Every state on this list owes New Jersey a large debt of gratitude. New Jersey did not hesitate to launch both retail and online sports betting when the fateful May decision on PASPA came down from the US Supreme Court.

The first online sportsbooks began to appear in August , only a handful of weeks after the ruling. There are now nearly two dozen online sportsbooks, all representing the top shelf of American gambling brands.

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 has technically offered legal sports betting since However, the Empire State did not jump into the big leagues - online sports betting - until January , almost three years after the first retail books opened in upstate New York.

Regardless of their tardiness, online sportsbooks in New York soon found themselves managing the flow of the biggest sports betting state in the country. There are 9 online sportsbooks that you can choose to use in New York.

North Carolina first legalized sports betting in , although limited it to in-person wagering at the state's tribal casinos. At present, there are three tribal locations in North Carolina, all three of which now have retail sportsbooks. In , Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law new legislation to legalize online sports betting throughout the state.

The law authorizes up to 12 online sportsbooks and several operators are already establishing partnerships to go live once they are able to do so. Pre-launch bonus offers are live as of March 1 and the first online sportsbooks should go live on March 11, , pending regulatory approval.

North Dakota sports betting occupies the same legal space as it does in New Mexico. There is no law on the books to allow for sports betting to proceed. However, several of the federally-recognized tribal groups in the state have offered onsite sports wagering on their tribal lands by arguing that their compacts with the state permit them to do so.

So far, there has been no major pushback from state authorities on this point. Online sports betting remains illegal in North Dakota. Ohio has not been on the sports betting scene very long. However, the Buckeye State has jumped into things with both feet in the time since then.

The launch came just over a year after Gov. The law allows for the possibility of as many as 25 online sportsbooks initially, and it is possible that more could be permitted if certain operators could demonstrate the economic need.

So far, there have been a dozen-and-a-half online launches in Ohio. You can find options for betting with top brands like DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, FanDuel, and BetRivers, among others.

Oregon has had sports betting online and live since However, the Beaver State is not a place to go for a tremendous variety of options. Despite the fact that Oregon is a middle-sized state, its legal framework for sports betting is much closer to that of New Hampshire or Rhode Island.

The entirety of the industry and the authorization to pursue it resides with the Oregon Lottery. Perhaps the most curious aspect of sports betting in Oregon is that you can't bet on college football online or any college sports , but you can do so if you bet in person.

Pennsylvania is a special place for sports betting, in that it is one of only a few states to legalize sports betting prior to the dissolution of the federal ban.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly authorized both online and retail sports betting in , pending the removal of the federal ban. Lawmakers were rewarded for their foresight in May , and the PA law became active. The first retail sportsbook opened its doors in November , but online books did not begin to appear until the following May, roughly one year after sports betting became a decision for each state.

However, the online sports betting sites quickly made up for lost time. There are now more than 12 online sports betting sites in Pennsylvania. Almost all of them are big boys in the sports betting world, including BetRivers online sportsbook , which should be a very familiar name for those in PA.

Rhode Island is one of the more surprising members of the fraternity of states which began offering sports betting in , months after PASPA went the way of the dodo.

Like other small states, Rhode Island has a much more state-centric sports betting program than the competitive markets seen in nearby New Jersey or New York. The only available online sports betting site is Sportsbook Rhode Island, which is owned and operated by the Rhode Island Lottery.

However, no other state is more convenient for residents to place their bets in-person. South Dakota allows sports betting in one of the most limited contexts in the entire nation. Sports betting in the Mount Rushmore State is confined to land-based casinos in Deadwood.

It is possible that tribal locations in the state might also open sportsbooks of their own, but no mobile sports betting is possible at this time. There may not be a more surprising state to have sports betting than Tennessee.

The legalization in and launch in took almost everyone by surprise, in part because no one knew where in-person sportsbooks would go in a state without any casinos or racetracks. So far, the experiment has been a success. There are now nearly a dozen sportsbook sites doing business in Tennessee, including titans like BetMGM, Caesars, and FanDuel.

Governor Phil Scott signed a bill into law in June authorizing online sports betting in Vermont. Later in the year, state regulators awarded licenses to three operators -- FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics -- and all three launched online sportsbooks on Jan.

The new law allows Vermont to have as many as six online sports betting sites total. Two other operators, BetMGM and ESPN Bet, have shown interest, but neither has been awarded a license as yet.

If Tennessee surprised everyone by moving forward with sports betting in the first place, Virginia shocked with how extensive an overhaul of its gambling profile it undertook and is undertaking. Virginia launched sports betting as an online-only activity in January , but only as part of a broader plan to open casinos in several towns around the state.

