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 provides 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 is a map of where sports betting is legal in the USA, and state-specific information after that.

States with Legal Sports Betting Placeholder
States with Legal Sports Betting

Map Key

  • Blue: States where online sports betting is legal.
  • Red: States with retail sportsbooks only.

States With Legal Sports Betting

As of 2024, a majority of states have legalized sports betting and more attempt to do so each year.

Each of the following states now has legislation authorizing retail sportsbooks, online sports betting, or both.

Below is a list of all US states that have legal sports betting:

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 bettors 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.

All Online Sportsbook Reviews

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, resulting 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.

Sports Betting Bonuses

How To Bet On Sports

Learn how to bet on sports effectively using our simple betting guides that clearly explain each type of wager:

Expert Tip: Learn how to calculate vig at licensed US sportsbooks.

Daily Fantasy Sports

Sports fans who live in states that have not yet legalized sports betting do not 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.

DFS Sites

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 in the black market 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 or sweepstakes sportsbooks 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.

Legal Sports Betting FAQ

In many states, land-based casinos may partner with two or more sports betting providers to operate multiple online sportsbooks.

“Skins” is an industry parlance for individually branded betting sites or apps operating off a single casino’s license.

For example, if DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook both operate on a single casino’s license, industry insiders would refer to each as separate “skins”.

If you are located in a state without legal online sports betting or where your preferred app does not hold a license, you can log in, view lines, make deposits, and request withdrawals.

However, you can only place real money wagers from within a state where that online sportsbook holds a license.

If you are visiting legal sports betting states where your online sportsbook holds a license, you may continue placing wagers while there.

However, some online sportsbooks may ask you to sign up for a separate account in that state.

Federal and state laws require licensed online sportsbooks and betting apps to collect certain information, including the last four digits of every customer’s Social Security number.

Sportsbooks must collect this information to verify the identity of every customer and prevent access to minors, people on the self-exclusion list, and other prohibited persons.

Licensed sportsbooks must confirm the physical location of every customer who wishes to place a wager. Most sports betting operators contract geolocation out to GeoComply, a company that specializes in location verification.

GeoComply conducts over 350 checks to verify the location of every customer, ensuring proper detection even if customers use VPNs or other location masking tools.

Most online sportsbooks and mobile sports betting apps offer a cash out feature that allows users to close their bets early at the cost of a lower payout.

With the early cash out feature, bettors can lock in a win at a reduced payout or jump ship to cut their losses.

Each state taxes sports betting according to its own needs and goals. Some states opt for a low tax, open market approach, while others employ high taxes to squeeze every ounce of revenue possible out of legal sports betting.

Similarly, some states impose low licensing fees just to cover the costs of checking applicants for suitability, and others levy sky-high licensing fees to collect as much upfront revenue as possible from operators.

Readers can learn more about the tax and licensing situation in every state below:

Yes. A handful of states have passed legislation authorizing retail sportsbooks at stadiums.