The appeal of betting in person at a Las Vegas sportsbook clearly still offers massive viability for the Nevada sports betting market. Like the other states on this list, mobile betting in Nevada can be conducted from anywhere within state borders. Nevada operates with an in-person registration requirement, however. A look at the current sports betting landscape The American Gaming Association published a study on February 2, which predicted that 23.2 million Americans would bet an estimated $ 4.3 billion on the Super Bowl this year.

1. California Casinos With Sports Betting
2. States That Have Sports Betting Rules
3. Sports Betting United States

The first state to approve sports betting in 2019 was Montana. Though many states only have one operator in charge of the industry, Montana took a different approach and approved two sports betting bills. However, Governor Bullock only signed one of them into law, HB 725, which gives the power to the state lottery. Nevada and Delaware are the two states with active sports wagering today, though Montana and Oregon also have the legal ability to offer some form of sports betting. 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.

Photo Credit: cunaplus

In 2018, the Supreme Court did away with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, paving the way for each state to legalize and regulate sports wagering if they wanted to. Sports betting is now spreading rapidly across the US and there is definitely an appetite for it across the nation. A handful of states launched sports betting operations in 2018, and 2019 has seen even more states take steps to getting sports betting off the ground.

Montana

Montana was the first state to legalize sports betting this year, joining the likes of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and several other states that legalized the activity in 2018. Although legislators in the Treasure State approved two separate sports betting bills, Governor Steve Bullock only signed one into law. Bullock signed the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2019 into law on 3 May. Under the law, the Montana Lottery will be responsible for rolling out land-based and mobile sports wagering, though it’s yet to announce a launch date.

Indiana

Just days after Montana legalized betting, Indiana followed suit by authorizing sports wagering On 7 May. The Hoosier State’s new sports betting law allows residents and visitors to place bets on a variety of sporting events at land-based sportsbooks at casinos in the state and online via mobile apps. The Indiana Gaming Commission has been moving fast with sports betting and is expected to launch on 1 September, just in time for football season.

Iowa

Iowa was the next state to legalize sports betting this year. On Monday 13 May, Governor Kim Reynolds signed a proposed sports betting bill into law. In fact, the Hawkeye State launched sports wagering operations in just 94 days after the signing of the sports betting law, making the Iowa the quickest state to launch the activity after legalizing it. Sports betting in Iowa officially launched on Thursday 15 August. The state’s sports betting market went live with eight land-based sportsbooks and one mobile betting app. Iowa was also the first state to launch land-based and online sports betting simultaneously.

Washington, D.C.

Although it’s not a state, our Nation’s capital has moved to allow sports betting. Muriel Bowser, Mayor of DC, signed the sports betting legislation into law on 23 January. However, this didn’t legalize sports betting from the outset. Instead it triggered a 60-day review period, where the bill was sent to DC Council for consideration. The bill passed into law in May, allowing DC to make preparations for sports wagering. Sports betting will be run by the DC Lottery and wagering will be allowed at four sports stadiums in the district.

The entire process for getting sports betting off the ground has been mired in controversy. Earlier this year, the bill’s main sponsor was investigated for unethical practices. At the same time, the DC Council granted the lottery’s supplier contract to the Greek company Intralot without allowing a standard bidding process to take place. This effectively grants Intralot and the DC Lottery a monopoly over sports betting in DC. As a result of all this, no one is sure when sports betting will come to DC.

Tennessee

Tennessee certainly wasn’t on anyone’s radar when it came to sports betting, but, on 24 May 2019, the state’s proposed sports betting legislation became law. Surprisingly, the bill was not signed by Governor Bill Lee; instead he allowed it to pass into law without his signature. As the Volunteer State doesn’t have any casinos, residents will only be able to place bets online. A launch date has yet to be set, but state regulators are currently working toward launching sports betting.

