How Many States Can You Legally Bet on Sports?
You can bet on sports in many states, but there are a few states where it is not legal. Here is a list of the states where you can bet on sports.
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Introduction
The number of states in which you can bet on sports legally has been on the rise in recent years, with more and more states looking to tap into the billions of dollars in annual revenue that the sports betting industry generates. As of 2020, there are now a total of 18 states (plus Washington D.C.) in which you can bet on sports legally, either online or in-person at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks.
Here is a full list of the states in which you can bet on sports as of 2020:
· Arkansas
· Colorado
· Delaware
· Illinois
· Indiana
· Iowa
· Nevada
· New Hampshire
· New Jersey
(Note: You can also bet on sports in New Mexico, but only at tribal casinos)
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Virginia
Washington D.C. (Note: Bets are only accepted at brick-and-mortar locations)
West Virginia
Federal Laws
The federal government has three laws that apply to sports betting: the Federal Wire Act, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
The Federal Wire Act makes it illegal to use wire communications (like the internet) to place bets on sporting events. The law was passed in 1961 to target illegal bookies, but its reach has been expanded over the years. In 2011, the Department of Justice issued a memo stating that the law only applies to sports betting, not other forms of gambling.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed in 2006 to target businesses that processed payments for illegal online gambling sites. The law does not make online gambling illegal, but it does make it harder for businesses to process payments for it. The law has had a chilling effect on the online gambling industry, and many companies have stopped doing business in the US because of it.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was passed in 1992 to ban sports betting nationwide, with a few exceptions. Nevada was grandfathered in because it already had legal sports betting at the time, and three other states – Delaware, Montana and Oregon – were given a one-year grace period to legalize sports betting. Delaware and Oregon have since done so, but Montana has not.
State Laws
In the United States, sports betting is only legal in Nevada. There are no laws prohibiting sports betting anywhere else in the country. However, there are a number of federal laws that make it difficult for Sportsbooks to operate outside of Nevada.
The most important of these laws is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibits sports betting in all but four states: Montana, Oregon, Delaware and Nevada. PASPA also prohibits state governments from enacting their own laws legalizing sports betting.
Another federal law, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), prohibits businesses from knowingly accepting payments related to illegal online gambling. This law has had a chilling effect on the online gambling industry, and has made it difficult for Sportsbooks to offer their services to customers outside of Nevada.
In spite of these challenges, a number of illegal Sportsbooks operate in the United States. These businesses typically operate offshore, in countries where sports betting is legal. They use a variety of methods toAccept payments from US customers, including credit cards, wire transfers and cryptocurrency.
It is currently illegal to bet on sports in 46 states. The only states where it is legal are Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon. There are a number of federal laws that make it difficult for Sportsbooks to operate outside of Nevada, including the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). In spite of these challenges, a number of illegal Sportsbooks operate in the United States.
Conclusion
From the perspective of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States, only Nevada allows legal betting on individual games.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. NCAA opens the door for other states to pass laws authorizing sports betting, but it’s still up to each individual state whether to do so.
At least a dozen states have introduced bills that would legalize sports betting since the Supreme Court’s decision, but it will likely take months or even years for any of them to actually pass a law and start taking bets.
So, for now, if you want to bet on sports legally in the United States, you’ll need to go to Nevada.
