The Supreme Court decision in Murphy vs. NCAA was an absolute game-changer for sports gambling in the United States. With a handful of states already offering legal sports betting and tons more poised to get on board, there's never been a better time to be a sports fan in the US. Even though there is no federal law that specifically prohibits online gambling advertising, the government has hinted that it may pursue charges against those promoting any type of gambling. Title 18 of the United States Code § 2 states that 'Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces. Wire Act of 1961 The first thing you may notice is the date on this law. Yes, it was passed into law in 1961, which is well before the invention of the internet and even the thought of online gambling. Even with this being the case, this law has been used many times over the years to make rulings against online gambling.
In the United States, both the Federal government and individual state governments are responsible for regulating gaming within their jurisdiction. The Federal government has designated some forms of gambling as prohibited within the US and has created laws that are non-negotiable in the regulation of such prohibited activities. On this subject, the Federal government may outlaw any form of gambling and states must abide by their law as Federal regulation will always trump state laws. It is important to any country's gambling laws in order to stay within the country's legal guidelines.
States, however, are permitted to maintain their own regulations and prohibitions on acceptable forms of gambling as dictated by Federal regulations. So long as state laws align and do not challenge or disobey Federal gaming laws they are free to control, oversee, and manage to gamble within their state. Usually, states create and employ gaming control boards or special gaming commissions to supervise gambling activities within their state borders. State laws are subject to their specific state and do not have jurisdiction or power to control laws in other states. Therefore, gambling laws can differ greatly between states.
Active Federal Laws And Regulations In The United States That Affect Online Gambling
The United States maintains several significant federal gambling laws that greatly affect how gambling is regulated and permitted throughout the nation. Each law provides its own in-depth explanation, reasoning, and history behind its creation and implementation. On this page we summarize the laws, however, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the background of each federal law simply follow the highlighted links to resource guide that provides a greater depth of explanation.
Federal Wire Act – To combat prolific organized crime surrounding illegal bookmaking, then President John F. Kennedy enacted this law which effectively outlawed betting businesses from using phones to accept, place, or transmit interstate or foreign wagers on sports. At the time, this federal law greatly minimized domestic mafia bookmaking operations. The law has recently been interpreted by the US Department of Justice as effectively prohibiting U.S. based online sportsbooks from operating within the nation's borders. Therefore it is a crime to operate an online sportsbook on US soil. The law does not prohibit USA residents from engaging in online sports betting at a legitimately licensed and regulated sportsbook that is legally operating outside of the United States.
DOJ Formal Opinion – In 2011, the DOJ and the Office of Legal Counsel released a memo that explained their formal interpretation of the Federal Wire Act that countered against the previous position the Criminal Division of the DOJ had taken. The memo stated that their prohibition on US-based Internet gaming only applied to online sports wagering. This clarification effectively allowed U.S. states to determine their destiny regarding online gambling as long as it doesn't entail betting on sports. Therefore online casinos and poker sites are now legally permissible should a state decide to legalize these forms of betting entertainment.
UIGEA – This federal law is specifically aimed at online gaming operators and online gaming payment processors to curb illegal financial crimes, fraud, and money laundering through internet gaming activities. Financial institutions were thus barred from permitting direct transactions to online gaming service providers and given specific regulations on how they may process such transactions. In essence, the law provides regulatory oversight regarding how the online gambling transactions of USA residents are processed. The law does not make online gambling illegal.
PASPA – Once acted as the governing law over the prohibition of brick and mortar sports wagering throughout the US, with the exception of four exempted states. These four states had already implemented some type of active sports wagering or had pending sports legislation in place by a specified deadline and therefore were deemed exempt from the restrictions enacted by PASPA. The exemption was also offered to New Jersey due to their thriving Atlantic City gambling entertainment market, however, the state failed to take advantage of this option and allowed the deadline to pass. However, in 2018 SCOTUS reviewed PASPA and on May 14th ruled it unconstitutional and void. This law is no longer effctive in the land of the free.
RAWA – A preemptive bill yet decided upon intends to rewrite the Federal Wire Act of 1961 to extend prohibitions to include all forms of online gaming. If passed, this law would violently impact the current and future USA online gambling market as it does not include carve-outs for existing state-regulated online gambling platforms such as those initiated in Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada – effectively making all online gaming in the USA illegal immediately.
