Where Is Sports Betting Legal? State by State Legal Tracker

Which States Have Legal Sports Betting?

Over half the states have now passed legislation legalizing sports betting. The majority of these states have already launched online or retail betting markets, while others are in the process of finalizing rules and regulations.

There are also ongoing efforts to legalize sports betting in many states that have not yet passed such legislation. The legal environment surrounding sports betting in the United States shifts frequently, but we can help you stay on top of all the latest updates.

Click the links in the tables below for detailed information about the current status of legal sports betting in each state. In terms of sports betting revenue, be sure to check out our state-by-state revenue tracker.

States Already Offering Legal Sports Betting

The states listed here have active legal sports betting markets. Consider yourself lucky if you happen to be located in one of them – you can legally place your first bet today!

It’s worth noting that there is no federal, nationwide law regulating sports betting in the United States. Check out our state-specific pages for a full rundown of the rules you need to know when wagering in states with legal sports betting.

Now that North Carolina sports betting apps have gone live, here are some of the biggest sportsbooks operating in the state right now:

• DraftKings North Carolina
• BetMGM North Carolina
• FanDuel North Carolina
• ESPN BET North Carolina
• Bet365 North Carolina
• Caesars Sportsbook North Carolina

PENDING – States with Legal Sports Betting Coming Soon

These states have already passed laws to legalize sports betting, but regulators are still in the process of approving operators or setting up final rules for the legal market. New sports bettors can use this ESPN Bet promo to get one of the latest new user bonuses.

Stay tuned if you want to place a wager in one of these states – legal sports betting is coming soon!

ON HOLD – States Where Legal Sports Betting Is On Hold

After the Murphy vs. NCAA Supreme Court decision opened the door to legal sports betting across the United States, Congress missed its golden opportunity to pass a single set of laws to regulate the new industry nationwide.

As a result, bettors in some states have been left on the sidelines while their neighbors have been quick to get in the game.

Nearly every state in the union is likely to legalize sports betting at some point in the coming years. Sports betting legislation tends to be enacted by state legislatures, though ballot initiatives posing the question directly to voters are becoming an increasingly common road to legalization.

The timeline for your state likely depends on the local political climate and any peculiarities in the lawmaking process. Check out our state-specific info pages to see SportsBettingDime.com’s projections for when sports betting will be legalized. where you live.

