US Bets: State of the Sports Betting States
Spring 2021 – Expansion of Legal Sports Betting in the US
Americans have been betting on sports since the dawn of the nation. Doing so legally – that’s another matter entirely. Sports gambling was outlawed in most U.S. for generations, and everywhere besides Nevada for more than 25 years. When the federal government overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018, it changed everything. Now, with the third anniversary of that monumental day approaching, we thought it appropriate to take a look at the current state of the sports betting states.
Legalization and Regulation – Background Info |
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Before we continue, there’s some information you should know first. The reversal of PASPA didn’t suddenly make it legal for every American to bet on sports. What it did was give individual states and districts the right to authorize sports betting, at their discretion. Legalization wasn’t a quick process, either – at least, not for most jurisdictions. It meant scripting legislation, debating and amending bills, passing those laws, and allocating all of the necessary responsibilities. Once legalized, there’s still the matter of tasking government agencies with writing detailed regulations for the market, and ensuring that those regulations are followed by worthy, license-holding operators. All of this was already taking place in Nevada; the only state that elected to grandfather in sports betting laws back in 1992, when PASPA came into effect. Two other states, Delaware and New Jersey, prepared for the reversal in the spring of 2018. In Delaware, laws and regulations had already been scripted to make sports betting legal the moment PASPA was lifted. New Jersey scripted the laws, but took a bit longer to finalize regulations. Thus, the day PASPA went away, Delaware ushered in sports betting at local casinos. Part of this states expedience was due to its choice not to regulate online sports betting. New Jersey followed suit with land-based sportsbooks, and just weeks later, launched the first legal online sports betting operations in the US. |
Expansion of Legal Sports Betting in the US |
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Since then, a bevy of US states, plus Washington D.C., have completed all the steps necessary to launch legal sports gambling markets in their respective jurisdictions. All of these locations offer retail sportsbooks at local casinos and/or racetracks. Among them, two-thirds went the extra step to regulate mobile sports betting. |
US States with Retail & Mobile Sportsbooks |
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| The following is a list of all US states and districts where sports betting is legal in some capacity. The left column shows there are currently 28 of them. The middle column displays land-based sportsbooks, open for in-person betting at casinos and/or racebooks. In the right column are all US states with online and mobile sportsbooks. Where we have listed a state’s retail or mobile market as “Coming ____”, that means the state has already passed laws to legalize retail and/or online betting, and that the launch is expected in or around the listed time frame.
Don’t see your state listed? That means sports betting is not legal in your area in any capacity. Continue reading below to find out which states are currently working on a sports betting bill, which are dead in the water, and which ones aren’t even considering it.
*Gambling is only legal in the town of Deadwood, South Dakota. Therefore, only casinos in Deadwood will be permitted to open a retail sportsbook.
**Washington State passed laws in 2020 to permit land-based sports gambling at tribal casinos only, but none have yet elected to do so. Online betting was legalized as well, but only while the bettor is located on the property of a land-based tribal casino. Tribes have no desire to initiate mobile betting, as they believe it will only hurt retail foot traffic and slot machine revenue. When tribal casinos will open retail sportsbooks is unknown. |
States to Introduce a Sports Betting Bill |
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This next list details states where some form of sports betting law has been introduced. We note which ones are still active, and which are dead on the floor. Active Legislation: Where active legislation is in the works, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a legal betting market is coming, but that there is current interest among the state legislature. These states either have active legislation, or have pre-filed legislation, in 2021. Dead Legislation: States where legislation is dead have tried, but failed, to bring sports betting to the public. They may or may not re-introduce a revised bill in the future.
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No Attempt to Legalize Sports Betting |
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This last section lists US states where there’s been absolutely no movement towards sports betting regulation. There are only seven of them. I’ve chosen to categorize them by who’s talking, who’s not talking, and who’s likely never to breech the subject (under current circumstances / government).
If you’re from Utah, don’t get your hopes up. This is the last state that would ever consider legalizing any form of gambling. Odds are, if you live here, you agree with that position. If not, maybe you should consider moving to… well, anywhere else. Northern Arizona is just as beautiful; Nevada is just as dry; California has at least spoken about the possibility of regulation. Idaho and Wisconsin are the only other two states that aren’t even debating the issue, but that could easily change with time. -The above information is current as of April 19, 2021; source American Gaming Association. |
Author
About the Author
Adalene Lucas: is our jack of all trades here at DBC. She is a skilled coder, gambler, writer and webmaster. She lives in Manitoba where she enjoys the lush landscapes and camping near Tulabi Falls. Nature gives her inspiration to write. When she's not immersed in nature, her favorite words are "game theory". She lives with her husband and their two Labradors, Kophy and Whisper.
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