We've compiled this legal online betting guide for US players arranged by state, to provide accurate and up to date information on the legal online gambling status and gaming options available within each US state. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive state gambling directory which will empower players with the information to make informed decisions about online gambling.

This state-specific data will include a look at the state laws governing online gambling opportunities from online casinos, online poker, to online sports betting.

Each individual state is approaching the legalization of online gambling differently, thus it is necessary to detail lawfully available state-licensed options, and sanctioned licensed offshore online gambling opportunities. We also address some of the most commonly asked questions about gambling in each state and provide some helpful resources for players to access. This information can only be covered in depth within each of the state pages we offer, which you can find listed within this guide.

The state most synonymous with gambling in the US, Nevada was actually exempted from PAPSA. That means online sports betting has been legal in the state for quite some time. In the United States, gambling is restricted almost everywhere, except in Las Vegas and in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Is Online Gambling Legal In My State?

To avoid confusion, we have marked US states which offer state-regulated gambling options in the table below with a check mark. At this moment in time, eight US states have legalized and regulated online gambling in some form. For example:

Online Poker & Casinos:

• Delaware - Online Poker and Online Casino gambling
• Nevada - Online Poker
• New Jersey - Online Poker, Online Casinos
• Pennsylvania - Online Poker, Online Casinos
• West Virginia - Online Poker, Online Casinos

Online Sports Betting & Fantasy Sports

• Illinois - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
• Indiana - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Iowa - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Massachusetts - Fantasy Sports Allowed
• Mississippi - Online Allowed At Casinos Only
• Montana - Legalized Online Sports Betting**
• Nevada - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
• New Jersey - Online Sportsbooks State-wide
• New York - Allows Fantasy Sports And Domestic Sports Betting
• Oregon - Offers Online Sports Betting
• Pennsylvania - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
• Rhode Island - Offers Online and Domestic Sports Betting
• Tennessee - Offers Online Sports Betting Apps
• West Virginia - Online Sports Betting Allowed State-wide

** Legalized but Pending launch

Online Lottery:

• Georgia - Online Lottery Allowed
• Illinois - Online Lottery Allowed
• Kentucky - Online Lottery Allowed
• Michigan - Online Lottery Allowed
• Minnesota - Online Lottery Allowed
• New Hampshire - Online Lottery Allowed
• Pennsylvania - Online Lottery Allowed

Is Licensed Offshore Gambling Legal In My State?

While the above-mentioned states offer regulated online gambling, they still maintain the option to utilize licensed offshore online options. Nearly all US state residents, except those from Washington or Connecticut, can legally access licensed offshore online gambling platforms to play online casino games, poker, or bet on sports.

This is because no state laws in these other 48 states specifically prohibit or allow it - thus operating in a technical grey area, it is still considered safe to use because it is not likely these states will draft and pass legislation to specifically affect domestic access to licensed offshore gaming.

What Is The Minimum Online Gambling Age in the US?

There is no one minimum gambling age in the US as this is set and regulated by each individual state. The minimum gambling age within each state is affected by various factors such as game selected and licensor. By this, we mean state-regulated online gambling options require domestic players, whether residents or visitors, to abide by the state's minimum gambling age for that form of gambling on land within the state's borders.

However, licensed offshore online platforms which offer casino games, poker, and sports betting can lawfully accept players who are at least 18 years of age or older. These licensed offshore online sites also offer players much more in the way of bonuses and perks and the platforms we recommend are all extremely reputable.

U.S. States Where You Can Legally Gamble At 18 And Up

Below you can learn more about the minimum legal online gambling age by state in the USA.

Online Gambling Laws in The United States

Gambling laws can be a rather complex topic these days as there are several US federal gambling laws to account for such as the UIGEA, and the Federal Wire Act, as well as, several individual state gambling laws. The reason for this is because the United States DOJ has said that states have the authority to determine their own destiny concerning both land-based and online gambling.

Afterward, several states moved forward with legalizing some forms of online gambling for their region. Multiple other states are currently in discussions amongst themselves regarding the possibility of embracing this virtual gaming platform in their own territories. As discussed earlier and from what can be read from our laws page, US players outside of WA and CT are permitted access to multiple licensed, certified, and regulated online gambling sites hosted outside of the United States. This is a nice alternative for those players not located in a state with its own regulated form of domestic online gambling.

States With Pending Online Gambling Legislation

US States That Offer Domestic Sportsbooks

US States With Passed Sports Betting Legislation (Pending Launch)

Sports betting in the United States has changed dramatically since May of 2018 when PASPA was repealed. In fact, the changes are taking place so quickly, it's actually a bit challenging to keep up. This is not a bad thing though - it means that the sports wagering industry is expanding to fill the void that US bettors have felt for the last several decades, and state lawmakers are on board for the most part with pioneering the launch of the domestic US sports betting industry.

Following PASPA's nullification, state-regulated sports betting has come onto the scene to provide a second avenue for betting along with the handful of trusted offshore sportsbooks that have legally and reliably provided their betting services to American sports fans for decades. To assist in helping everyone stay in the know regarding which states allow or prohibit these different forms of sportsbook gambling, we've broken the information down in a few different ways.

Where Is Sports Betting Considered Legal In The United States?

Before May 2018, only one state had full-service state-regulated sports betting options, that state being Nevada. At this moment in time, the number of states offering legal domestic sports betting is 19. In addition, US players are permitted to access offshore sports betting sites in most states except in Connecticut and Washington, where lawmakers have established state laws outlawing access to all forms of online gambling. Residents in every other state can legally access offshore sportsbooks without violating any type of state or federal laws.

