue.

On March 9th 2020, Illinois launched retail sports betting and launched online betting just a month later. Mobile sports betting required in-person registration that slowed down market growth particularly during the pandemic. However, Governor J.B. Pritzker waived this process allowing for online registration.

The market has since grown from strength to strength with the state’s operators posting an impressive sports betting handle of $509.8 Million for February 2021.

March 11th 2020 saw two casinos in Detroit launch the first legal sportsbooks in Michigan. The launch was just three short months after Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the ‘Lawful Sport Betting Act‘.

The act allows for betting on all professional and college sports along with online sports wagering options that has seen multiple operators enter the local market.

In March 2020, Montana sportsbooks began taking their first sports wagers. The launch came after Governor Steve Bullock signed a sports betting bill in May of 2019. The sports betting market is regulated and run by the state lottery and there are no provisions for mobile betting.

As a result, the sports betting market in Montana is a state-run monopoly and with such a small population and low revenue figures, this is unlikely to ever change.

Legal sports betting launched in Colorado on May 1st 2020. This was less than six months after Colorado voters had decided by ballot that sports betting would be allowed through licensed casinos. The state allows both in-person and online betting and has quickly become a high revenue market.

The state’s multiple retail and online sportsbooks now regularly handle over $200 million in bets each month, joining a select few that includes New Jersey and Nevada.

The D.C. Lottery launched GameBetDC in June 2020. The platform allows sports fans to wager on major sports across the world while in the district of Washington. William Hill currently has a temporary retail booth at Capital One Arena that allows mobile betting.

The lack of competition for the state-run GameBetDC has seen the market suffer and a locally run company, Handle 19, had hoped to open a retail location to compete. However, the company’s application for a permit has run into many problems and the operator has since withdrawn its application.

Online sports betting launched in Tennessee on November 1st 2020 with four online sportsbooks taking the state’s first legal sports wagers. Unlike many other states. Tennessee’s law has no specific requirement for an online sportsbook to be tied to a bricks and mortar establishment so there are no retail sportsbooks in the state.

Tennessee’s sports betting law also requires that all operators use only official league data for live betting.

Online sportsbooks launched in Virginia in January 2021 and reported a sports betting handle of $58 million for the first 11 days of operation. While retail sports betting is allowed by law, there are no physical locations in the state as there are no casinos as of yet. Sports fans can bet on all major sports and college events with the exception of Virginia-based college teams.

The market is regulated by the Virginia State Lottery.

In March 2021, legal sports betting came to North Carolina. The launch followed signing of a 2019 bill that would allow sports wagering on tribal lands in a similar compact to that of New Mexico. With Sports betting designated as a Class III gaming activity, two of the state's tribal casinos opened retails sportsbooks.

In November 2020, Louisiana voters approved a ballot measure to allow sports betting to take place in the state.

On June 7th 2021, Governor John Bel Edwards signed the first of two sports betting bills. HB 697 places the Louisiana Lottery Corporation in control of the local market and is now signed into law.

The legislation places a 10% tax rate on net proceeds from retail sportsbooks while online sportsbooks will pay 15%.

SB 247 and SB 142 were signed into law just two weeks later making sports betting fully legal in the state of Louisiana.

Maryland voters approved the introduction of sports betting to help raise funds for education in a ballot during the November 2020 election. State officials targeted a launch date of September 9th 2021, however, this was pushed back to December.

Retail sports betting launched on December 9th 2021 while mobile sports betting went live in November 2022.

Washington's sports betting bill was signed into law on March 25th 2020 allowing sports wagering at Class III tribal casinos. The legislation allows for mobile sports betting but only when the player is on-site at a licensed tribal casino. Although Governor Jay Inslee signed the legislation into law in early 2020, the industry didn't launch until September 2021.

South Dakota voters approved a November 2020 ballot measure to permit sports wagering in Deadwood. However, there's an indication that other tribal casinos within the state could also be allowed to open their own sportsbooks following Governor Kristi Noem's signing of follow-up legislation in March 2021.

Sports betting is expected to launch in South Dakota by the end of 2021.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a sports betting bill into law on April 5th 2021. The law allows for mobile sports betting across the state with operators not requiring a partnership with a bricks and mortar casino.

Sports betting in Wyoming launched on September 1st 2021.

After many failed legislative attempts, sports betting in Kansas is now legal and soft launched on September 1st, 2022 with the official launch following on September 8th.