Sports Betting Legalization Timeline

• June 12, 2024: The Washington, D.C. City Council approves a budget to open the district up to multiple online sports betting operators.
• May 20, 2024: Minnesota sports betting hopes do not cross the finish line despite early momentum in the 2024 session.
• May 1, 2024: Despite the Alabama House of Representatives approval of a sports betting bill, hopes die in the Senate on the final day of session as the bill does not pass.
• April 15, 2024: FanDuel officially launches in Washington, D.C., taking over for GambetDC as the district’s lone operator.
• March 29, 2024: Despite being approved by the Georgia Senate, a state sports betting bill died on the final day of Georgia’s legislative session.
• March 11, 2024: Online sports betting officially launches in North Carolina.
• Jan. 24, 2024: North Carolina Lottery Commission members announce a March 11, 2024, start date for online sports betting.
• Jan. 11, 2024: Vermont launches online sports betting with three operators.
• Dec. 7, 2023: The Seminole Tribe launches retail sports betting in Florida.
• Nov. 7, 2023: The Seminole Tribe officially launches online sports betting in Florida.
• Nov. 3, 2023: Maine officially launches both retail and online sports betting.
• Sept. 28, 2023: Kentucky launches online sports betting.
• Sept. 7, 2023: Kentucky launches retail sports betting.
• June 14, 2023: Gov. Phil Scott officially signs a Vermont online sports betting bill into law. Up to six online sports betting operators are likely to launch in January 2024.
• June 14, 2023: Gov. Roy Cooper officially signs the North Carolina online sports betting bill into law. The state has 12 months to launch online sports betting.
• June 7, 2023: The North Carolina House of Representatives approved all Senate amendments in HB 347. Online sports betting expected to launch in early 2024.
• June 1, 2023: The North Carolina Senate approves an online sports betting bill and the amended legislation is sent to the House for concurrence.
• March 31, 2023: Gov. Andy Beshear signed Kentucky’s sports betting bill into law.
• March 30, 2023: Kentucky lawmakers approved a sports betting bill to legalize retail and online sports betting. The bill was sent to Gov. Andy Beshear for his signature.
• January 1, 2023: Legal online sportsbook launch at 12:01am EST in Ohio.
• November 23, 2022: Legal online sportsbooks launch in Maryland.
• September 1, 2022: Legal online sportsbooks launch in Kansas.
• January 28, 2022: Legal online sportsbooks officially launch in Louisiana. It is available in 55 of the state’s 64 parishes that voted for legalizing sports betting.
• January 8, 2022: Legal online sportsbooks officially launch in New York.
• October 19, 2021: Legal sportsbooks launch in Connecticut.
• September 9, 2021: Legal sportsbooks launch in Arizona and South Dakota.
• September 1, 2021: Legal sports betting goes live in Wyoming.
• May 27, 2021: Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signs a bill to legalize online and retail sports betting in the state. Adjustments to tribal gaming compacts must be approved by the federal Department of the Interior before legal sports betting can launch.
• May 25, 2021: Nebraska legalizes retail sports betting.
• May 24, 2021: The US Department of the Interior accepted Arizona’s new tribal gaming compact, which allows for retail and online sports betting in the Grand Canyon State.
• May 18, 2021: Maryland legalizes sports betting in a bill that will be enacted into law on June 1, 2021.
• April 5, 2021: Wyoming legalizes sports betting.
• March 18, 2021: South Dakota legalizes retail sports betting.
• January 21, 2021: Online sports betting goes live in Virginia.
• November 4, 2020: Voters in three states – Louisiana, Maryland, and South Dakota – approve ballot measures authorizing some form of legal sports betting.
• November 1, 2020: Tennessee launches the first online-only sports betting market in the United States.
• June 18, 2020: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signs an executive order temporarily suspending the in-person registration requirement for online sports betting. BetRivers launch their online betting platform the same day.
• May 28, 2020: The first legal sports bets are placed in Washington, DC.
• May 1, 2020: Sports betting launches online in Colorado.
• April 29, 2020: Virginia enacts a fairly comprehensive sports-betting law.
• April 15, 2021: Arizona legalizes sports betting. Final approval is required from the US Department of the Interior.
• March 25, 2020: Limited sports betting becomes legal in Washington state.
• March 11, 2020: Sports betting commences at Michigan casinos.
• March 9, 2020: Sports betting commences in Montana and at Illinois casinos.
• December 30, 2019: Sports betting launches in New Hampshire.
• November 6, 2019: Sports betting becomes legal in Colorado via referendum.
• August 30, 2019: Sports betting launches in Indiana.
• August 27, 2019: The first legal sports wagers are placed in Oregon.
• August 15, 2019: The first legal sports wagers are placed in Iowa.
• July 12, 2019: Sports-betting legislation is passed in New Hampshire.
• July 1, 2019: Retail sports betting launches in Arkansas.
• June 16, 2019: Retail sports betting commences in New York.
• May 13, 2019: Iowa legalizes sports betting.
• May 3, 2019: Montana legalizes sports betting.
• November 26, 2018: Legal sports betting commences in Rhode Island.
• November 15, 2018: Legal sports betting launches in Pennsylvania.
• October 16, 2018: Retail sports betting commences at tribal casinos in New Mexico.
• August 30, 2018: Sports betting officially opened in West Virginia. The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races accepted West Virginia’s first legal sports wager.
• August 1, 2018: Sports betting officially opened in Mississippi with the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi and Gold Strike Casino in Tunica offering the first wagers to the public.
• June 22, 2018: Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed the state’s sports-betting bill into law, though only two RI casinos are able to accept single-game bets, and they won’t be set up to do so until autumn 2019.
• June 20, 2018: New York’s legislative session ended without passage of the sports-betting bill that was before the NY State Legislature, confirming a previous statement from Governor Cuomo that no such bill would be passed in 2018.
• June 18, 2018: lawmakers in Kentucky are writing a new bill that would legalize sports betting in the state.

Bipartisan group of state lawmakers say they'll write a bill to legalize, regulate sports betting in Kentucky, generate "$5.5 million to nearly $26 million per year" in tax revenue pic.twitter.com/dQaPT2ZjSM

— Ryland Barton (@RylandKY) June 18, 2018

• June 11, 2018: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the sports-betting bill passed by the state legislature. Betting will commence at locations such as Monmouth Park racetrack and Borgata Hotel Casino on Thursday, June 14th.
• June 7, 2018: New Jersey’s sports-betting bill was passed unanimously by the state legislature and is now in the hands of Governor Phil Murphy. As soon as it is signed, venues such as Monmouth Park will start offering sports wagering. But Murphy has said he has no timetable for signing the bill.
• June 5, 2018: Delaware officially started accepting sports-betting wagers.
• June 1, 2018: NY Governor Andrew Cuomo stated that New York will not pass a sports-betting bill in 2018 as there is not enough time remaining in the legislative session (which ends on June 20th).
• May 31, 2018: Delaware will officially become the first new state to offer sports betting, starting Tuesday, June 5th, 2018.
• May 31, 2018: Illinois’ current legislative has adjourned without passage of a sports-betting bill. It is now unlikely that the state will have legal sports betting in place in 2018.

