The 2018 Supreme Court decision to overturn the federal sports betting prohibition granted individual states the opportunity to legalize and regulate sports betting, resulting in varying regulations from state to state.
Some states have limited legal sportsbooks to retail or “in-person,” while others opted for open online sports betting markets.
BettingUSA.com aims to provide a clear overview of sports betting laws in each state, including where to bet on sports legally and how to get started.
Other key topics include unbiased sportsbook reviews, new customer deposit bonuses, and state-specific listings of licensed sports betting sites and online sportsbook apps.
Online Sports Betting Sites
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Legal Sportsbooks in the USA
For over 25 years, a federal law (PASPA) prevented most US states from legalizing sports betting.
Everything changed in May of 2018 when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled the federal sports betting ban unconstitutional.
That decision ended a years-long legal battle pitting the state of New Jersey against federal law, the NCAA, and the four major professional sports leagues.
New Jersey’s victory and the Supreme Court’s ruling allowed individual states to legalize and regulate sports betting.
The decision also marked a new high point in a long and winding US sports betting timeline by paving the way for states to bring the industry out of the shadows, and into the light of regulation.
Below you’ll find a map of where sports betting is legal in the USA, and state-specific information after that.
States with Legal Sports Betting
Map Key
- Blue: Online sportsbooks and betting apps are legal
- Green: Retail sportsbooks only (in-person wagering)
- Red: Sports betting coming soon; legislation fully passed but waiting for implementation
States With Legal Sports Betting
A growing number of states have legalized sports betting, and many more are in the process of doing so. Each of the following states now has legislation in place authorizing retail sportsbooks, online sports betting, or both.
Below is a list of all US states that have legal sports betting options; expand for more information.
All Major Sports And Leagues
The following sports can be found at all licensed US sports betting sites. All of these sports betting markets are offered at legal online sportsbooks in the USA.
Online Sports Betting Apps
BettingUSA’s expert team conducts online sportsbook reviews that are unbiased, straightforward, and factual.
Picking the best online sportsbooks for one’s individual needs is made a lot easier with reviews of sports betting apps that are honest and thorough.
BettingUSA.com reviews all licensed online sportsbooks in the USA, even those we don’t have a commercial arrangement with.
As new sports betting sites open, BettingUSA investigates licenses held, the history of the operator, the value of welcome bonuses, terms and conditions of promotional offers, sports covered, and much more.
Online Sports Betting Bonuses
Licensed online sportsbooks offer welcome bonuses to new customers as an incentive to sign up, deposit, and bet online.
Most states with legal online sports betting have enacted legislation favorable to a competitive market, which has, in turn, resulted in online sports betting operators ramping up their marketing spend to attract new customers.
Nearly all licensed online sportsbooks offer a welcome bonus to new customers. Sports betting offers take a variety of forms, such as match deposit bonuses, bonus bets, second-chance bets, and first-wager loss refunds.
Expert tip: All sports betting promotions are designed to look tempting, but only some sportsbook bonuses live up to the hype.
For bettors interested in taking advantage of new customer bonuses at legal US sportsbooks, BettingUSA has put together a guide explaining how betting welcome promos work in simple terms.
Our guide explains how to evaluate betting bonuses for value, what terms and conditions to look out for, and lists the best sports betting bonuses for sports fans in every state.
How To Bet On Sports
Learn how to bet on sports effectively using our simple betting guides:
- Parlays
- Same Game Parlays
- Teasers
- Point spreads
- Moneylines
- Totals
- Futures
- Prop Bets
- Round Robin Bets
- Scorigami Bets
- Run Line Bets
- Hedging Bets
- Early Cash Out Bets
- How Middles Work
- Line Shopping
- Betting Exchanges
- Double Chance Bets
Expert Tip: Learn how to calculate vig at licensed US sportsbooks.
Live In-Play Sports Betting
All legal sports betting states have authorized in-play betting, which allows bettors to place wagers during games as they happen.
In-play wagering has proven so popular that it now accounts for as much as 80% of some operators’ online sports betting revenue.
Live in-play sports betting in the USA offers bettors a safe and regulated means to bet on games after they have already started. In-play bets provide a plethora of betting opportunities during every game for an engaging and high-paced form of wagering.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Sports fans who live in states that have not yet legalized sports betting do not necessarily have to sit on the sidelines until their legislatures change the law.
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) is the next best thing to sports betting online, and DFS is legal in nearly every state.
When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) was passed in 2006 to block payments to online gambling sites, it specifically granted fantasy sports an exception from the law.
As a result, sports fans can play at legal, US-based daily fantasy sports sites for real money.
Although there are many differences between DFS and sports betting, the experience from a fan perspective is largely the same.
In both cases, having skin in the game provides new levels of entertainment to every play of every game.
Avoid Illegal Online Sportsbooks
During the years when federal prohibition was in effect, a massive offshore sports betting industry flourished as offshore online sportsbooks catered to American bettors.
Offshore sportsbooks continue to operate as usual despite state regulations, but American bettors should be aware that the offshore sports betting industry is completely unregulated and illegal.
Customers are on their own when it comes to chasing down payments and dealing with rogue operators and illegal betting sites.
BettingUSA.com will never recommend offshore sportsbooks for US residents. Our editors stress the importance of wagering at legal sports betting sites only.
Our advice to readers who live in states that have not yet legalized sports betting is to use daily fantasy sports sites as an alternative, and avoid using offshore betting sites.
Sports fans can also use our up-to-date state-specific betting guides and watch for legislative updates and US betting news.