State Gambling Laws
Individual states maintain the authority to allow or prohibit any form of gambling within their borders that are not expressly prohibited by US federal gambling laws. Due to the differing climate of states and their individual positions regarding legal forms of gambling entertainment, it is crucial to provide up to date information on what each US state permits and forbids in order to deliver the most accurate information for our readers. Therefore, we have specialized state focused pages to deliver the most current information on gaming laws and permissible gaming entertainment within their borders. Not only that, we provide here a state-specific gambling entertainment bill tracker to keep Americans updated on upcoming legal forms of betting entertainment in their state and inform them of newly enacted or retracted gambling laws.
Who Regulates Gambling in The United States?
Us Gambling Laws
At the federal level, there are multiple agencies that have a say in the regulation of U.S.A. gambling, these figures include the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, Congress, and even the President. All of whom communicate with one another and utilize the US constitution and precedent laws to determine the eligibility and legality of pending gambling legislation and regulations. At the state level, senators and congressmen in government positions lobby, direct, and discuss possible gaming legislation to either generate, permit, and regulate various legal forms of gaming entertainment in their state.
However, state governments often create sanctioned oversight boards such as Gaming Control Boards or Gaming Commissions to authorize, supervise and regulate legalized gambling activities within their state. Certain states in the USA may only have limited forms of legal gaming and therefore consolidate administrative power to existing commissions such as Lottery Commissions that are then tasked to regulate lotteries and limited forms of gambling such as charitable gaming in this case.
Forms of Legal Gambling in The United States
There are a variety of legal forms of gambling within the United States, however, these permitted venues are not uniform across state lines and players interested in engaging in these activities should check with local state laws to ensure lawful participation. As identified by the American Gaming Association the following forms of gaming entertainment are legal in the US: brick and mortar commercial casinos, tribal-run casinos, public and private poker rooms, bingo halls, various charitable gambling venues offering games such as raffles, pull-tabs, paddlewheel, punchboards, and casino nights, table games, on-track and off-track pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing, exotic wagering, bookmaking, daily fantasy sports tournaments, skill-based tournaments such as billiards, darts, and fishing, and lotteries.
Forms of Legal Online Gambling in The United States
Within the U.S.A. there are legal forms of online gambling that citizens may participate in, however again, the permissibility of online wagering is not equal across state borders as individual states hold the authority to allow or prohibit various types of online gambling for their state residents. With this being said, a number of US states have permitted the legalization of online gaming platforms through the use of iGaming services providing online casino, poker and lottery initiatives that are thriving. As of this writing, Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada all have state-based online poker available, and both Delaware and New Jersey also offer state-regulated online casino gambling as well.
At this moment in time, individual states are not eligible to provide state-regulated sports betting online due to current federal legislation blocking such access. Regardless, nearly all USA residents may participate in legally licensed and regulated offshore online sports betting sites that remain a legal online avenue for USA players.
What Is The Legal U.S. Gambling Age?
Generally, gambling is legally accessible to individuals above the age of eighteen. However, every state has its own laws on the minimum legal age for gambling within their borders and often it can vary by game type. Normally, lottery gambling, charitable gambling, parimutuel wagering and bingo are available to young adults who are at least eighteen. Often times poker and casino gambling impose a requirement for individuals to be at least twenty-one in order to participate. These norms vary by state.
What Happens If I Violate A US Gambling Law?
Nearly all states criminalize gambling in some form and contain various penalties and punishments set for engaging in illegal forms of gambling. Violations of any US gambling laws, whether federal or state, can lead to imprisonment, hefty fines, and/or probation. Each violation case is different, and penalties vastly change based on the state or jurisdiction the violation took place in and circumstance. Imprisonment can vary based on a misdemeanor or felony offense in which case can result in up to a year in county or local jail for misdemeanors and a year or more in prison for felony offenses.
Criminal cases involving organized crime and professional gambling can result in up to a 10-year sentence in federal prison or more. Fines can vary on a state by state basis, generally, misdemeanor fines can range from $100 up to a $1,000 or more. Felony fees are relatively handled the same way and they can reach up to $20,000 or more. Fines can be separate punishments or in addition to jail or prison sentences. Probation sentences often ask offenders to serve 12 or more months either in a gambling addiction treatment facility or refraining from participating in gambling activities alongside with judge recommendations for community service or similar.