After Late Flurry, Legal Illinois Sports Betting Looks Like It's On Hold For Now https://t.co/aE5YYYkO3S #ilpolitihub

— IL Politihub (@ILPolitihub) May 30, 2018

• May 22, 2018: Regulators in New York are treating a 2013 constitutional amendment as legalizing sports betting. They are currently crafting guidelines to govern sports betting in the state even if additional legislation is not passed.
• May 21, 2018: experts in Pennsylvania estimate it will still be six months to a year before the state offers sports betting, despite existing legislation rendering it legal for all intents and purposes.
• May 19, 2018: New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney asked Monmouth Park racetrack (which intended to offer its first sports bets on May 28, a.k.a. Memorial Day, to hold off until new regulations are in place. The new timeline suggests New Jersey will start offering sports betting sometime in June 2018.
• May 19, 2018: Rhode Island officials are hoping to have sports betting up and running in the state by October 2018, per WPRI.com.
• May 18, 2018: Mississippi’s Gaming Commission has proposed a set of rules to regulate sports betting in the state. If approved, casinos in Mississippi could start accepting sports bets as early as July 21st.
• May 18, 2018: Governor John Carney believes Delaware’s existing legal framework already allows the state to offer single-game sports betting.  Delaware is preparing “to launch full-scale sports gaming … next month,” i.e. June 2018.
• May 17, 2018: Following in the footsteps of the NFL, which had long opposed sports betting, the NCAA issued a statement that it supports federal regulation and oversight of sports betting: “the NCAA supports a federal model addressing legalized gambling and has suspended its championship host policy related to sports wagering.”
  • The new policy allows NCAA championship competitions to be held in states that allow sports betting (including Nevada).

The NCAA has decided to enable championship play in states where sports betting is legal. If you’re wondering about when/how Las Vegas gets might get tapped to host, the details are in this story. https://t.co/W3GT7ac4K7

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) May 17, 2018

• May 17, 2018: Rhode Island Lottery Director Gerald Aubin appears to believe that existing legislation in the state authorizes sports betting, but it is unclear whether lawmakers agree.
• May 15, 2018: Monmouth Racetrack in Oceanport, NJ, states that it will be ready to accept sports bets on Memorial Day (May 28, 2018).

Monmouth Park had betting machines shipped there weeks ago from Nevada. Can now turn them on. Have spent last couple months getting sports bar ready to become sports book. pic.twitter.com/KDWH1vTeCx

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 14, 2018

• May 15, 2018: Casinos in Mississippi — including Island View in Gulfport — are aiming to have sports betting in place as of summer 2018.
• May 14, 2018: shortly after PASPA is struck down, Utah Senator Orrin Hatch states that he will introduce a federal sports betting bill.
• May 14, 2018: PASPA is ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) ruling in Murphy vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association (Murphy).
  • Post-Murphy ruling, the NFL appears to ease its historical opposition to sports betting.

The NFL says, in the wake of today’s ruling, that it will call on Congress to enact a "core regulatory framework" for legalized sports betting.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 14, 2018

• Jan. 2018: the NBA and MLB start lobbying in certain states for legislation legalizing sports betting, trying to ensure that the inevitable bills include provisions that are favorable to the leagues.
• 2017-18: several states (including Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia) pass laws legalizing and regulating sports betting if and when it is no longer prohibited by federal law.
• Jun. 2017: SCOTUS agrees to hear New Jersey’s appeal of Murphy. 
• Oct. 2016: New Jersey appeals Murphy to SCOTUS.
• 2013-2016: New Jersey loses Murphy at every level of court before the case reaches SCOTUS.
• Aug. 2012: The NCAA and all major pro sports leagues sue New Jersey over the legislation that purports to legalize sports betting, arguing that it violates PASPA, a federal law that requires all states to enact sports-betting prohibitions.
  • The case is styled: Murphy vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association (Murphy).
• Mid-2012: the New Jersey legislature passes a bill legalizing sports betting at racetracks and casinos.
• 2011: New Jersey voters approve an amendment to the state’s constitution allowing the state legislature to legalize sports betting.