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In what states can you gamble online?

bettingusa.com - States With Legal Betting: Which States Allow Online Gambling?

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Legal online gambling options vary state by state. On this page, you’ll find the first comprehensive guide to legal betting in all 50 states. BettingUSA.com follows legal developments closely, including frequent betting news updates as well as overviews of which states have legal online gambling. Visit any of the state-specific pages below to read more about what forms of betting are legal in each state right now, and what types of online gambling might be coming down the pipeline in the form of gambling-friendly legislation.

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State Specific Online Betting Information A-Z

Legal online betting is quickly becoming a reality in the United States. Most US states have had legal online horse racing betting for several years now, but more recently we are starting to see individual states legalize additional forms of online betting such as casino games, poker, daily fantasy sports and lotteries. In 2011, the Department of Justice issued a legal opinion that changed the way the federal government interprets the Wire Act of 1961. Essentially, what the Department of Justice opined was that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting, not to other forms of online gaming. This decision ultimately made it possible for individual states to legalize and regulate new forms of online gaming. New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware quickly got on board and legalized online casino games, online poker or both provided organizations seeking to organize such games are properly licensed and approved. Pennsylvania joined the party in 2017 and was followed by West Virginia in 2019. Michigan got on board in early 2021 with the launch of online sports betting, poker, and gambling. Legal sports betting has expanded as well thanks to a 2018 Supreme Court decision striking down the federal prohibition. In addition to Nevada, we now have legal sports betting in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi and additional states since then. The Department of Justice complicated things in 2019 with a sudden decision to go back to its pre-2011 interpretation of the Wire Act. Under the current opinion, the DOJ believes the Wire Act applies to all forms of gambling. The implications of the decision are unclear, but the decision has not stopped a growing number of states from taking up sports betting legislation.

Impact of State and Federal Gambling Laws

Something that isn’t often explicitly explained when discussing the legalization of sports betting and other forms of gambling is how state and federal laws interact with one another. For example, it may not be immediately clear what it means for gamblers in your state specifically when you read that the Supreme Court has stricken down the federal sports betting prohibition. In short, there are two sets of laws we must address in any discussion of sports betting or gambling. First, there are federal betting laws that apply to all states across the nation. These are the big picture laws that have an impact across all fifty states. Federal laws set the general tone for gambling, but tend not to be too specific in nature. Some of the more impactful federal betting laws that have been enacted in the USA include: PASPA : The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was the law that prohibited all states except Nevada from legalizing traditional sports wagering. Some states were granted exemptions for limited forms of betting, but overall it was PASPA that granted Nevada a virtual monopoly over sports betting. PASPA was famously stricken down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2018. : The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was the law that prohibited all states except Nevada from legalizing traditional sports wagering. Some states were granted exemptions for limited forms of betting, but overall it was PASPA that granted Nevada a virtual monopoly over sports betting. PASPA was famously stricken down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2018. UIGEA : The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 targets the finances of unregulated offshore betting sites that accept American customers. The UIGEA does not criminalize online gambling; it prohibits financial institutions from processing transactions to/from unlicensed gambling websites. : The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 targets the finances of unregulated offshore betting sites that accept American customers. The UIGEA does not criminalize online gambling; it prohibits financial institutions from processing transactions to/from unlicensed gambling websites. The Wire Act: The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 was enacted to target mafia groups that ran sports betting organizations across state lines. The Wire Act prohibits the use of “wire communications” to assist in placing wagers across state lines. State betting laws impact things on the state level and cover everything not already covered by federal gambling laws. State laws tend to be more specific in nature as they fill in the gaps left by federal law. States have wide leeway in determining how to regulate gambling and betting as long as it doesn’t contradict federal law. This is why, for example, when PASPA (a federal law) was in effect, states had no option to legalize and regulate sports betting. After PASPA was stricken down, states gained the ability to legalize sports betting if they choose. Some states have since chosen to legalize, regulate, and tax sports betting. In other states, sports betting is still prohibited by state law. State laws also tend to deal with the nitty gritty details of gambling regulation. This is where state gambling commissions come into play and spell out all the rules for legal forms of gambling within each state. It is state law that determines things such as accepted business hours for casinos, how quickly winning sports wagers must be paid and so on. This all goes to explain why we have a page dedicated to the betting laws of every US state. The laws and legal forms of gambling vary from state to state. What’s legal in one state may be outlawed the next state over, so we like to provide that information on a state-by-state basis.