Illinois

After months of deliberation on a gambling expansion bill that included sports betting, Illinois Governor J.B Pritzker signed the bill into law on 28 June. In terms of sports wagering, the expansion package authorizes land-based, online and mobile sports betting. There is a lot of work that must be done before sports betting comes to the Prairie State, however. Illinois regulators must finalize sports betting rules and regulations and grant licenses to operators, data providers and suppliers.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize sports wagering in 2019 when Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 480 into law on 12 July. The passage of this bill legalized land-based, online and mobile sports betting. However, the state regulator has yet to confirm launch date for sports betting. Once the Granite State gets sports betting off the ground it will become the second New England state to offer sports betting, following Rhode Island’s sports betting launch in late 2018.

North Carolina

North Carolina has legalized sports betting, but only on a small scale. On 26 July, Governor Roy Cooper signed the proposed sports betting bill SB 154 into law. Where this bill varies from others is that it only allows sports betting to take place at Native American-run casinos on tribal land. The bill allows the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to operate land-based sportsbooks at two casinos located in the Appalachian Mountains. The tribal group has yet to confirm a launch date for their sportsbooks.

So, at the time of writing, seven states, along with Washington DC have legalized sports wagering in 2019. Out of all of them, Iowa was the first to launch operations and Indiana will be the second when it launches sports betting in the first week of September. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done on the regulatory front before the other jurisdictions can go live with sports wagering.

When the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018, it opened the door for every state in the country to legalize betting on sports— if the state wanted to. Some states were quick to act, others were not so quick, and a few have no interest at all.

But since 2018, 25 states have legalized some form of sports betting, either in-person, online, or both; sports betting has gone live in 20. Last year, Washington D.C. and five states took their first legal bets.

Three states had voters give their government the green light to move forward with legalizing sports. Whether that is online or in-person remains to be seen. But if states want to maximize their revenue potential, online and mobile betting is the wave of the future.

Online Sports Betting In 2021

So far, only 15 states have launched online sports betting. Michigan became the latest when it launched on January 22, 2021, with ten sportsbooks going online.

Virginia launched online betting the day before. FanDuel was the first to launch but has already been followed by DraftKings, BetMGM and BetRivers.

Prior to Virginia and Michigan, the last state to launch online betting was Tennessee in November 2020.

As for who is next, the obvious candidates are the five states that have voted to legalize sports betting but have yet to launch: Washington, North Carolina, Louisiana, Maryland, and South Dakota.

But Maryland is the only one of the five to approve of both online and in-person betting. However, legislation still needs to be passed and a regulatory framework established.

Maryland sounds like the most promising state to launch online betting next. Technically, Washington could beat them to the punch. But in Washington, mobile betting will only be allowed while physically on the premises of one of the state’s tribal casinos.

Future US Sports Betting States

California Casinos With Sports Betting

Of the states where sports betting is legal but has yet to launch online, it is hard to say if any of them will make a move this year (if ever):

• It has been discussed in Arkansas, but there is no reason to think anything will change.
• Delaware was the first to legalize sports betting following the Supreme Court’s decision in 2018 but has shown no interest in allowing online betting.
• New Mexico is not licensing online sportsbooks, but that could change if the Gaming Recovery Act proposed last year becomes law.

Technically, Mississippi and Montana have mobile betting, but only while bettors are present at a retail location.

States That Have Sports Betting Rules

With the outlook for online betting looking dim in many of the states where sports betting is legal, there is a good chance the next state(s) to launch online may be one that has yet to approve legislation. There are currently 12 states with legislation under consideration.

But many are only considering sports betting at retail locations. As for online betting, some of the more promising states include:

• Connecticut: It has been under discussion for some time with several bills on the table. The hold-up seems to be the inability of the state and tribal groups to figure out how to do it. DraftKings’ recent partnership with the Foxwoods Resort and Casino may speed things along.
• Massachusetts: The Bay State is another state where the problem does not seem to be whether they should legalize sports betting, but how. Last year, lawmakers tried to tie in a sports betting bill with Coronavirus relief. But other lawmakers favored making a separate bill altogether to approve sports betting. The interest seems to be there; it is just a matter of making it happen.
• Kansas: A bill made it through the Kansas Senate last February but stalled when the pandemic hit. Whether it is revived or not, there does seem to be substantial interest in legalizing betting online and at retail locations.

Sports Betting United States

There has also been renewed interest in New York since Governor Cuomo decided to reverse course and support online sports betting.