Where Is Sports Betting Legal? Our Full State Guide

Correct as of November 4, 2024.

Time has simply flown by: The Supreme Court began tearing up the federal ban on sports betting in the United States back in 2018.

Since then, each individual state has been handed the power to legalize sports wagering on their home soil – whether that’s with physical sportsbooks, casinos, or racetracks, or via online betting sites and apps.

Some states have upheld the old legislation on sports wagering, some are in the process of lifting the ban, and others have enjoyed legal sports betting for a number of years already.

So where is sports betting legal? And could your home state be lifting its ban on wagering any time soon? Read on to find out.

States Where You Can Use Bally Bet Sportsbook

You'll be delighted to hear that you can legally use Bally Bet's betting site and app in seven states already. But we’ve no plans to stop there. Keep your eyes peeled for more states to be added to our list soon.

For now, you can create a Bally Bet Sportsbook account in:

• Arizona

• Colorado

• Indiana

• Iowa

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• New Jersey

• New York

• Ohio

• Tennessee

• Virginia

Arizona has legalized sports betting in all forms, including retail and online, so bettors in AZ are completely free to enjoy Bally Bet as they wish. Lawmakers in Arizona lifted the previous prohibition on sports betting in the state in 2021, with Governor Doug Ducey signing off on new laws that legalized wagering in the Grand Canyon State.

Colorado's legal sports betting was up and running in 2019, when state committee members voted in favor of legalizing wagering with licensed sportsbooks, and we’re proud to be one of them.

Two other states, Indiana and Iowa, also welcomed legal sports bets for the first time in 2019. Our new platform was relaunched in Iowa late 2023, delivering a more streamlined yet comprehensive user experience for our betting community.

Virginia joined the sports betting fray in 2020, with in-person and online wagers both accepted. As long as you're located in the Hoosier State and are 21 or older, you can create a Bally Bet account and begin placing your sports bets with us today.

Whether you live in New York or find yourself in the Big Apple on your travels, you can wager legally with Bally Bet. Online sports betting was legalized in the state for the first time in January 2022, allowing you to place a wager or two no matter where you find yourself in the Empire State.

Of Bally Bet's current slate of states, Ohio was the last to join the sports betting party in 2023. But, better late than never. Now anyone aged 21+ and on Ohio state soil can join Bally Bet and join our dedicated sportsbook for free.

Other States That Have Legalized Sports Betting

As of March 2024, approximately 40 states had legalized sports betting in one form or another.

That could be a complete rollout, with sportsbooks operating in physical, retail premises in-state as well as the full legalization of online and mobile sports betting. Or it could be one or the other.

There are also, according to our count, four or five states that are actively discussing the introduction of legal sports betting in their political circles – it may be that they also legalize sports betting in the next year or two.

The list of states where sports betting is legal is fluid and ever-changing, and right now there are only maybe eight states where wagering is still illegal and unlikely to be on the agenda any time soon.

Sports Betting Legality: A State-by-State Breakdown

So, which are the states where sports betting is legal? Here’s your quick, at-a-glance guide. First up, we have the states where both general types of wagering – in person (retail) and online – are legal:

Should you find yourself in any of the states listed above, you can wager with absolute confidence by heading to your nearest retail sportsbook. Alternatively, you can create an online account with an operator, using their website or mobile app as the vehicle for your sports bets.

Nevada, of course, has long been a haven for sports betting – primarily in Las Vegas. When the Supreme Court overturned the old laws that blocked legal wagering in 2018, eight states acted immediately to legalize sports betting in one form or another:

• Arkansas

• Delaware

• Mississippi

• New Jersey

• New Mexico

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• West Virginia

Others arrived at the party a little later. Illinois hung on until 2019 before unveiling its offerings, while Michigan opted for a slower legalization process – in-person bets were allowed from March 2020, with online bettors having to wait until January 2021.

Kansas waited until 2022 before giving the green light for legalized retail and online sports betting. Kentucky and Maine were added to the legal sports wagering ledger in 2023, while sports lovers in South Carolina had to wait until 2024 before they could wager on their favorite teams within state boundaries.

And then we have the situation in Florida, which was complicated to say the least. Sports betting was legalized in the Sunshine State following an agreement between state legislators and the Seminole Tribe, who gave the thumbs up to retail wagering premises on their land.

But the issue was with online wagering: Could anyone in Florida place a bet on their mobile device, or did they have to be physically located on Seminole land? This matter caused such consternation that online sports betting in Florida was canned for the best part of two years, before an agreement was reached that saw it relaunched in December 2023.

Some states have only legalized one form of sports betting, with the other still to be approved by administrators – either its rollout has been delayed or there’s a full veto on it.

Curiously, Delaware was the first state in the country to legalize sports betting once the previous PASPA regulation had been lifted in 2018. However, that only stretched to in-person wagering, and there’s been no movement on legalizing online betting since.

Mississippi was also amongst the Class of 2018, but like Delaware they too have so far resisted calls for the legalization of online sports betting. A workaround, which involves placing sports wagers on mobile while physically present at a casino property, has been allowed, however.

It’s a similar situation in Washington, where bettors can use their online accounts to place wagers when located within the four walls of a licensed retail sportsbook.

Tennessee has opted to go the other way: Legalizing online betting but continuing its prohibition on retail gambling. There are no casinos in the state, and no plans for sportsbooks either.

In Wyoming, where online sports betting is allowed, it’s thought that the Northern Arapaho Tribe will be allowed to roll out retail sports betting in the near future, without the need for changes to be made to legislation in the senate first.

Here at Bally Bet, we're hoping to add new states to our sports betting roster in line with the developments across the country.

Is There a Difference in Laws Between In-Person Betting & Online?

The legal situation is such that many bettors find themselves crossing state lines of a weekend just to bet on their favorite sports and teams.

And there’s no law preventing them from doing so. Online sports bets, when placed via a laptop, tablet, or phone, use the device’s geo-tracking capabilities to verify the bettor’s location. So, an individual could be stood just meters over a state boundary and legally place a wager.

When you place a wager online, you must satisfy some criteria by law:

• The bet must be initiated and placed within the state where sports betting is legal

• You should be able to prove that you are the legal gambling age

• You must use the geolocation settings on your mobile device to confirm your location

When it comes to wagering online or in person, you must be the legal age to do so – and be able to prove as much if prompted by a member of staff or the website or app that you use. For the most part, the legal gambling age is 21, although some states are exceptions.

At the time of writing, you can gamble on sports in the following states aged 18+:

• Montana

• New Hampshire

• Rhode Island

When betting in person, it’s likely that you’ll only have a handful of options available to you in your home state. As for online betting? Well, the number of sportsbooks runs into the millions.

However, it’s important that you use betting sites and apps that are licensed and approved by your state governor, if for one simple reason: Offshore and "black market" sportsbooks may not have any legal obligation to pay you back your money if they are declared bankrupt, or disappear without a trace.

When it comes to betting online with an offshore sportsbook, the laws are sketchy at best, so it makes sense to stick with those operators that are approved and authorized to operate on American soil.

Which States Still Need to Make Sports Betting Legal?

There’s a list of states – shorter than it used to be, it should be said – where sports betting is not legal in any form (again, at the time of writing).

Of course, the situation can change when decision-makers come together and conclude that now is the time to legalize wagering:

We'll keep you posted on any new updates to these states and others as and when they are revealed.