Is Illegal Gambling a Problem in the United States?
In the past, illegal gambling rings were run by threatening mobster figures who would often commit violent crimes against individuals and families of persons with unpaid debts. Today, the seedy dark figures of the past are no longer so prevalent but that is not to say that there are no underground gambling activities taking place in the US. In fact, several cases of violent threats and acts occur to this day due to gamblers placing wagers and falling into debt with the wrong type of individuals.
Illegal gaming remains a huge black-market business in the U.S. and every day individuals can place illicit wagers through bookies, backdoor casinos, and illegal online portals while operators, owners, and bookmakers take their cut of this lucrative business. No one is sure how much money is exactly wagered illegally but some estimate that the numbers are close to $88 billion a year. Other than the issue of states being unable to tax this money and legal venues losing money to illegal platforms, the greater issue of possible gambling addiction remains the most threating as addiction can lead to serious problems concerning an individual's financial welfare, home-life, and possible crimes committed.
Which States Consider Gambling Illegal?
Gambling is wholeheartedly illegal in Utah and Hawaii, as they are well-known for their gaming prohibitions and strict anti-gambling laws. These two states have often reasoned that gambling would destroy their religious values, moral family structures, and harm their communities. Certain states that do not oppose gambling on moral grounds still limit gaming within their borders and only provide minimal gaming entertainment access; a move that often forces interested bettors into illegal gambling activities. One state in particular that engages in this type of limitations is Alaska, however, other states employ similar limitation tactics. These types of restrictions have driven the legal online gambling industry to gain momentum.
How Do I Know If I'm Gambling At An Illegal Destination?
Often a red flag for any gambler is the location of the said gaming site. Look around: is the setting of the business in a rundown location hidden from legal oversight? Do you have to enter through a special backdoor? Is the lighting poor, hygiene of the venue dissatisfactory, and do the patrons and staff give off a suspicious feeling? The one sure fire way to determine the legitimacy of any type of gambling business either offline or online is through their credentials. Legally sanctioned gambling businesses have no problem being transparent regarding their licensing, regulatory oversight and compliance certifications.
All licensing credentials should reflect the name of the agency or gaming commission that issues licensing for any given jurisdiction, and can easily be verified through the relevant regulatory body. If you find yourself in contact with a gambling business of any kind that acts defensive or is elusive when you attempt to question their credentials, you can speculate that their legitimacy is questionable. Illegitimate gambling businesses, which in turn are illegally operating, are usually focused on predatory acts, such as theft and fraud. We strongly caution against sharing any information with any gambling business that you are not sure is operating legally within the industry.
Who Do I Contact About Illegal Gambling Operations?
Once you have come in contact with an illegal gambling operation that attempted to entice you to wager on or participate in illicit activities, contact a lawyer, report the illegal operation at ic3.org, and follow up with filing a report with the FBI, local law enforcement, the American Gaming Associations Illegal Gambling Advisory Board, and/or Internal Revenue Criminal Investigation Department.
Help With Gambling Addiction In The United States
Sports betting laws in the United States are changing rapidly. While wagering on sports has long been an American tradition, many folks have been under the impression that the activity is largely against the law. Well, that used to be true; however, on May 14, 2018, the US Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA, 1992), lifting the ban on states being able to establish their own sports wagering industries. No longer does Nevada (primarily Las Vegas) have a monopoly on legal sports betting in the country and states are finally free to set up their own betting rules and regulations. Many already have.
Despite these positive developments, there are still federal laws on the book regarding sports wagering. The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 both remain in effect. Both are limited in their application to gambling operators physically located within the United States, so bettors are still able to freely gamble despite those laws. As sports betting continues to become a more widely accepted in American culture, these laws will undoubtedly evolve, and they will likely eventually be repealed. Although no American laws prevent you from gambling, it would still benefit you to learn about them. Information is power, after all.