There are now more than one dozen sports betting sites active in Old Dominion. According to state law, the Commonwealth could ultimately support as many as 18 of them. So far, none have taken the state up on the offer, but you never know where a team might see a future. Washington, D. The only online sportsbook available district-wide is GambetDC, which the DC Lottery operates.

Retail sports betting is available at these stadiums, too, along with several bars and restaurants in the city.

Washington is now a sports betting state. The Evergreen State allows online and retail sports betting, but only on tribal casino lands. Online or retail sports betting is not legally available in most of the state. West Virginia acted as the quiet first lieutenant to New Jersey in the historic battle to make sports betting a state-level decision.

Thus, it is no surprise that West Virginia was part of the first group of states to offer legal sports betting in , only a few months after the repeal of PASPA. Since then, the small state has observed its roster of sportsbook sites grow to nine. West Virginians have no real restrictions on the wagers that they can make, save for the standard prohibition on high school sports.

However, anyone who wishes to bet with a West Virginia online betting site must be 21 years old or more. The situation in Wisconsin is similar to the one in New Mexico, where sports betting is taking place on tribal lands without a broader law in place.

Unlike New Mexico, the Wisconsin government has been amenable to pursuing a sports betting amendment with its resident tribes.

The Oneida Nation is the first tribe to negotiate an amendment, and now offers retail and online sports betting on its tribal properties - though the online does not work outside the premises of an Oneida location. Other tribes in the state are interested in similar deals, but nothing is promising regarding statewide online or retail sports betting in the Wisconsin Legislature.

Nevertheless, there are four online sportsbook sites that call the Equality State home. DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Caesars all do business in Wyoming, so Wyoming inhabitants have a good, if limited, selection of possibilities.

However, it is not clear when they are going to open those particular doors. Although sports betting is becoming a more widespread activity in the US, there are still several states that have yet to make definitive progress toward legalizing sports betting.

Some of them seem interested but cannot find an equitable structure for all the stakeholders involved. Others have philosophical objections that make legalization at any point in the future less likely.

Some — not all — of the states on the list below do allow DFS daily fantasy sports. Alaska does not permit its residents to bet on sports in either retail or online settings. Although the Last Frontier has an active sports betting bill on its legislative docket, there does not appear to be any groundswell of support behind it.

The last major push for sports betting came in , when Gov. Mike Dunleavy publicly advocated to allow the practice. For now, Alaskans must console themselves with DFS options in the state.

Alabama lives up to its reputation as a conservative state by continuing to prohibit sportsbooks from operating in the state. However, there have been several prominent efforts to legalize sports betting in the Heart of Dixie, including a concerted push in that nearly succeeded.

In the meantime, Alabamans can play DFS and bet on horse races online. California is the largest state in the union and the biggest prize for enterprising sportsbook sites.

However, although there is plenty of support for the concept of allowing sports betting in the Golden State, the powerful gambling interests in California are at cross purposes with one another and cannot agree to coexist in the administration of a new gambling activity.

There is cause for hope, though, as two initiatives on the November ballot hope to legalize sports betting in California in one form or another.

Georgia came quite close to passing a sports betting law in , but lawmakers could not push the most promising bill across the finish line on the last day of the legislative session. Georgians will have to wait until at the earliest, but the near-miss provides hope that sports betting might be legal in Georgia before long.

The Aloha State is one of the least-friendly states for gambling in the US. There have been some legalization attempts in recent times, though, and lawmakers have been working on HB , which would bring at least one sportsbook to the state. It is likely, however, that legalization of sports betting in Hawaii will take several years, if it happens at all.

Idaho is a non-sports betting state and does not appear poised to change its status anytime soon. There have been no legislative efforts to legalize sports betting in the Gem State since the dismissal of PASPA in This has allowed the Pueblo of Santa Ana tribe to open their own not-outright-legal-but-also-not-technically-illegal sportsbook at its in-state casino.

Sports gambling is legal at the Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel and four other tribal casinos. New York passed a bill in that made sports gambling legal at the state level, but the state didn't open its first official sportsbook until July Mobile sports betting launched on January 8, , and there are now nine live online sportsbooks in the Empire State.

However, all betting on in-state collegiate games and events, including player prop bets, is prohibited. North Carolina : Legal. Gambling in North Carolina used to be run exclusively through the Cherokee tribe, and the state passed a bill in July that permitted sports gambling including horse racing to be part of that monopoly.

