Playmaker Betting Guide: Legal Sports Gambling By State
Our newest installment of the Playmaker Betting Guide series revolves around informing readers of the states that allow legal sports gambling. Unfortunately, some states in the US don’t allow legal betting, including daily fantasy sports (DFS) sites. Even more confusing, there may still be restrictions on some forms of betting. For example, some DFS sites are restricted by a state that allows sports gambling.
Map Of Legal Sports Gambling States
Pictured above, the American Gaming Association provides a cool interactive map. The map allows the user to look further into each state’s legal sports gambling status. If you don’t want to utilize the map yourself, I did the research for you. Below are the approved and restricted forms of betting for the 26 “live, legal” states (including Washington DC).
Arizona
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
10 Tribal casino operators and 10 professional sports venues/teams
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
Collegiate prop betting
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Arkansas
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino and racino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
Possible to ban betting on in-state professional teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Colorado
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, tribal casino & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
Prop betting on all collegiate events that are not sanctioned by the relevant sports league
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Delaware
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
DE Lottery through racinos
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Illinois
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, racetrack, sports arena & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Caesars Sportsbooks by William Hill
Indiana
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, racino, OTB & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
No prop bets on collegiate events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Iowa
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, tribal casino & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
Prop betting on in-state collegiate teams
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Michigan
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, tribal casino & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Mississippi
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial & tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
PRR Sports App
The app is only accessible while on-premises at Pearl River Resort and Bok Homa Casino
BetMGM
The app is only accessible while on-premise at Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica
Montana
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
MT Lottery through bars and restaurants that hold a liquor license, through a mobile phone at licensed locations
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None, but the lottery director has the power to establish parameters on what sports and bet types.
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 18+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Montana bettors have to be within a retail sports betting location to bet on their phones.
Nevada
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Atlantis Casino Race and Sports Book App
Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill
CG Technology Nevada Sports Betting App
South Point Sports Betting App
New Hampshire
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
NH Lottery through online and retail agents
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 18+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
New Jersey
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, racetrack & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
New Mexico
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
N/A
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE
New York
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Upstate commercial & tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Commercial casinos: 21+
Tribal casinos: 18+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
North Carolina
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
N/A
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
North Dakota
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
N/A
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Oregon
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
OR Lottery through kiosks, retailers & online; tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
Lottery: All collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Pennsylvania
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, racino OTB & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Rhode Island
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
RI Lottery through commercial casinos & online
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 18+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
South Dakota
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial & tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events, prop betting on all collegiate events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Tennessee
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
Prop betting on all collegiate events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Virginia
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events and prop betting on all collegiate events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Washington
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Tribal casino operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
In-state collegiate teams and events
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 18+
NO LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
West Virginia
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Commercial casino, racino & online operators
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 21+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Wyoming
AUTHORIZED OPERATORS
Online operators that operate in at least three U.S. regulated jurisdictions
RESTRICTED BET TYPES
None
AGE REQUIREMENT
Must be 18+
LEGAL ONLINE/MOBILE SITES
Although Washington DC is not a state, it has seperate betting laws than the state of Maryland. According to an article by Rebecca Hanchett of Gaming Today Washington DC has the following sports betting overview.
The nation’s capital has had live sports betting through the DC Lottery since 2020. Bettors today can access the DC Lottery run GambetDC app as well as William Hill. They must place bets at the Capital One Arena, or within a few blocks of it. Bettors can look forward to sports wagering at Audi Field and Nationals Park later in 2021. BetMGM partnered with the Nationals to open a retail sportsbook at the ballpark.
- Online Sportsbook Apps: Yes
- Retail Sportsbooks: Yes
- Legal Online Casinos: No
If you don’t see your state of residence, or one you frequent on this list, don’t worry there is still hope for some. There are currently six states where sports betting is legal, just not operational yet. Below is the list of those states that will be up in running in the near future.
Connecticut
Florida
Louisiana
Maryland
Nebraska
Wisconsin
When things are finalized for these states, we will update this article to reflect those changes. Furthermore, two more states have active legislation which looks promising that they will gain approval. Those states are:
Massachusetts
Ohio
Unfortunately, the remaining states, sixteen, have either no legislation filed or what is referred to as “dead legislation”. Meaning there is no bill on the floor for legal sports gambling, or that any bill brought forth has not garnered the support it needs to pass and become law. If any legislation is filed we will update this article accordingly.
As you can see, there is a lot of variance state-by-state when it comes to legal sports betting. Please use this guide so you know what to expect if you live in or frequent one of these states and want to legally wager on sports.