Interactive Map: Sports Betting in the U.S.
AGA’s interactive sports betting map provides state-level detail on the types of wagering allowed, key regulatory details, legal retail sportsbooks and online/mobile, and more.
The post-PASPA era we now find ourselves in has transformed the sports betting market in the United States. We now have access to multiple state-regulated online and mobile sportsbooks as well as several reputable and secure mobile and online sportsbooks operating legally offshore.
- Sports Betting in Specific Cities and States. I’ve added dedicated pages outlining the sports betting options for residents in different states and large metropolitan areas of the United States. As I mentioned above, Nevada is the only state in the USA that allows land based sports betting, but betting on horse races in still allowed in most.
- Sports betting across the United States would have never existed were it not for the efforts of New Jersey. Spanning back to 2009, the state of New Jersey had been facing off with the United States’ major sports leagues (NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB) in a legal battle that outlasted Chris Christie’s tenure as governor.
Sports betting activity
Live, Legal* (20 States + DC)
Legal - Not Yet Operational (5 States)
Active or Pre-Filed Legislation in 2021 (17 States)
Inactive sports betting
- No Legislation in 2021 (8 States)
- Dead Legislation in 2021 (0 States)
Legal Landscape as of March 10, 2021
“Live, Legal” denotes states where single-game sports betting is legally offered to consumers through retail and/or online sportsbooks. States classified as “Legal – Not Yet Operational” have authorized sports betting, but have yet to launch. “Active or Pre-Filed Legislation” denotes jurisdictions where bills to legalize single-game sports betting have been pre-filed/introduced in the state legislature or where a voter referendum is scheduled. Sports betting provisions, revenue, and location data are sourced from state regulatory agencies.
Sports betting activity
Live, Legal* (20 States + DC)
Legal - Not Yet Operational (5 States)
Active or Pre-Filed Legislation in 2021 (17 States)
Inactive sports betting
- No Legislation in 2021 (8 States)
- Dead Legislation in 2021 (0 States)
Legal Landscape as of March 10, 2021
Casinos and poker definitely have very large niches of millions upon millions of gamblers out there. You can even find entire cities dedicated to casinos. But there’s just a certain atmosphere surrounding sports betting that’s impossible to ignore. It may not be more popular than casinos throughout the world, but sports fans are certainly more avid and full of fervor than fans of blackjack or the slots. For this reason, sports betting is able to easily maintain even if it’s not legal in the United States, and even when a sport isn’t in season. E.g. just because the NFL season isn’t currently underway doesn’t mean there are any less football gamblers out there. They’re just waiting patiently to pounce.
At Sports Betting United States, we understand fully the high drama that is sports betting. We seek out the best sportsbooks with the most legitimate ratings and best deals. We also seek out sportsbooks that allow US players to sign up. They’re becoming rarer these days for some reason, and thus it’s hard for an American to find a really good site with which to bet. We make sure to research these sportsbooks and to find the best ones offering their services to players from the US, along with great graphics, plenty of betting options, and bonuses and promotions that will make gambling there a lucrative venture.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal In The U.S.?
The simple answer to this question is actually a yes and a no. We’re really not trying to complicate this issue, as it is fairly easy to understand, but the easiest way to explain it is to say that gambling venues are illegal while gambling itself is not. Think of it like alcohol. It’s illegal for you to make and sell moonshine in your own yard, because it violates federal law and the ATF would be breathing down your neck, but it’s perfectly legal to drink moonshine so long as you’re 21. The same applies with gambling. If you wanted to open a bookies or a casino, off-track betting site or a sportsbook online, it would be illegal to do this inside of the United States, with the exception of Montana, Delaware, Oregon and Nevada. But if you want to gamble, then all you need to do is actually find a legal venue.