In-person sports betting launched on March 18, , in three designated locations. North Carolina sports betting expanded when an online sports betting bill was signed into law on June 14, , which also opened the market to new sportsbooks. A launch date for online sports betting is expected to take place in Tribal casino betting only.

The last effort to legalize North Dakota sports betting was in and was unsuccessful. Ohio : Legal. Sports betting was legalized in Ohio in December and officially launched on January 1, In-person and Ohio mobile sports betting are allowed.

Effort to get sports betting in Oklahoma legalized in failed. There is no word yet as to whether a new motion will be proposed in Oregon didn't need to pass new legislation because they already had limited sports betting legality established at the state level, but they didn't officially start taking bets until August of All betting on collegiate games and events, including player prop bets, is prohibited.

Six months after the Supreme Court reversal, Pennsylvania took its first legal sports bet at a casino sportsbook in Rhode Island also opened its first sportsbook six months after the U. S Supreme Court's decision and currently offers sports gambling exclusively at two in-state casinos before online betting launched on September 4, Gambling in South Carolina is restricted solely to casino riverboats but state legislature has proposed bills in consecutive years that would open the door to sports gambling.

No action has been taken yet. Four casinos in Deadwood began accepting sports bets on Sept. In , legislators passed legislation that legalized sports betting in Deadwood.

However, bettors must bet on the property of those four casinos. There's no word when mobile sports betting will be available in the state. The Tennessee state legislature approved a sports betting bill in the spring of that will only allow betting online and on mobile apps.

The state began allowing mobile sports betting on Nov. Texas : Not legal. One senator pre-filed a sports betting bill ahead of the legislative session that would amend the Texas constitution to legalize Texas sports betting.

The bill calls for legal sports betting in Texas at a limited number of facilities. Texas sports betting will be legalized if the amendment receives a two-thirds vote from the legislature and approval from state voters in November A proposed bill to legalize mobile sports wagering in-state passed through both the Vermont House and Senate and was signed by the governor in June Vermont online sports betting is projected to launch in late or early Sports betting launched in , both in person and online.

Betting on in-state collegiate games and events, and player prop bets on all collegiate games, is prohibited. The state passed legislation in early to permit sports gambling at tribal casinos in-state. The Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of became effective as of May of , and the city has launched its sports wagering app and website that is run by the DC Lottery.

In August of , West Virginia became the fifth state to legalize sports gambling. The state offers both in-person and online sports wagering. Governor Tony Evers signed an agreement allowing for in-person and mobile app betting while at Oneida Nation's gaming locations.

All betting on in-state collegiate and amateur games and events, including player prop bets, is prohibited. By CBS Sports Staff. Watch Now:. Where each state stands on legalizing sports betting CBS Sports Staff 13 min read. Bubble Watch: Zags face final season test Jerry Palm 5 min read.

Critics of gambling argue it leads to increased political corruption , compulsive gambling , and higher crime rates. Others argue that gambling is a type of regressive tax on the individuals in local economies where gambling venues are located.

Many levels of government have authorized multiple forms of gambling in an effort to raise money for needed services without raising direct taxes. These include everything from bingo games in church basements, to multimillion-dollar poker tournaments.

Sometimes states advertise revenues from certain games to be devoted to particular needs, such as education. When New Hampshire authorized a state lottery in , it represented a major shift in social policy.

No state governments had previously directly run gambling operations to raise money. Other states followed suit, and now the majority of the states run some type of lottery to raise funds for state operations.

Some states restrict this revenue to specific forms of expenditures, usually oriented toward education, while others allow lottery revenues to be spent on general government.

This has brought about morally questionable issues, such as states' using marketing firms to increase their market share, or to develop new programs when old forms of gambling do not raise as much money.

The American Gaming Association breaks gambling down into the following categories: [1]. While gambling is legal under U. federal law, there are significant restrictions pertaining to interstate and online gambling, as each state is free to regulate or prohibit the practice within its borders.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of effectively outlawed sports betting nationwide, excluding a few states: however, on May 14, , the United States Supreme Court declared the entire law unconstitutional Murphy v.

National Collegiate Athletic Association. If state-run lotteries are included, then 48 states allow some form of gambling the exceptions are Hawaii , where gambling was outlawed prior to statehood, and Utah , which has a Latter-day Saint majority population and also bans gambling in the state constitution.

