Sports Betting is Legal in How Many US States as of October 2019?

As of October 2019, sports betting is legal in eight US states. This includes Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and New Mexico.

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Introduction

In May of 2018, the US Supreme Court overturned a law that had effectively banned sports betting in most states. This ruling opened up the door for states to legalize and regulate sports betting within their borders.

As of October 2019, sports betting is now legal in 14 US states: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Arkansas, New Mexico, Indiana, Iowa, Oregon, Montana and Colorado.

Legal sports betting is currently underway in all of these states except for Montana and Oregon, which are still in the process of finalizing their regulations. It is expected that sports betting will be live in both of these states by early 2020.

The Current Legal Status of Sports Betting in the US

As of October 2019, sports betting is legal in eight US states. This includes Nevada, which has long been the only state with legal sports betting. Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia have all legalized sports betting since the Supreme Court’s ruling in May 2018.

Federal Laws

The federal government has a few laws that pertain to sports betting, most notably the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). PASPA effectively made sports betting illegal across the vast majority of the US, with a few notable exceptions. Those exceptions were Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon, who were “grandfathered” in because they had some form of legal sports betting before PASPA was enacted in 1992.

In 2018, the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA as unconstitutional, which paved the way for individual states to start legalizing and regulating sports betting within their own borders. As of October 2019, there are now 14 states (plus Washington D.C.) where sports betting is legal and operational.

The federal government also has a law known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was passed in 2006. The UIGEA does not outright make online gambling illegal in the US, but rather makes it illegal for banks and other financial institutions to process transactions related to online gambling sites. This effectively makes it very difficult for US residents to deposit and withdraw money from online gambling sites.

Despite these federal laws, there are still many online gambling sites that accept US players and process transactions without any issue. These sites operate in a somewhat grey area, but have so far been able to avoid any major legal problems.

State Laws

As of October 2019, sports betting is legal in the following US states:
-Arkansas
-Delaware
-Illinois
-Indiana
-Iowa
-Michigan
-Mississippi
-Montana
-Nevada
-New Hampshire
-New Jersey
-New Mexico
-Oregon
-Pennsylvania
-Rhode Island
-West Virginia

In May of 2018, the US Supreme Court overturned a law that had effectively banned sports betting in all but four states (Nevada, Montana, Oregon, and Delaware). Since then, many states have moved quickly to legalize and regulate sports betting within their borders.

The Future of Sports Betting in the US

As of October 2019, sports betting is legal in 14 US states and Washington D.C. This number is expected to grow in the next few years as more states legalize sports betting. The reason for this is that sports betting can be a great source of revenue for states. It is estimated that the US sports betting market will be worth $6 billion by 2023.

Federal Legislation

In May of 2018, the US Supreme Court effectively struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which had prevented states from legalizing sports betting for decades. The ruling opened up the possibility for states to legalize and regulate sports betting, and since then, a total of 14 states have done so.

The current landscape of sports betting in the US looks like this:

-Nevada: Nevada was grandfathered in under PASPA and has offered legal sports betting for decades.
-Delaware: Delaware was also grandfathered in, and it launched its first sportsbook just a few weeks after PASPA was struck down.
-New Jersey: New Jersey was at the forefront of the legal challenge to PASPA, and it was quick to launch sports betting after the law was struck down.
-Mississippi: Mississippi became the fourth state to legalize sports betting in August 2018.
-West Virginia: West Virginia legalized sports betting in March 2019.
-Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania became the sixth state to legalize sports betting in October 2017.
-Rhode Island: Rhode Island became the seventh state to legalize sports betting in November 2018.
-Arkansas: Arkansas legalized sports betting in July 2019.
-New Mexico: New Mexico’s tribal casinos began offering sports betting in October 2018 without state legislation. In April 2019, the state passed a law that would allow for mobile betting as well.
-North Carolina: North Carolina passed a law authorizing sports betting in July 2019, but it has yet to be implemented.
-Oregon: Oregon’s tribal casinos began offering sports betting in August 2019 without state legislation.
-Montana: Montana passed a law authorizing sports betting in May 2019, and it began offering bettors bets on professional and collegiate sporting events in March 2020.

State Legislation

In May 2018, the US Supreme Court reversed the Federal ban on sports betting and it is now up to each individual state to decide if they want to allow sports betting and how it will be regulated.

As of October 2019, there are eight states that have legalized sports betting and have active sportsbooks (Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Mississippi, West Virginia and Arkansas) and seven more states that have passed legislation but have not yet launched their operations (Oregon, Indiana, Montana, Iowa, New York, New Mexico and Tennessee). Many more states are expected to legalize sports betting in the coming months and years.

The future of sports betting in the US looks very bright and there will likely be many more states that legalize and launch sports betting operations in the near future.

Conclusion

As of October 2019, sports betting is legal in 10 US states: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Montana and Iowa. This number is expected to grow in the coming years as more states legalize sports betting.