SB84, an amended bill that previously stalled in March 2021, was approved and signed into law in May of 2022.

Sports betting has officially launched in Massachusetts as retail sportsbooks opened their doors on January 31st, 2023. Mobile sports betting is expected to follow shortly.

Senators in Connecticut passed a sports betting bill on May 26th allowing the state's tribal casinos to launch both retail and online sports betting products and services. The bill was then signed by Governor Ned Lamont before heading to the Department of the Interior for approval.

Ohio legalized sports betting with the signing of House Bill 29 in December 2021. The industry will be overseen by the Ohio Casino Gaming Control Commission. The industry launched on January 1st, 2023.

Wisconsin gamblers can now place wagers on sports thanks to an amended gaming compact agreed between the Governor and the Oneida Tribe.

The new compact allows the tribe to offer sports betting on tribal grounds and the first wagers were accepted in November of 2021.

Other tribal groups have since approached the state with a view to launching their own sports betting products in the Badger State.

In the November 2020 election, voters in Nebraska approved an amendment to the state constitution that would legalize all games of chance. Since then, Nebraska lawmakers have approved a sports betting bill that excludes mobile betting or betting on home games of in-state teams.

The bill has since been signed into law by Governor Pete Ricketts, however, a definite launch date has yet to be decided.

Three bills relating to sports betting were approved by the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee in May of 2021. The main bill SB319 would put the decision on the establishment of a regulated sports betting market in the hands of the electorate. Unfortunately, while there was much hope that both chambers would discuss the bills before the end of the legislative session, it was decided not to move forward with either bill.

It came as a bitter blow as there seemed to be quite a lot of positivity surrounding the potential of a sports betting market. However, there is still time to reintroduce a similar bill in late 2021 or early 2022 so it can be included on the 2022 election ballot.

According to Alaskan state law, fantasy sports contests are games of chance and so are perfectly legal within the state. Sports betting, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. The state has tried and failed on several occasions to pass sports betting legislation and the most recent attempt was unfortunately thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In 2020, Governor Mike Dunleavy proposed two bills — SB 188 and HB 246 — that would allow multiple forms of legal gambling, including sports betting. The bills were known as The Alaska Lottery Corporation Act but as the legislature session closed early, both expired before being discussed by either chamber.

However, as Gov. Dunleavy is quite pro-gambling, we expect to see another bill in the very near future.

In early 2021, there was the general feeling that Georgia would be one of the first states to legalize sports betting in 2021. However, despite the continued efforts of lawmakers to find a way forward both HB 86 and SB 142 have failed to pass as of yet. Both bills would allow professional sports franchises to partner with sports betting operators with a minimum of six sportsbooks opening within the state.

The senate and house had opposing views on college sports and couldn't seem to find any way to compromise. But while sports betting may be impossible in 2021, there's still a strong possibility that it will be put to the electorate in the 2022 election.

In April 2020, Governor Kevin Stitt agreed new 15-year gaming compacts with two state tribes—the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the Comanche Nation. These compacts would allow the tribes to launch sports betting products on tribal lands.

However, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has since ruled that the governor exceeded his authority by legalizing an activity that is currently prohibited by state law.

Since then, the governor and his supporters have tried repeatedly to push the sports betting envelope but any efforts to discuss a potential change in legislation have been opposed by lawmakers. 

2020 saw multiple sports betting bills fail to garner enough support in the Vermont legislature painting what seemed like a bleak picture for proponents of the industry. However, 2021 has once again seen the matter discussed in both the house and the senate. Senator Dick Sears and co-sponsors Senator Michael Sirotkin, Senator Christopher Pearson, and Senator Richard Westman filed senate bill S. 77 in February.

The bill would allow sports betting in Vermont through the lottery and allow up to six mobile sportsbook operators to enter the market. The bill has since been referred to the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs where it is currently under review.

The latest attempt to legalize sports betting came as part of a series of measures that would expand the sovereignty of the state's tribes.

This saw a bill approved that would allow the four tribes to open casinos and launch both retail and mobile sports betting in the state.

Minnesota has made several attempts to legalize sports betting in recent years with the latest effort coming in the form of two bills introduced in February 2023.

If passed, the bills will legalize mobile sports betting through the state's tribes.

Sports betting is a hot topic in California with the idea of a regulated industry garnering quite a lot of support from both the general public and representatives. While most attempts to establish a market have been shot down by the state's tribal nations, the most recent effort could see sports betting become legal in tribal casinos.