However, casino-style gambling is much less widespread. Federal law provides leeway for Native American Trust Land to be used for games of chance if an agreement is put in place between the state and the tribal government e. a "Compact" or "Agreement" under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of As of , Louisiana and Nevada are the only states in which casino-style gambling is legal statewide, with both state and local governments imposing licensing and zoning restrictions.

All other states that allow casino-style gambling restrict it to small geographic areas e. As domestic dependent nations, American Indian tribes have used legal protection to open casinos, which has been a contentious political issue in California and other states.

In some states, casinos are restricted to " riverboats ", large multi-story barges that are permanently moored in a body of water. Online gambling has been more strictly regulated: the Federal Wire Act of outlawed interstate wagering on sports, but did not address other forms of gambling; it has been the subject of court cases.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of UIGEA did not specifically prohibit online gambling; instead, it outlawed financial transactions involving online gambling service providers—some offshore gambling providers reacted by shutting down their services for US customers.

Other operators, however, have continued to circumvent UIGEA and have continued to service US customers. For this reason, UIGEA has received criticism from notable figures within the gambling industry.

On July 1, , a new law took effect in the state of South Carolina , whereby the ownership, possession, or operation of a video poker machine, for either commercial or personal use, became illegal. Violators are subject to prosecution and substantial fines. Through at least , the only type of legalized gambling in that state is the South Carolina Education Lottery.

Commercial casinos are founded and run by private or public companies on non-Native American land. There are 24 states and three U.

territories that allow commercial casinos in some form: Arkansas, [8] Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Northern Marianas Islands, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, U.

Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. The history of native American commercial gambling began in , when the Seminoles began running bingo games. Native Americans were familiar with the concept of small-scale gambling, such as placing bets on sporting contests.

For example, the Iroquois, Ojibways, and Menominees would place bets on games of snow snake. By , about three hundred native American groups hosted some sort of gaming. Some native American tribes operate casinos on tribal land to provide employment and revenue for their government and their tribe members.

Tribal gaming is regulated on the tribal, state, and federal level. Native American tribes are required to use gambling revenue to provide for governmental operations, economic development, and the welfare of their members. Federal regulation of native American gaming was established under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of Under the provisions of that law, games are divided into three distinct categories:.

Of the federally recognized tribes in , participated in class II or class III gaming by Approximately forty percent of the federally recognized tribes operate gaming establishments. Like other Americans, many indigenous Americans have dissension over the issue of casino gambling. Some tribes are too isolated geographically to make a casino successful, while some do not want non-native Americans on their land.

Though casino gambling is controversial, it has proven economically successful for most tribes, and the impact of American Indian gambling has proven to be far-reaching. Gaming creates many jobs, not only for native Americans, but also for non-native Americans, and in this way can positively affect relations with the non-native American community.

On some reservations, the number of non-native American workers is larger than the number of Native American workers because of the scale of the casino resorts.

For example, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians of California gave 4 million dollars to the UCLA Law School to establish a center for American Indian Studies.

Although casinos have proven successful for both the tribes and the surrounding regions, state residents may oppose construction of native American casinos, especially if they have competing projects.

The project's objective was to create jobs for the tribes' young people. The same day the state voted against the Indian casino project, Maine voters approved a plan to add slot machines to the state's harness racing tracks. The National Indian Gaming Commission oversees Native American gaming for the federal government.

The National Indian Gaming Commission NIGC was established under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in Under the NIGC, Class I gaming is under the sole jurisdiction of the tribe.

Class II gaming is governed by the tribe, but it is also subject to NIGC regulation. Class III gaming is under the jurisdiction of the states. For instance, in order for a tribe to build and operate a casino, the tribe must work and negotiate with the state in which it is located. These Tribal-State compacts determine how much revenue the states will obtain from the Indian casinos.

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires that gaming revenues be used only for governmental or charitable purposes. Revenues have been used to build houses, schools, and roads; to fund health care and education; and to support community and economic development initiatives.

Indian gaming is the first and essentially the only economic development tool available on Indian reservations. The National Gaming Impact Study Commission has stated that "no economic development other than gaming has been found".

There are currently 30 states that have native American gaming: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

The classic lottery is a drawing in which each contestant buys a combination of numbers. Plays are usually non-exclusive, meaning that two or more ticket holders may buy the same combination.

The lottery organization then draws the winning combination of numbers, usually from 1 to 50, using a randomized, automatic ball tumbler machine. To win, contestants match their combinations of numbers with the drawn combination.

The combination may be in any order, except in some "mega ball" lotteries, where the "mega" number for the combination must match the ball designated as the "mega ball" in the winning combination. If there are multiple winners, they split the winnings, also known as the "Jackpot".

