Want to Bet on Sports - Here's Where all 50 states stand on Legalization of Sports Gambling
Sports betting is growing by leaps and bounds, but can it be done in your state? That is a key question that a lot of bettors have been asking since the Federal Government removed a lot of the restrictions for sports betting. The downside is even with the removal of these restrictions they have not spread to each state as a lot of states have the right still to block sports betting.
Granted, 11 states have already lifted their bans on sports betting, but that leaves 38 states with wagering on sports still banned. Now, some places are starting to loosen their restrictions or already have legislation in place that is going to allow the sports betting world to expand even more and allow people to legally bet at various sports books.
With these changes it is time to explore what each state has in place when it comes to sports betting.
Alabama – Not Legal
Sports betting in Alabama is not legal as of yet. However, one thing that is going to be changing soon is the legislation that was proposed in April that is going to create a new commission that would regulate sports betting. It would allow for wagering on professional and college sports.
Alaska – Not Legal
Alaska has not legalized sports betting at this time. However, their re rumors that are spreading that their could be upcoming legislation in the state of Alaska that would allow for sports betting.
Arizona – Not Legal
Arizona is not allowing legalized sports betting as of yet. However, the state is approaching a sports book in a completely different way and the legislation on the books is meant to allow the Native Americans who already have a casino in place to open up a sports book.
Arkansas – Legal
Arkansas is new to the sports betting world with the first sports book actually opening in July. This is just the first of many as many other places are looking to enter into the sports betting world. However, the state still does not allow the mobile wagering online.
California – Not Legal
California is getting ready to have a sports gambling amendment to their constitution if it passes. The state currently does not allow gambling on sports, but with this legislation that is proposed it would allow gambling on sports.
Colorado – Legal
Colorado is one state that has allowed sports gambling. The gambling can take place at various sports books, but also with online operations as well for the people to enjoy.
Connecticut – Not Legal
Connecticut is another state that has not allowed gambling to take place yet. However, the state does have 2 separate bills that are in the works. One would allow a wide range of sports betting sites to open. The other bill would only allow sports gambling to take place at the recognized Native American operated casinos.
Delaware – Legal
Delaware was one of the first states after the Supreme Court ruling to have sports books operating. The sports betting takes place currently at 3 different casinos. However, the state is looking at expanding the betting to mobile and additional sports books locations.
Florida – Not Legal
In Florida they are working on legislation to get the sports gambling up to speed and legalized. However, the bills were not proposed until November of 2019. So it is unknown when these will be passed to allow gambling.
Georgia – Not Legal
In Georgia it is not legal yet to bet on sports. However, the state has a couple of bills in the works that are going to legalize sports gambling. The key thing that people need to realize for Georgia is the fact that the state does not plan on allowing more than 10 licenses in the state.
Hawaii – Not Legal
Hawaii is not currently allowing sports gambling at this time. However, it is in the works with a bill that has been in the works for over a year and a half to get sports gambling legalized, but it would be done under a new corporation.
Idaho – Not Legal
Idaho is one of only a handful of states that do not allow sports gambling, but also do not have any bills in the works to get sports gambling up.
Illinois – Legal
Illinois is one state that sports gambling is legal at a variety of locations, but it does come with a catch. One of the biggest catches for the sports gambling in Illinois is the fact that it has placed all the in state college teams as off limits.
Indiana – Legal
Indiana has allowed sports gambling on professional and college sports. The best part for residents of the state of Indiana is the fact that it has allowed multiple locations to be established to allow in person betting, but also allows online betting as well.
Iowa – Legal
Iowa is on state that has allowed sports betting on multiple sports. It actually started in 2019 and has allowed multiple sports betting sites to open. The state does allow for betting on professional and college sports.
Kansas – Not Legal
Kansas is one state that does not really have any plans of moving forward with the sports gambling world. However, that mainly comes from the fact that the state has 5 bills on the books, but no date set on when they would face a hearing.
Kentucky – Not Legal
Kentucky has several bills that are currently in the works to get sports betting passed. However, like Kansas the state has not passed any of the bills or even set a date for them to be voted on.
Louisiana – Not Legal
Louisiana is one state that has everything in place to pass the legislation, but failed to do so. If it passed it would have allowed the state casinos and race tracks to get the sports book in place. Now, with the delay it could push back and sports gambling all the way to 2021.
Maine – Not Legal
The people of Maine were only a signature away from getting sports gambling passed, with the exception of in state colleges. However, the governor vetoed the bill and now it will not have a second chance until 2021.
Maryland – Not Legal
Maryland is one state that has been looking to get the sports gambling legalized. However, the legalization of sports gambling has not taken place yet and failed to get out of the legislation for the 2nd straight year.
Massachusetts - Not Legal
The state of Massachusetts is one state that is looking to expand their sports gambling. However, it is going to be interesting to see which bill passes as the state has 2 casinos that could potentially be the sole place to bet, but also the state has another bill in the works that would allow online gambling.
Michigan – Legal
As of March of 2020 the states casinos could open up a sports books. The bills that allowed this type of betting was actually passed in 2019 and quickly signed into law.