The primary reason that gambling itself is not illegal is that the American government has a rooting interest in allowing Americans to gamble. Without the billions of dollars they gain every year from state-sponsored lotteries, they wouldn’t be able to fund schools and their pet pork projects. So, how can government officials tell the American public that it’s okay to gamble with them, but illegal for Americans to gamble elsewhere? It’s something that would never fly. So, in order to ensure that they’re still able to pass a moral judgment over gambling, the compromise they made is that it’s only illegal to accept money for bets and to offer wagering odds. As reported by http://www.legalbettingonline.com/sports/, it is perfectly legal to gamble, however, which means that, as an American, all you need to do is find a sportsbook that’s legally licensed. Then you can gamble as much as you want.
Recommending The Best US Friendly Online Sports Betting Sites
Each of the online sportsbooks below accept all USA players and are legally licensed and regulated. These bookmakers are some of the biggest names in online gambling. We don’t promote dodgy sites that have any question marks with their brand. And each site offers some fantastic sign up bonuses and ongoing rewards for loyal players.
How Can You Bet Legally If You Live In America?
Online Sports Betting United States
If you want to bet legally in the United States, then you do have a few options available to you. First and foremost, you could go to one of those safe states to place your bets, which is definitely more convenient if you live inside or very close to those states. If you can get to Vegas, then by all means go to Vegas and bet real money with an on-location bookmaker. You could also go to a licensed casino. In a casino that’s located in West Virginia or Louisiana, for instance, all games of chance inside are legal. This means that you can actually bet on sports there, if they have sports betting as an option.
The easiest way, however, is simply to find a sportsbook that’s set up outside of America’s jurisdiction. This is where we come in to help. We help you find the best sportsbooks online, and sportsbooks that have no issues accepting American players. We seek out sites that have tight security, great graphics, plenty of incentives to draw you in, and tons of different sports on which you can bet. Being US-friendly is the chief concern here, of course, as the site can be rated the best in the world and it’s useless to Americans if they’re not accepting Americans. After we lock down the first criterion, we then look to see how the site stands out and stacks up against the competition.
Which Sports Are The Most Popular To Bet On?
It might sound a little hyperbolic, but every single sport or competitive match-up in the world has a betting line that you can find on the Internet. That isn’t to say that every site offers every sport, but it is to say that every sport is featured by some site out there. Of course, some sports are far more popular than others, and here are some of the most popular sports on which people bet, particularity Americans.
Football: NCAA/NFL
Americans love football more than any other sport on the planet, far and away. Americans love their NFL football like Brazilians love their futbal (soccer), and that’s saying a lot. Football draws in billions in sports bets every single year, and it’s far from the big matches that earn alone. While the Super Bowl and conference championships definitely turn heads, people are also betting big on all 16 regular season games, and even preseason games and the Pro Bowl. That’s how much Americans love the NFL. The NCAA is also a huge sport on which Americans bet. Especially now that the NCAA has trashed the BCS and have instituted a playoff system, more and more people are looking to place bets on the outcomes of games, as the NCAA field just seems more fair now than it’s ever been, back when rankings relied solely on computers.
Another big aspect of football betting is fantasy football. With new fan-based duel sites popping up all over the place, many football fans are compiling their rosters and are looking to earn big bucks from playing fantasy games against other players.
Basketball: NCAA/NBA
Basketball is another huge sport for Americans. With basketball, you have quite a few options. The National Basketball Association (NBA), the NCAA, and even the WNBA, which is the women’s specific league. There are also summer leagues and D-leagues on which many people end up betting. One of the reasons that basketball betting on the NBA is so popular is that there are so many games. There are 82 regular season games, and then 16 teams make the playoffs, which leads to 8 playoff series happening. Almost every reputable sportsbook in the world offers some type of betting line, and this keeps gamblers very interested.
Here is a good article on how NBA Commissioner Adam Silver want’s online sports betting legalized in the United States.
And for the NCAA fans, every year there’s a supremely popular phenomenon that happens, called March Madness. This is where 64 teams face off in single-elimination games en route to the college National Championship. There’s a ton to bet on here, from whole brackets and individual rounds to live-time betting on aired games and proposition bets. For a sports better, basketball is just pure excitement.