PASPA – The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act
PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, was passed in 1992 and went into effect on January 1, 1993. This law, since its inception to its ultimate SCOTUS overturn, has long been the sole real hurdle for eager American sports bettors. In practice, PASPA essentially allowed Nevada to have a total monopoly on single-game sports betting (aka full-service sports betting or 'Vegas-style' sports betting). Given the overwhelming popularity of sports betting in the US, PASPA was a financial catastrophe. Not only did the law basically bankrupt major casino districts like those in Atlantic City, NJ, and Biloxi, MS, PASPA actually cost the government (both state and federal) an estimated $400-500 billion a year in taxable expenditure. It is not a stretch to suggest that during the law's existence (1992-2018), PASPA has cost the state hundreds of billions of dollars (if not trillions of dollars) in potential tax revenue. Of all the sports betting laws in the United States throughout its history, PASPA was by far the biggest, most obvious mistake.
During PASPA's reign, Nevada – the only legal bastion for real sports wagering – was estimated to receive only 1-3% of the total sports betting handle turned by US bettors. The rest of that action was either going underground or being sent to offshore sportsbooks (which, despite PASPA and other US anti-gambling laws, were and are able to operate legally, as they are based overseas and outside of US jurisdiction). Naturally, PASPA has been something of a massive financial boondoggle for the US, and now that the law is overturned, there is hope that much of that action being sent overseas can be recovered and kept in the US economy. As for the lingering effects of PASPA? Good riddance to bad rubbish!
Read Our Article: What Is Papsa?
UIGEA – Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was written to deter US financial institutions from processing payments related to Internet gambling. Included in the SAFE Port Act 2006, the UIGEA is a provision that requires banks and other payment processors to monitor designated payment systems such as cards, checks, and bank wires for 'restricted transactions', While the UIGEA will make it more difficult when using your Visa or MasterCard to make a deposit at an online sportsbook, there are certain sites that have higher success rates than others. Like most federal sports betting laws, the UIGEA only applies to businesses and not the individuals placing bets.
While the UIGEA sounds scary and intimidating, it doesn't actually do much to stop 'unlawful Internet gambling'. That's probably because most of the gambling it actually addresses isn't unlawful in the first place, given that offshore sportsbooks accessible over the Internet do not constitute illegal bookmakers. The law is further neutered by the advent of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which allow bettors to fund their accounts and receive payouts without ever going through a banking service on either end. All in all, the UIGEA is the poster child for ineffective legislation to address nonexistent problems. Hopefully, the law will be eradicated in due time, but until then, if you ever have a card declined while trying to fund your sports betting account, simply wait a bit and try again, use a different card (like an Internet Visa prepaid/gift card), or just use Bitcoin or another supported altcoin. Indeed, there is some debate about the origin of Bitcoin itself, with many analysts claiming that the catalysts for its creation were the strict sports betting laws in the United States.
Read Our Article: What Is The UIGEA
RAWA – The Restoration of America's Wire Act
The Restoration of America's Wire Act, or RAWA, was designed to strengthen and broaden the Wire Act after the DOJ ruled in 2011 that the law only applied to sports betting. While this received some notable support in the legislature after its initial proposal in 2014 (co-sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah representative Jason Chaffetz), the bill gained no support and never advanced.
The necessity for RAWA, in effect, at least temporarily obviated when the DOJ, in 2018, reversed course, stating that the original Wire Act did indeed apply to all common forms of gambling. This, it seems, has deprioritized the issue, albeit a DOJ statement is not nearly as binding as an official law (and, as shown, can be reversed at any time). Lobbyist and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson was the main driving force behind RAWA, as online gambling threatens his land-based casino interests.
The Interstate Wire Act
PASPA, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, was passed in 1992 and went into effect on January 1, 1993. This law, since its inception to its ultimate SCOTUS overturn, has long been the sole real hurdle for eager American sports bettors. In practice, PASPA essentially allowed Nevada to have a total monopoly on single-game sports betting (aka full-service sports betting or 'Vegas-style' sports betting). Given the overwhelming popularity of sports betting in the US, PASPA was a financial catastrophe. Not only did the law basically bankrupt major casino districts like those in Atlantic City, NJ, and Biloxi, MS, PASPA actually cost the government (both state and federal) an estimated $400-500 billion a year in taxable expenditure. It is not a stretch to suggest that during the law's existence (1992-2018), PASPA has cost the state hundreds of billions of dollars (if not trillions of dollars) in potential tax revenue. Of all the sports betting laws in the United States throughout its history, PASPA was by far the biggest, most obvious mistake.