Minnesota – Not Legal
Minnesota is having to rework their legislation that has been made and failed to move past the legislative sessions. Now, the bills which could be relaunched would allow gambling at all 21 tribal casinos, the 2 horse tracks, but potentially it could allow people to bet by mobile as well.
Mississippi – Legal
Mississippi started to take sports bets in 2018 and was one of the first states to allow sports betting. So this is one state that has allowed residents to enjoy the chance of winning big.
Missouri – Not Legal
Missouri is one state that does not allow sports betting currently. However, the state does have multiple bills in the work that have not been moved on so far.
Montana – Legal
Montana is a state that has allowed sports betting starting in March of 2020. The state is one place that is going to regulate their sports books by using the lottery .
Nebraska – Not Legal
Nebraska is one state that does not currently allow sports gambling. However, the state in the proposed legislature is considering sports betting as a game of skill which could potentially help the legalization of the sports betting.
Nevada – Legal
I think this one is a no-brainer as to how the state allows sports betting.
New Hampshire – Legal
New Hampshire is the one state that has done really well in legalization of sports betting by getting a 6 year contract signed with DraftKings. Since January 2, 2020 the state has allowed sports betting to take place.
New Jersey – Legal
The state that brought along the court case that would eventually lead to the reversal of the sports betting world by bringing the case. With that being said, New Jersey quickly allowed sports betting in multiple areas, including Atlantic City and the Giants stadium.
New Mexico – Legal
New Mexico is one state that is in a gray area for sports betting. Their was never a law on the books prohibiting the sports books, but it allowed the Pueblo of Santa Ana tribe to open up their own sports book.
New York – Legal
When it comes to sports betting New York has ended up having a law allowing sports gambling since 2013. Now, the interesting point is the gambling did not start until July of 2019. Now, the state is looking at allowing mobile wagering.
North Carolina – Legal
The state of North Carolina is allowing sports gambling, but it is only going to be in the casinos that are run by the Cherokee tribes, which is 2 different locations. At this time neither one of the tribes casinos are taking in sports betting.
North Dakota – Not Legal
This is one state that has not passed any legislation yet to get sports gambling legalized. However, the state may not pass it anytime soon as the state legislatures voted down a proposed bill in 2019 to allow sports gambling.
Ohio – Not Legal
Ohio is one place that does not allow sports betting currently, but they do have several proposals on the books. The downside is the state legislatures will not stop arguing about the oversight of the sports betting.
Oklahoma – Not Legal
Oklahoma is looking to expand their betting world, but it will not really be easy to do and would be limited in where it is allowed. The Oklahoma legislation that is proposed would only allow the gambling to be done as an expansion of the current tribal casinos.
Oregon – Legal
Oregon is another state that was simply waiting for the Federal ban to be lifted. However, it would take until August of 2019 before the state would start to see the sports betting take shape.
Pennsylvania – Legal
Pennsylvania is one state that has allowed gambling since 2018 at a sportsbook in a casino. Since that one sports bet being taken in, the state of Pennsylvania has started to take more betting locations in.
Rhode Island – Legal
Rhode Island is a state that has allowed sports betting at a couple of casinos and that is the limit of the locations, but in Rhode Island most people can easily reach these locations. With some new legislation, though, it is looking to expand to online wagering.
South Carolina – Not Legal
Riverboat casinos are the only part of the state that allows for any type of betting on anything. There is legislation in the works to allow sports gambling as well. The downside is the proposal has been going on for 2 years and not passed yet.
South Dakota
Legislation was proposed to get the work done for sports gambling to become legal as part of the constitution. However, it was voted down in legislature. Now, there is a petition going around right now that would take it to the voters.
Tennessee – Legal
Sports gambling is legal in Tennessee, but it is a state that the gambling has not started yet. It is also a state that is allowing the mobile apps for gambling as well.
Texas – Not Legal
Texas has the hurdle of having to get the legislation moved up to a referendum to be approved by the voters. However, if it is approved it will definitely allow the people to have a new way of wagering by getting to mobile and online wagering.
Utah – Not Legal
Utah is one state that it most likely will not see any type of changes to their voting laws as nothing is even on the books to get it started yet.
Vermont – Not Legal
Vermont is one state that does not allow much in the way of gambling in general. With that being the case, it will be interesting to see if the legislation that would allow mobile betting to be allowed or not.
Virginia – Legal
Virginia is going to allow the sports books to have apps in the state. This will allow people to wager on the sports legally, but it has yet to start and could go live by the end of 2020.
Washington – Not Legal
Washington is looking at a couple of different bills to get the sports betting done. Both of these bills are on the table right now, but one would allow horse tracks only to get the sports book, but the other would allow casinos only.
Washington D.C. – Legal
Washington D.C. is allowed to have sports gambling as well. However, the location is one place that is getting all of the sports wagering handled by the DC Lottery.
West Virginia – Legal
West Virginia is a state that has allowed gambling since August of 2018. The gambling started as the 5th state, but it is one state that does allow the in-person and online sports wagering to take place.
Wisconsin – Not Legal
Wisconsin joins some of the few states that are not allowing sports gambling, but also does not have anything in the works to get the gambling completed.
Wyoming – Not Legal
Wyoming is another state that does not allow gambling on sports games. The legislation that had been proposed actually ended up getting voted down in early 2020 and it is unknown when it will come back to the legislation.
