US Sports Betting Legal Tracker: State by State Status
Updated January 9, 2019
- PASPA, the law that prohibited states from legalizing sports betting, has been struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Individual states are now free to legalize and regulate sports betting within their borders.
- Below, find:
- a map illustrating where sports betting is legal;
- a timeline detailing recent significant sports-betting news and events; and
- a state-by-state chart tracking the legal status of sports betting across all 50 states.
Sports Betting Legalization Map
Sports Betting Legalization Timeline: Recent Events
- Aug. 30, 2018: Sports betting officially opened in West Virginia. The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races accepted West Virginia’s first legal sports wager.
- Aug. 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 some time 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.
Legal Status of Sports Betting by State
*Last updated May 30, 2018
| STATE | IS SPORTS BETTING LEGAL? | HAS SPORTS-BETTING LEGISLATION BEEN PASSED? | ARE ANY WHEELS IN MOTION? | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | YES | YES | N/A | Delaware started to offer sports betting on June 5th, 2018, becoming the first new state to do so (outside of Nevada). |
| Mississippi | YES | YES | N/A | Sports betting officially started in Mississippi on Aug. 1, 2018, with the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi and Gold Strike Casino in Tunica offering the first wagers. |
| Nevada | YES | YES | N/A | Sports betting has been legal in Nevada since 1931. |
| New Jersey | YES | YES | N/A | Governor Phil Murphy signed NJ’s sports-betting bill on June 11th, 2018, officially allowing venues such as Monmouth Park and the Borgata to start accepting wagers, which they did on June 14th. |
| Pennsylvania | YES | YES | N/A | For all intents and purposes, sports betting is now legal in PA. Existing legislation legalized sports betting, but was not in force due to its conflict with PASPA. The state’s gaming commission can authorize any gaming hall to take bets. However, Pennsylvania’s current legal landscape effectively places a 41% tax on sportsbooks, plus a $10 million licensing fee. As a result, it is unclear when sports betting will become active in the state. |
| Rhode Island | YES | YES | N/A | Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed the state’s sports-betting bill into law. only two RI casinos are able to accept single-game bets. |
| West Virginia | YES | YES | N/A | Sports betting started in West Virginia on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018, at the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, per ESPN. |
| New York | MAYBE | YES | YES | A bill that would legalize sports betting in NY was before the state legislature but failed to be passed before the legislative session ended on June 20th, meaning it will have to wait until 2019. That said, a 2013 constitutional amendment may have already legalized betting in the state, and regulators are crafting guidelines to govern sports betting even without additional legislation. |
| Connecticut | NO | YES | YES | Pro-actively modified its state laws to expressly allow in-state regulation of “wagering on sporting events to the extent permitted by state and federal law.” Gov. Dannel Malloy is considering calling a sports-betting oriented special session of the General Assembly to finalize legalization in the state. |
| California | NO | NO | YES | A constitutional amendment has been introduced which would legalize sports betting in California. It has yet to receive a vote in either the state assembly or senate. |
| Iowa | NO | NO | YES | A bill that would legalize sports betting was introduced in 2018, but was not voted on before the state legislature adjourned. Another is expected to be introduced in 2019, per Des Moines Register. |
| Kentucky | NO | NO | YES | Legislation that would have “encourage[d] sports wagering in the state” failed to pass in 2017, per Louisville Courier-Journal. But a new bipartisan group of state representatives is penning a bill to legalize sports betting in Kentucky. |
| Michigan | NO | NO | YES | Eight sports-betting related bills have been tabled in Michigan but none have been voted on in the House of Representatives or Senate, per DFP. The earliest sports betting will be legalized in Michigan is late 2018, per WZZM13. |
| Ohio | NO | NO | YES | “Some people believe the Ohio Constitution must be amended. Others believe, based on the language in [a] 2009 amendment to the state constitution that allowed four casinos, that Ohio must permit sports betting once it begins in neighboring states,” notes Cleveland.com. State Senator Joe Schiavoni is set to introduce a bill legalizing sports betting at Ohio casinos, per WFMJ.com. |
| Illinois | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | A bill that would have “legalized betting on individual professional, amateur and college games … at bricks-and-mortar [casinos] and on the internet” was before hte state legislature in May 2018, per the Chicago Tribune, but the session adjourned without a sports-betting bill being passed. Now Illinois is unlikely to legalize sports betting before 2019. |
| Indiana | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | Two bills which would have legalized sports betting in IN (pending PASPA’s defeat) died before receiving a vote, per IBJ. |
| Kansas | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | Legislation that would legalize sports betting was introduced in 2018, but was not voted on before the state legislature adjourned, per KansasCity.com. |
| Louisiana | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | Legislation that would have put the question of legalizing sports betting to voters was defeated in 2018, per WWL.com: “Louisiana denied legislation that would have put the issue up for voters this fall.” |
| Maryland | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | Legislation that would have put the question of legalizing sports betting to voters stalled before it cleared the state senate, per the Washington Post. |
| Missouri | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | Legislation that would have legalized sports betting in MO failed to pass before the spring 2018 legislative session ended. |
| Oklahoma | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | Provisions which would have legalized sports betting in OK were struck from a recently-passed bill, per SportsHandle.com. |
| South Carolina | NO | NO | NOT ANYMORE | “Pro-gambling legislation … officially died when the regular session ended [in early May 2018],” per the Charleston Post and Courier. |
| Alabama | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. Not even Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) has been legalized in AL. |
| Alaska | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Arizona | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Arkansas | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Colorado | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Florida | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Georgia | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Hawai’i | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Idaho | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Maine | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Massachusetts | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation, contrary to reports elsewhere. The state’s Gaming Commission has stated that “Massachusetts would have to alter several state laws in order to legalize sports betting,” per MassLive.com. |
| Nebraska | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| New Hampshire | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| New Mexico | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| North Carolina | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| North Dakota | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| South Dakota | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Tennessee | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Texas | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Vermont | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Virginia | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Wash., DC | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Washington | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Wisconsin | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
| Wyoming | NO | NO | NO | Awaiting sports-betting legislation. |
Sports Betting Legalization Timeline: Historical Events
- 2011: New Jersey voters approve an amendment to the state’s constitution allowing the state legislature to legalize sports betting.
- Mid-2012: the New Jersey legislature passes a bill legalizing sports betting at racetracks and casinos.
- 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).
- 2013-2016: New Jersey loses Murphy at every level of court before the case reaches SCOTUS.
- Oct. 2016: New Jersey appeals Murphy to SCOTUS.
- Jun. 2017: SCOTUS agrees to hear New Jersey’s appeal of Murphy.