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Overall, the general tone in the United States today is drifting to a more accepting view of gambling. No states have moved to clamp down on gambling to any major degree in recent years, but many states have instead chosen to expand legal gambling options for their citizens. As new developments take place in the US, we will update our state-by-state pages to keep you informed and up to date.

States Where Sports Betting is Legal

Individual states now have the right to legalize and regulate sports betting as they see fit. This is a fairly recent development because for years, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) prevented all but four states from authorizing sports betting. Of those four states, only Nevada had a complete exemption allowing true, single-game sports betting. Delaware and Oregon were also granted limited exemptions for limited forms of parlay-style “sports lotteries.” Montana permitted sports betting squares not run for a profit. Beyond that, no state was allowed any form of sports betting. That all changed in May of 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled PASPA unconstitutional and struck it down in its entirety. The removal of PASPA did not automatically legalize sports betting across the nation, though. Each state must now alter its own laws to bring sports betting back into play. Lawmakers in three dozen states have introduced legislation seeking to legalize and regulate sports betting. To date, the following states have passed laws and either already have sportsbooks in operation or will soon. We will update this list and cover the latest legislative actions across the United States as more states legalize sports betting, . This page describes what types of wagers are legal right now, along with a preview of things to come based on legal issues playing out in legislatures across the country.

States Where Online Horse Racing Betting is Legal

Federal law largely leaves the regulation of online horse racing betting to the states. Some states expressly prohibit horse racing betting in all its forms, but most either passively allow the activity or have laws on the books to regulate in-person and online horse racing betting. Furthermore, exemptions written into federal gambling laws allow horse racing betting operators that are licensed in one state to offer their services in other states provided the activity is legal in both jurisdictions. As a result, a handful of operators run by well-known brands in the horse racing industry offer their services across most of the country. The confounding factor in all of this is that the law in many states is outdated and unclear on the legality of online horse racing betting, leaving it up to individual operators to interpret the law in each state and determine whether or not they are comfortable offering their services there. As a result, not all horse racing betting sites are active in all states. Readers can visit each state page on BettingUSA for up to date legal information where they live and a list of safe, legal betting sites that are available in that state.

See this page for more detail and state-by-state discussions:

States Where Daily Fantasy Sports is Legal

The daily fantasy sports (DFS) industry has received carveouts from federal anti-gambling laws that result in the activity being regulated primarily at the state level. The legality of online DFS was unclear in the majority of US states during the early years of the DFS boom, but much progress has been made on the legislative front since then. Today, most states have laws on the books that specifically legalize and regulate DFS operators. A small number of states still prohibit the activity, but most states have either passed legislation to regulate fantasy sports sites or permit DFS under existing law. Sports fans can read more about the legality of DFS in each state, as well as see which fantasy sports sites are active in each state, here:

States With Legal Online Gambling

States were prohibited from legalizing and regulating online gambling up until 2011 due to the Federal Wire Act previously being interpreted as applying to all forms of gambling. That changed after lottery officials in New York and Illinois asked the Department of Justice to issue guidance regarding their wishes to begin selling online lottery tickets. The Department of Justice issued a memorandum in 2011 stating that it has reinterpreted the Wire Act as only applying to sports betting. Although the original request from Illinois and New York was related to online lotteries, the Justice Department’s interpretation opened the door to most forms of online gambling. Several states have since jumped on the opportunity to legalize, regulate and tax online casino games and poker. States where online casino games, online poker or both are legal include: Unlike sports betting, the legalization of online casino and online poker in the US has been a slow grind. The legalization of online poker and casino began in 2013 when Nevada launched online poker, and New Jersey and Delaware launched online casinos and poker sites. Since 2013, only three other states have expressly joined them: Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Michigan. With online poker and online casino, progress is about small victories, and the hope is that at least one of these states will pass legislation authorizing online gambling in the next 12 months.