Winnings are currently subject to federal income taxes as ordinary income. Winnings can be awarded as a yearly annuity or as a lump sum , depending on lottery rules. Most states have state-sponsored and multi-state lotteries. There are only five states that do not sell lottery tickets: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.

In some states, revenues from lotteries are designated for a specific budgetary purpose, such as education. Other states put lottery revenue into the general fund.

Multi-jurisdictional lotteries generally have larger jackpots due to the greater number of tickets sold. The Mega Millions and Powerball games are the biggest of such lotteries in terms of numbers of participating states.

Some state lotteries run games other than the lotteries. Usually, these are in the scratchcard format, although some states use pull-tab games.

In either format, cards are sold that have opaque areas. In some games, all of the opaque material is removed to see if the contestant has won, and how much. In other scratchcard games, a contestant must pick which parts of a card to scratch, to match amounts or play another form of game.

In , the U. Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act PASPA.

Check out our interactive map of the U. for updated legal news and recent state sports betting developments. Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage.

Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available.

Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Advertisement - scroll for more content. Legality Map. The State of Betting in the U. Recent Developments. All Status Mobile Betting Some Mobile Betting Physical Betting Confirmed Upcoming Betting Active Legislature No Movement.

Alabama Active Legislature. Alaska No Movement. Arizona Mobile Betting. Arkansas Mobile Betting. California No Movement. Colorado Mobile Betting. Connecticut Mobile Betting. Delaware Physical Betting. Pole position: First state to launch sports betting outside of Nevada.

District of Columbia Mobile Betting. Florida Mobile Betting. New York is the only state that has two different age requirements: Gamblers must be at least 21 years old to use commercial casinos and online sportsbooks, while those utilizing tribal casinos only need to be 18 years old.

Currently, 8 states have not legalized sports betting: Alabama, Alaska, California, Idaho, Minnesota, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. In , the Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting, allowing state governments to set their own policies on the matter.

Although it is now possible for sportsbooks to operate legally in the U. If you're considering betting money on the outcome of a sporting event, it's important to be aware of the opportunities and restrictions in your state.

Even where sports betting is legal, the odds are stacked against you and there's a much greater risk compared to other ways you could be putting your money to work, such as investing.

As such, always make sure you're wagering money that you're certain you can afford to lose. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at , or visit ncpgambling.

Supreme Court of the United States. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. et al ," Pages 3, American Gaming Association. et al ," Page National Council on Problem Gambling.

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Accept All Reject All Show Purposes. Table of Contents Expand. Table of Contents. Understanding Sports Betting. Sports Betting Laws by State. The Bottom Line.

Wealth Lifestyle Advice. Trending Videos. 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. According to the American Gaming Association, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, meaning single-game sports betting may be offered to consumers through legal retail or online and mobile sportsbooks.

Even when sports betting has been legalized in a state, restrictions may still apply. How Many States Allow Online Sports Betting? In Which States Is Sports Betting Illegal? Oklahoma Online sports betting is not yet legal in Oklahoma.

Oregon Online sports betting is live and legal in Oregon. Pennsylvania Online sports betting is live and legal in Pennsylvania. Rhode Island Online sports betting is live and legal in Rhode Island.

South Carolina Online sports betting is not yet legal in South Carolina. South Dakota Online sports betting is live and legal in South Dakota.

Tennessee Online sports betting is live and legal in Tennessee. Texas Online sports betting is not yet legal in Texas. Utah Online sports betting is not yet legal in Utah. Vermont Online sports betting is not yet legal in Vermont.

Virginia Online sports betting is live and legal in Virginia. Washington State Online sports betting is live and legal in Washington State. Washington DC Online sports betting is live and legal in Washington DC. West Virginia Online sports betting is live and legal in West Virginia.

Wisconsin Online sports betting is live and legal in Wisconsin. Wyoming Online sports betting is live and legal in Wyoming. Join us for a transformative 3-session online seminar designed for individuals, healthcare professionals, and families affected by gambling addiction.

Registration is now open. While these may co-occur with mental and behavioral health issues, …. Updated Sports Betting Legislation Tracker for the USA. The following resource is available for reference for organizations and others concerned about the legalization of sports betting, and how it may increase instances of gambling disorder in their communities.

Get in Touch. Attend: Understanding and Overcoming Gambling Addiction Seminar Join us for a transformative 3-session online seminar designed for individuals, healthcare professionals, and families affected by gambling addiction.

Learn More. While these may co-occur with mental and behavioral health issues, … Learn More.