Legislative Tracker: Sports Betting

Online sportsbooks account for the vast majority of legal wagering on sports throughout the United States. While online betting is not new, any website or app outside Nevada that began offering sports betting inside the United States prior to 2018 did so illegally.

States with legal sports betting

These states (and Washington, DC) have legal, regulated sports betting industries:

• Arizona sports betting
• Arkansas sports betting
• Colorado sports betting
• Connecticut sports betting
• Delaware sports betting
• Illinois sports betting
• Indiana sports betting
• Iowa sports betting
• Kansas sports betting
• Kentucky sports betting
• Louisiana sports betting
• Maine sports betting
• Maryland sports betting
• Massachusetts sports betting
• Michigan sports betting
• Mississippi sports betting
• Montana sports betting
• Nevada sports betting
• New Hampshire sports betting
• New Jersey sports betting
• New Mexico sports betting
• New York sports betting
• North Carolina sports betting
• Ohio sports betting
• Oregon sports betting
• Pennsylvania sports betting
• Rhode Island sports betting
• South Dakota sports betting
• Tennessee sports betting
• Virginia sports betting
• Washington DC sports betting
• Washington sports betting
• West Virginia sports betting
• Wisconsin sports betting
• Wyoming sports betting

North Carolina has limited sports betting via tribal casinos. In New Mexico and Wisconsin, some tribes now offer sports betting under an existing Class III gaming compact. Mississippi allows app-based sports betting but only on-site at licensed casinos.

Florida sports betting remains mired in a legal battle involving state and federal courts.

Which states could legalize sports betting next?

States seeking additional sources of tax revenue and wanting to better address responsible gambling issues continue to look into legalizing and regulating sports betting.

In recent years, these states examined sports betting bills but failed to get them across the finish line:

• California sports betting: A ballot effort in 2022 to legalize mobile wagering failed spectacularly, drawing less than 20% support with California voters. Tribal gaming interests control the future of sports wagering in the Golden State.
• Georgia sports betting: Multiple bills came close to passage in recent years but fell short because of competing political pressures. Another push remains likely.
• Minnesota sports betting: A promising 2023 legislative push fell apart late in the session. Proponents vowed to bring back a sports betting bill again in 2024.
• Missouri sports betting: Frustration is growing in Missouri, where Sen. Denny Hoskins is single-handed obstructing sports betting legislation over his desire for the inclusion of video lottery terminals (VLT.)
• Texas sports betting: A bill to legalize sports wagering passed the House in 2023, a first in Texas. The bill quickly stalled in the Senate and cannot be picked up until 2025, when the legislature next meets.

2023 sports betting bills

There are now a variety of bills on file around the country and even some new laws on the books. Below is a look at current legislation by state. These states, in particular, are close to having legal sports betting:

• Maine sports betting (Bill passed in May 2022, law signed in May 2022, anticipated launch in 2024)
• Vermont sports betting (Bill passed in May 2023, law signed in June 2023, anticipated launch in 2024)

Climate for US sports betting legislation

The pent-up demand for legal sports betting in the United States became evident quickly after the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on single-game wagering in 2018.

More than five years later, nearly 80% of US states have either legalized sports wagering or introduced legislation to do so.

Many states are taking full advantage of the opportunity by approving mobile sportsbook apps and statewide betting. Others are choosing the more limited route of in-person wagering at sportsbooks.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, more states chose to examine legalizing sports betting as a way to offset budget losses.

It is widely accepted that people are wagering on sports in every state, many illegally through unlicensed offshore sportsbooks. Capturing that revenue through a regulated market that is also better equipped to identify and treat problem gambling appeals to state legislators throughout the country.

How sports betting laws affect athletes and coaches

There are 25 jurisdictions that explicitly prohibit an athlete or related person from betting:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Louisiana
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Washington DC
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Of those, four include penalties for the person betting – the others penalize the sportsbook/license holder:

• Colorado
• Michigan
• Virginia
• West Virginia

Ten jurisdictions explicitly via law and/or regulation bar the use of non-public information:

• Arizona
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Washington DC
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Legislative live streams

Want to follow along as a sports betting bill is considered in a hearing or legislative session? Here’s a guide to all the video and audio streams for US legislatures:

Previous sports betting bills

Here is the recent history of bills related to sports betting in the United States:

2019 legislation

2018 legislation

2017 legislation

2016 legislation

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