List Of States That Have Already Legalized State Regulated Sports Betting

What states offer legal sports betting locally? Currently, more than 20 US states have legalized state-regulated sports betting options, though you can reduce that number by one if you consider the tribal loophole used by New Mexico Indian nations to not qualify as specific state approval.

A significant number of states have passed legislation to authorize sports gambling in their state but have yet to launch any sportsbooks while additional states have legislation pending.

Here is a breakdown of the states that have already passed legislation allowing domestic sports betting entertainment as well as states that have pending active legislation in the works. States with ** indicate that they have legalized state-regulated sports betting but have not yet launched any brick and mortar or online betting options.

• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Mississippi

• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina**
• Oregon

• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Virginia**
• West Virginia
• Washington**
• Washington D.C.

List Of U.S. States That Don't Criminalize Offshore Betting

Even if you don't live in one of the above states which have passed legislation to legalize sports betting, there are still plenty of options to bet on sports while remaining within the confines of the U.S. law. The most important thing to understand on the legal side of things is that there are only 2 states which specifically make gambling via an offshore site illegal. These include Washington and Connecticut. So you won't be breaking any laws if you reside in any other state and choose to bet with an offshore sportsbook.

States Where Online Sports Betting Is Considered Illegal

A few states have taken an extra measure to strengthen their enforcement of anti-gambling laws to keep their residents from engaging in any form of gambling on the Internet, including online sports betting:

• Washington
• Connecticut

These two states are the only ones that have taken this approach as of early 2020. They each have specific state laws that outlaw all forms of gambling on the Internet, regardless of the source. Their prohibition of online sports wagering does not mean that they won't legalize state-regulated brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, as Connecticut has some betting legislation on the table right now and Washington just passed a sports betting bill of its own.

There are also a few states that have enacted laws specifically to prohibit state-regulated sports wagering, including:

• Utah
• Vermont
• Alaska
• Hawaii

We've seen that this can change as well, as Hawaii already has a pending sports gambling bill in its legislature.

Understanding States’ Rights

The United States Department of Justice issued a Formal Opinion in 2011 clarifying that the Wire Act only pertained to US-based online sports gambling businesses. This freed up states to issue legislation that would legalize online casinos and poker.

Online Gambling Illegal In United States

However, the application of this law changed in 2018 with the repeal of PASPA and again in 2019 with another clarification of the law's reach post-PASPA. Now the Act simply prohibits any interstate gambling transmissions for all state-regulated gambling, meaning that state gambling businesses are not permitted to accept wagers across state lines. This interpretation is being challenged in court, so the application of the Wire Act could change yet again.

Until its repeal in May of 2018, PASPA was a federal ban that superseded states’ rights. There was an argument against the ban stating that it violated states’ constitutional rights. PASPA prohibited states from authorizing or licensing sports betting enterprises themselves. After being sued by the major sports leagues in the US, NJ decided to do something about PASPA.

New Jersey was victorious in their historic Supreme Court case where they are argued that PASPA violates their rights as they tried to authorize sports betting in 2014. SCOTUS ruled that PASPA was indeed unconstitutional and rendered the law null and void and has therefore placed the authority to regulate sports wagering into the hands of the individual states.

Make Your Voice Heard

You can help with the ongoing US sports betting legal disputes by contacting your state representatives and encouraging them to vote on matters you support. Contact your state representatives and tell them to support sports betting legislation. If you visit our state bill tracker page - you will see a map with all the states. If you click on that map you will see a list of all pending bills for any given state. If a state is not 'clickable', you will know there are no sports betting bills pending for that state.

Understanding The Legal Gambling Age Of Each State

One of the most stringent protocols for any gambling sector is age verification. States have gambling age requirements to prevent minors from gaining access to both brick-and-mortar and online gambling platforms. Most states have a minimum gambling age somewhere between 18 and 21. However, most state-regulated sports betting platforms that we've seen launched require participants to be at least 21 years old, but there are a few exceptions. Be sure to check with your state’s gambling laws before participating in gambling to ensure you are within your legal limits.

What The Future Holds For Legal Online Sports Betting In America

This depends on whether the 2019 DOJ opinion on the Wire Act will be challenged in court (though it has received a temporary injunction on its new 'interpretation'). This new opinion flipped the domestic market on its head as it placed many restrictions on operations, forcing providers to be 100% intrastate-supported and compliant by mid-2019. However, New Hampshire and other states are attempting to challenge this opinion in court, and so far things are looking good.

Online Gambling Legal States

Sports Gambling - By The Numbers

Be the legal situation as it may, sports betting still happens. American bettors are flocking to regulated offshore sportsbooks or illegal online and offline bookies to place their wagers. Sports gambling is a billion-dollar industry.

To put things in perspective, check out this information provided by the American Gaming Association of sports betting statistics from Super Bowl LIV (2020).

• 26 million—Number of American adults to bet on SB54
• 5 million—Bets placed online/offshore
• $6.8 billion—Total Super Bowl betting handle
• $154.7 million—Legal bets placed in Nevada
• $6.65 billion—Gray-market bets placed everywhere else
• 97.7%—Percentage of all bets placed through non-US-licensed means
• 25%—Increase in total Super Bowl bets from the previous year

The AGA is also estimating that a total of over $40 billion will be wagered on MLB games during the next season. Imagine if this type of revenue was being regulated. Since the market already exists, why not put regulations on it to make it work towards our mutual benefit?

A poll conducted before the repeal of PASPA by the Morning Consult asked NFL fans their opinions on sports betting legislation. Nearly three times as many NFL fans believed the federal government should lift the ban on sports betting. The majority also believed that individual states should have the power to decide if they want sports betting, not the federal government. Americans want to bet on sports, and they've made it clear.

Online Gambling Illegal United States

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