California

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Illinois

Indiana

Massachusetts

Nevada

New York

States with Legal Online Lotteries

The authorization of online lottery products predates sports betting and online poker and casino by several years, with an important caveat: The first online lotteries were subscription-based. Online lotteries that sell single tickets, and in some cases, online instant win games, appeared alongside poker and casino legalization in 2012/2013. More than a dozen states have legal online lottery sales to some degree. Some states now sell a full range of lottery products online, including access to instant win games and keno along with tickets to all drawing games. Other states limit online purchases to subscriptions for draw games. Interestingly, it was the push to legalizing online lotteries that led to states gaining the authority to regulate online casino games and poker as well. In 2009, lottery officials from Illinois and New York requested an opinion from the Department of Justice on whether or not their plans to legalize online lottery sales would violate the Federal Wire Act. The DOJ responded with an opinion in 2011 that had implications well beyond the legality of online lotteries. In the opinion, the DOJ explained that it interprets the Wire Act as only applying to wagers on “sporting events or contests.” This not only cleared the way for online lotteries, but also for online poker and casino sites.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many states have legal online casinos? Online gambling is legal in six US states: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. How many states have legal online sports betting? Mobile sports betting is legal in 26 jurisdictions, including Washington, DC. Lawmakers in additional states are actively considering authorizing online sports betting. How many states have legal online horse racing betting? Online horse racing betting (advance deposit wagering) is available in more than three dozen states. However, the exact legal status of advance deposit wagering is unclear in many states because their laws do not directly address the issue. That said, most horse racing betting sites accept customers from 30 or more states. The easiest way for horse racing fans to see which ADWs operate where they live is to visit BettingUSA’s state-specific pages. How many states have legal online poker sites? Online poker is legal in seven US states: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. How many states have legal online lotteries? Twelve US states have passed legislation authorizing online lottery sales, and third-party lottery ticket couriers such as Jackpocket operate in up to 12 additional jurisdictions. Jackpocket and other services like it are actively expanding their reach as they confer with local regulators for approval. How many states have legal daily fantasy sports? Daily fantasy sports sites are available in 45 states. Fantasy sports contests are explicitly legal in 24 states that have passed laws legalizing and regulating DFS providers. The legality of fantasy sports in the remaining states is open to interpretation. Fantasy sites operate in 21 additional states that do not explicitly address the legality of DFS. In those states, DFS providers operate under the assumption that local laws do not prohibit fantasy contests. That leaves five states in which mainstream fantasy sites are not allowed to accept players from due to unfavorable laws include: Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Washington. Why hasn’t my state legalized online betting? States that have yet to legalize online sports betting have failed to advance legislation for various reasons. In many cases, the lack of progress results from competing interests with differing views on how the state should regulate sports betting. Tribal gaming operators, commercial casinos, and racetrack owners want seats at the table, and some stakeholders insist on exclusivity. Additionally, some states have opted to legalize retail sportsbooks only, either out of caution or an effort to protect land-based operators from the competition statewide mobile betting would encourage. Can I get in trouble for wagering at offshore gambling sites? There are numerous risks involved with using offshore sportsbooks and online casinos, but legal trouble is unlikely. Generally, authorities target the operators of illegal online gambling operations rather than their patrons. However, Washington State enacted a law in 2006 that makes it a felony offense to participate in offshore online gambling. Washington authorities have never prosecuted an individual under the law, but it remains a theoretical risk. The most significant risks associated with illegal online gambling result from the lack of consumer protection regulations. If something goes wrong or an operator refuses to pay, the customers of illegal betting sites have no recourse. Additionally, offshore operators tend to come up short in promoting responsible gambling. BettingUSA.com strongly encourages gamblers to wager at licensed US betting sites. Is online betting legal at the federal level? It is more accurate to say online sports betting is not illegal at the federal level. The Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting prohibition in May 2018, but individual states retained the authority to regulate or prohibit sports betting as they wish. Do I have to be a resident of the state in which I’m betting? No. States with legal sports betting allow non-residents to visit retail sportsbooks and use mobile online sports betting apps when they are physically located within state lines. Further, bettors may download mobile betting apps, sign up for accounts, make deposits, and request withdrawals from anywhere.

bettingusa.com - States With Legal Betting: Which States Allow Online Gambling?

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