During PASPA's reign, Nevada – the only legal bastion for real sports wagering – was estimated to receive only 1-3% of the total sports betting handle turned by US bettors. The rest of that action was either going underground or being sent to offshore sportsbooks (which, despite PASPA and other US anti-gambling laws, were and are able to operate legally, as they are based overseas and outside of US jurisdiction). Naturally, PASPA has been something of a massive financial boondoggle for the US, and now that the law is overturned, there is hope that much of that action being sent overseas can be recovered and kept in the US economy. As for the lingering effects of PASPA? Good riddance to bad rubbish!
Read Our Article: What Is Papsa?
UIGEA – Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) was written to deter US financial institutions from processing payments related to Internet gambling. Included in the SAFE Port Act 2006, the UIGEA is a provision that requires banks and other payment processors to monitor designated payment systems such as cards, checks, and bank wires for 'restricted transactions', While the UIGEA will make it more difficult when using your Visa or MasterCard to make a deposit at an online sportsbook, there are certain sites that have higher success rates than others. Like most federal sports betting laws, the UIGEA only applies to businesses and not the individuals placing bets.
While the UIGEA sounds scary and intimidating, it doesn't actually do much to stop 'unlawful Internet gambling'. That's probably because most of the gambling it actually addresses isn't unlawful in the first place, given that offshore sportsbooks accessible over the Internet do not constitute illegal bookmakers. The law is further neutered by the advent of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which allow bettors to fund their accounts and receive payouts without ever going through a banking service on either end. All in all, the UIGEA is the poster child for ineffective legislation to address nonexistent problems. Hopefully, the law will be eradicated in due time, but until then, if you ever have a card declined while trying to fund your sports betting account, simply wait a bit and try again, use a different card (like an Internet Visa prepaid/gift card), or just use Bitcoin or another supported altcoin. Indeed, there is some debate about the origin of Bitcoin itself, with many analysts claiming that the catalysts for its creation were the strict sports betting laws in the United States.
Read Our Article: What Is The UIGEA
RAWA – The Restoration of America's Wire Act
The Restoration of America's Wire Act, or RAWA, was designed to strengthen and broaden the Wire Act after the DOJ ruled in 2011 that the law only applied to sports betting. While this received some notable support in the legislature after its initial proposal in 2014 (co-sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Utah representative Jason Chaffetz), the bill gained no support and never advanced.
The necessity for RAWA, in effect, at least temporarily obviated when the DOJ, in 2018, reversed course, stating that the original Wire Act did indeed apply to all common forms of gambling. This, it seems, has deprioritized the issue, albeit a DOJ statement is not nearly as binding as an official law (and, as shown, can be reversed at any time). Lobbyist and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson was the main driving force behind RAWA, as online gambling threatens his land-based casino interests.
The Interstate Wire Act
The Interstate Wire Act (also called the Federal Wire Act, the Interstate Anti-Crime Act, or simply the Wire Act) was a piece of legislation signed into law in 1961 by former president John F. Kennedy at the behest of his brother Robert F., who was the US Attorney General at the time. Sold to the public as a means to stop the proliferation of mafia-related numbers rackets across state borders, the real impetus for the very first of the US sports betting laws was to stop sports gambling and underground lotteries from competing with state-sanctioned lotteries. Naturally, the states could not abide competition in this arena, as their own lotteries provided huge amounts of income to fund their programs and schemes.
The way that the Wire Act seeks to curb unlawful interstate gaming is to make it illegal to use wire communications (hence the law's name) to accept sports wagers or other kinds of bets over things like telephones and telegraph systems. Indeed, semaphore is even outlawed! Naturally, with the advent of the Internet, this new communications form, traveling over wires, was also covered by the Wire Act, as is wireless wagering in our modern times. In 2011, the US DOJ stated that the Wire Act applied only to sports wagering. However, in 2018, the same US DOJ stated that the Wire Act does in fact apply to other forms of gambling, as well.
The only real effect of the Wire Act now, however, is that it prevents residents in one state from picking up the phone or logging onto the Internet to place a sports bet in another state. This is called geo-fencing, and even the casino and sports betting apps in Nevada are bound by GPS to only allow those physically in the state to place wagers. This problem, of course, doesn't exist with legal offshore sportsbooks, as they operate entirely outside of the reach of US laws, and the Wire Act conveniently applies only to bookies, not individual bettors. That's why these overseas books exist and continue to thrive.