Golf:
Although it’s not an extremely popular sport in America, you would be surprised at just how many different people love gambling on golf lines. Part of the appeal here is that there are so many different ways to bet. You can bet live options, prop options, and you can bet all the normal options like favorites, O/Us, etc. But you can also bet on the golf pairings. When a major championship is being played, the typical format is that the PGA will group players together in pairs. Rather than having to bet on an entire match or some other long-shot outcome, you can actually bet on which player of the pairing wins. This is a fantastic way to leverage your bets and come out ahead in golf betting.
Another thing that makes golf betting so exciting is that there are up-and-coming players who are replacing the Phils and Tigers of the world. This new blood makes the lines far more exciting, and also far more forgiving, as there’s not enough information out there for bookmakers to set harsh lines.
Baseball – MLB:
Baseball is the perfect sport to bet on if you’re a gambler who likes betting in volume frequently. This is because the baseball season takes up almost three full weather seasons, running from the beginning of April to the end of October. That’s spring, summer, and half of fall. There are 162 regular season games, plus a few playoff series en route to the World Series. So, if you’re the type of gambler who likes to put down a few bucks every day to test the waters, baseball is definitely the sport for you. There’s just so much to keep you busy that you would probably never even bet every option available to you.
United States Sports Betting Sites
There’s also a relatively strong fantasy following in baseball. It’s not quite as strong as football’s following, but fantasy baseball has its appeal because the games typically happen every day or two rather than every week. And instead of only getting 16 or so, you get over 160. That’s a whole lot happening for gamblers; it’s a lot to focus on.
Horse Racing:
Finally, horse racing rounds out the most popular sports on which Americans bet. You might think of horse racing only in the context of the Triple Crown (e.g. the Derby, Belmont, and Preakness), but there are thousands upon thousands of horse races that happen all around the globe every year, on hundreds of different tracks, and many sports betters love betting on the ponies via the Internet. A big part of the appeal here is that top-flight sportsbooks actually run live streaming video feeds of the races. So even though you might be in middle America somewhere, you can actually watch the horses run in the UK from the comfort of your living room. This brings a very realistic experience to the sport.
Online betting via the horses is also the closest you’re going to get to betting at a live track due to the extreme parity in the betting options; e.g. trifectas, parlays, place and show bets, etc. If you’re one of those gamblers who has a horse betting system that you stick to, an online sportsbook is a great place to frequent.
Available Betting Options Found At Online Sportsbooks Open To United States Players
Sports Betting United States understands that a big part of the reason so many people bet on sports is that there are so many options available. For instance, a gambler doesn’t have to be stuck with betting on a straight even-money favorite via a sportsbook’s in-house odds. A gambler can find pool bets, they can parlay bets, they can participate in group bets with other members, and even head-to-head bets with other people. This range of options is what allows skilled gamblers to win big money online. The gamblers who actually take their time to research and leverage their action with smaller bets spread out over solid wagers are the ones who end up cleaning up every week. And they cannot do this on a sportsbook that doesn’t provide them a lot of options. Sports Betting United States attempts to find you these top-shelf sportsbooks that offer the options you need to make your bets worthwhile.
As we continue to grow our brand, Sports Betting United States is going to offer detailed, impartial reviews of US-friendly sportsbooks. We’re going to provide tips and tricks to help you win your bets. And we’re going to ensure accurate, current information that will help you make better overall decisions when gambling. We encourage everyone to gamble responsibly, never stretching themselves too thinly, but we also encourage everyone to win when they place a bet!
States With Legal Online Sports Betting
| Alabama | Hawaii | Massachusetts | New Mexico | South Dakota |
| Alaska | Idaho | Michigan | New York | Tennessee |
| Arizona | Illinois | Minnesota | North Carolina | Texas |
| Arkansas | Indiana | Mississippi | North Dakota | Utah |
| California | Iowa | Missouri | Ohio | Vermont |
| Colorado | Kansas | Montana | Oklahoma | Virginia |
| Connecticut | Kentucky | Nebraska | Oregon | Washington |
| Delaware | Louisiana | Nevada | Pennsylvania | West Virginia |
| Florida | Maine | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | Wisconsin |
| Georgia | Maryland | New Jersey | South Carolina | Wyoming |