An initiative to have the legalization of sports betting placed on the 2022 ballot has gained quite a lot of momentum with upwards of 1 million people signing the petition. It remains to be seen whether or not this will succeed, but with so much public support, it seems that it's just a matter of time before sports betting goes live in the state.

Governor Ron DeSantis agreed a new gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe that would allow the tribe to offer sports betting at its Florida casinos. The deal will see the Seminole have exclusive rights to sports betting within the state for 30 years and was ratified by the house and senate.

Once the legislation is signed by Gov. DeSantis, the Seminole expect to launch sports betting by the start of the NFL season.

In March of 2021, HJR 133 was introduced that would put the fate of sports betting in Texas in the hands of the voters. There are hopes that a vote can take place on the resolution before the end of this legislative session so it can be put on the ballot for 2022.

A related bill, HB 2070, that was backed by the Sporting Alliance, had gained some momentum in recent months but that seems to have stalled and there's little hope that it will be discussed again before the end of the year.

All that said, the outlook remains positive for sports betting in Texas as both public sentiment and that of the state's major sports teams are fully behind a regulated market.

There is no legal sports betting in Kentucky at present. However, if all goes to plan, this could be about to change in the very near future.

In February 2023, Rep. Michael Meredith introduced HB 551 that if passed will allow both retail and mobile sports betting to launch in the state.

Missouri's lawmakers' latest attempts to legalize sports betting within the state have seen the Missouri House of Representatives advance HB 2502 which, if passed, will see the state establish a regulated sports betting market that allows both retail and mobile sports betting in the state.

The legislation has a proposed launch date of August 28th, 2022 just in time for the NFL season opener.

Hawaii is one of the few states that has a complete ban on all forms of gambling. That means no gambling or games of chance whatsoever. There isn’t even a lottery or any charitable bingo halls.

In a state with such strict laws, you’d expect stiff opposition to any talk of sports betting but that’s not quite the case. Although attempts to legalize sports betting in both 2019 and 2020 ultimately failed, there wasn’t quite as much opposition as expected.

2021 has seen several bills relating to gambling and sport betting introduced but none have gained enough momentum for us to call it one way or another.

For now, the state seems to be on the fence.

North Dakotan senators recently voted against putting the question of legal sports betting to the electorate by a narrow margin of just one vote. Even though there seems to be quite a lot of public support for the establishment of a regulated sports betting market, this latest defeat has put the brakes on any progress for the time being.

With so much public support though, there could be another attempt next year.

South Carolina has some pretty strict gambling laws and opposition to sports betting runs deep in the state. However, there have been some attempts in recent years to get those opposed to gambling on board with legal sports betting. In fact, the general public is starting to come around to the idea that a regulated market could have a positive impact on the state’s economy.

The most recent attempt to legalize sports betting came in 2020 when House Joint Resolution 3395 was brought before the house. This would amend the constitution to allow for sports betting. A similar resolution — Senate Joint Resolution 98 was brought before the senate and both were referred to committees.

Since then there has been no movement but advocates live in hope that sports betting in South Carolina may become a reality some time in the future.

There is no sports betting of any kind available in Utah nor is that likely to change in the near future.

This is because the state constitution specifically mentions the prohibition of gambling in any shape or form. State lawmakers have even gone so far as to amend the legal code to prevent online gambling in the state even if it were to be legalized at federal level.

From Chapter 10, part 11 of the state’s criminal code titled Offenses Against Public Health, Safety, Welfare, and Morals concerning gambling:

If any federal law authorizes Internet gambling in the states and that federal law provides that individual states may opt out of Internet gambling, this state shall opt out of Internet gambling in the manner provided by federal law and within the time frame provided by that law.

This anti-gambling stance is deep rooted in Utah's community with the majority of the electorate against all forms of gambling and standing firm against the introduction of a state lottery.

Aside from pari-mutuel horse wagering, there are no legal sports betting options currently available in Idaho.

Pari-mutuel horse wagering was introduced in Idaho during the 1960s and but there has been no indication that sports wagering would follow since then. In fact, a recent ballot measure that would have expanded pari-mutuel wagering options was rejected by the electorate. Had this gone through, there may have been hope for sports betting at the state's tribal casinos.

As it stands, there are no planned legislative moves by any of the state's lawmakers to introduce sports betting legislation in the near future.