Read Our Article: What Is The Wire Act?
Proposed Federal Gambling Laws
There is one particular sports betting law that is in the works, although it has not been officially filed as of yet. Back in September of 2019, US Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitt Romney began working on a form of legislation with the goal to create federal standards or guidelines for states who plan to regulate sports betting in the future. Currently, in the US, sports betting is handled on a state by state basis, making the rules vary drastically from one state to another. The proposed bill would make a unified sports betting set of rules that any state who regulates sports betting would then follow. Schumer initially tried to create a similar sports betting law earlier in the year but was ultimately a waste as the bill went nowhere. This newer proposed bill has more potential going forward, however.
Potential For Similar Laws In The Future
Will there ever be a PASPA style law passed in the future within the United States? The likeliest of answers is no. The US has lived both in a PASPA world and a post-PASPA world and the economy has thrived in one more than it has in the other. Sports betting will always be something that Americans participate in. To ban it would only be hurting the country and the revenue it gains from the industry. It wouldn't hurt the consumer as there are outside outlets to gamble are sporting events that are completely legal.
The only difference if another ban were to occur would be the US not profiting from those outlets the way they do in a post-PASPA world with their own platforms, which is why it would be highly unlikely that any legislation would pass like that of PASPA in the future. That's not to say that there won't be proposals that will come along as some people will always be opposed to legal sports betting but to go as far as becoming a law again, a betting man would wager on the side of 'No.' The legal sports wagering industry is just too lucrative in the US to ever be banned again.
GAME Act – Gaming Accountability and Modernization Enhancement Act
Introduced by Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), the GAME Act was intended to effectively repeal and replace PASPA. Introduced in 2017 as HR 4530, the GAME Act sought to return to the states their rights to legislate their own sports betting rules. There were other considerations involved, namely a passage codifying daily fantasy sports (DFS) as 'gambling,' which the DFS lobby is vehemently against. Needless to say, the Supreme Court overturn of PASPA temporarily derailed the GAME Act, though it may come about if the federal government wishes to regulate gaming nationwide. Hopefully, the states – which all now have total gambling sovereignty – will resist any efforts to bring sports betting back under the umbrella of the US government.
Read Our Article: What Is The GAME Act?
Sports Betting Laws By State
Most states (all of them except Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware) used to be bound by the same sports wagering prohibitions set forth by PASPA. However, now that each state is free to make its own rules for wagering on athletic contests, you can expect a host of divergent laws to apply, depending on where you are. Analyzing the sports betting laws by state is something that you will have to do if you plan on hitting the road to do some sports wagering in the future. But that's OK, because – while the laws might vary a bit – all the states with sports betting (or those pending sports betting legislation) will generally follow the same mold. In most cases, you can expect the legal minimum age to bet on sports at these venues to be 21, and you can expect land-based wagering to launch before Internet sports betting follows suit.
If you don't want to do the research and just want to get to the bets, however, you should use a legal offshore sportsbook. These sites operate in all 50 states (with very limited exceptions, in the case of Bovada), and they're as good as or better than any land-based venue you're likely to come across. Really, the only reason to bet on sports at a brick-and-mortar book is to soak up the ritzy atmosphere of the casino and to watch the games in its sports betting lounge. If you simply want to wager and get on with your day (or night), then don't worry about any sports betting laws in the United States and simply sign up at an overseas Internet sportsbook.
States With Legal Sports Betting (Land-Based)
- Nevada
- Delaware
- New Jersey
- Mississippi
- West Virginia
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- New Mexico
- Arkansas
- New York
- Iowa
- Oregon
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Montana
- Michigan
- Colorado (pending)
- New Hampshire (pending)
- North Carolina (pending)
- Connecticut (pending)
- Washington DC (Pending)
- Washington (Pending)
States With Legal Sports Betting (Online)
United States Online Gambling Laws
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Iowa
- Oregon
- Indiana
- Rhode Island
- New Hampshire
- Colorado
- Illinois (pending)
- Delaware (pending)
- Tennessee (pending)
- Michigan (pending)
States Currently Considering Sports Betting Legalization
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Kansas*
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland*
- Massachusetts*
- Missouri
- Ohio*
- South Dakota*
- Virginia*
* States that gave legal sports betting a serious consideration and are expected to be the next wave of sports betting legalization.