The modern era of American sports betting began on May 14, 2018, when the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional. PASPA had effectively barred every state except Nevada from authorizing sports gambling since 1992. The ruling returned the decision to individual states, and New Jersey launched the first legal online sportsbook outside Nevada by August 2018.
The expansion has been rapid. Delaware moved first with retail betting in June 2018. By the end of 2019, 14 states had legalized in some form. That number reached 30 by 2023, and Missouri became the 39th state to go live when it launched on December 1, 2025. Through Q1 2026, US sportsbooks have already processed over $40 billion in handle, putting the industry on pace for another record year, per data tracked by Responsible Gambling.
The revenue numbers underscore how fast this market matured. In 2025, regulated sportsbooks retained a national hold rate of 10.15%, and New York alone contributed $1.3 billion in tax revenue at its nation-leading 51% tax rate. Mobile betting accounts for over 80% of all legal wagers nationwide, a trend that continues to accelerate as more states authorize online platforms.
The following provides the current legal status of sports betting across all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Each state is categorized by whether it permits online betting, retail-only betting, tribal-only betting, or no legal betting at all.
Thirty states plus Washington D.C. currently allow statewide mobile or online sports betting. These markets typically feature multiple licensed operators including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and Fanatics. The largest markets by annual handle are New York ($26.3 billion in 2025), Illinois, New Jersey ($12 billion), Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Arizona legalized both retail and online sports betting in 2021, launching with 14 licensed online operators. College games are available, though college player props are banned. Arkansas launched retail betting in July 2019 and online wagering in March 2022. In March 2026, DraftKings and FanDuel entered as technology vendors through local partnerships, marking the first time national operators became available in the state.
Colorado launched on May 1, 2020, and currently hosts 16 online sportsbooks, the most of any state. In May 2026, the Colorado State Senate passed a consumer protection bill that could place significant restrictions on online operators if signed into law. Connecticut legalized in 2021 through tribal compacts, offering both online and retail wagering. Delaware became the first state outside Nevada to legalize after the PASPA ruling, with retail betting launching July 5, 2018, and online sports betting arriving December 26, 2023, through BetRivers as the sole online operator.
Florida sports betting relaunched on November 7, 2023, after years of legal battles over the Seminole Tribe compact. Hard Rock Bet is the only licensed online sportsbook available statewide. Indiana launched retail and online in 2019 and continues to see strong handle growth. Iowa went live in August 2019 and features both online and retail options. Kansas launched in September 2022 with six licensed mobile operators. Kentucky legalized sports betting in 2023 with both retail and online options available. Louisiana launched retail in November 2021 and online in January 2022, generating $4.1 billion in handle in 2025.
Maine launched online sports betting in 2024 with limited operators. Maryland began retail December 2021 and online in November 2022, producing $6.5 billion in handle in 2025. Massachusetts launched retail and online in early 2023 and generated $8.4 billion in handle in 2025. Michigan launched online in January 2021 and drew $5.4 billion in handle in 2025.
Missouri launched on December 1, 2025, after voters approved legalization in November 2024. The law allows up to 19 retail licenses and 14 online licenses. Nevada remains the original legal sports betting state with both online and retail options, generating $7.1 billion in handle in 2025. New Hampshire launched in December 2019 with both online and retail wagering.
North Carolina launched online sports betting on March 11, 2024, and drew almost $2 billion more in handle in 2025 than its initial partial year. Oregon launched online in October 2019 through the state lottery. Rhode Island launched online in September 2019. Tennessee operates as an online-only market with no retail locations, hosting multiple licensed operators.
Vermont legalized online sports betting in 2024 with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook as the first operators. Virginia launched online in January 2021 and has welcomed 12 operators. Washington D.C. operates under a single-source mobile operator (GamBetDC) district-wide, plus location-based mobile apps at retail sportsbooks. West Virginia launched online in 2019 and continues to operate multiple licensed platforms. Wyoming launched in September 2021 as an online-only market with five licensed operators and no retail sportsbooks.
Wisconsin signed online sports betting into law on April 9, 2026. The law grants Wisconsin's federally recognized tribes exclusive rights to operate mobile sportsbooks, which means commercial operators like DraftKings and FanDuel cannot offer independent apps. Launch is expected in the months ahead.
Several states permit sports betting but restrict it to physical locations, tribal casinos, or on-premise mobile apps.
Mississippi allows retail sports betting and app-based wagering, but the mobile component only works while physically located at a licensed casino. A proposal during the 2024 session to expand statewide mobile betting in Mississippi passed the House but died in the Senate. Montana sports betting runs through the Montana Lottery at authorized locations. A mobile app exists, but bettors must be on-site at a lottery location to place wagers. Nebraska has retail sports betting available, though online betting has not yet been authorized.
New Mexico tribal sports betting operates exclusively through tribal casinos under Class III gaming compacts, with no state-regulated online platform. North Dakota allows tribal sports betting under existing gaming compacts. South Dakota betting laws permit retail sports betting in Deadwood casinos and tribal establishments. Washington State allows sports betting at tribal casinos only, with no statewide mobile option.
Ten states currently have no legal sports betting of any kind. Here is where each stands:
Alabama has seen multiple betting bills fail over the years. A 2026 constitutional amendment proposal (SB 257) would let voters decide whether to authorize sports betting alongside a state lottery and casinos, but it has not gathered enough legislative support. Alabama notably lacks both a state lottery and any significant commercial casino infrastructure.
Alaska introduced HB 145 in March 2025, proposing up to 10 mobile-only licenses, a $100,000 annual license fee, and a 20% tax rate. No forward motion or vote has occurred as of May 2026.
California is the single largest untapped sports betting market in the country. Two ballot measures in November 2022 each received less than 20% voter support. No new legislation was introduced in 2025, and tribal gaming interests maintain significant influence over any potential legalization path. The earliest realistic ballot return is 2028. If legalized, California could generate an estimated $570 million in annual tax revenue based on mature market projections.
Georgia has come closer than most holdout states. Two House measures reached the floor for debate in 2025 before missing the legislative deadline. A 2026 bill (HB 910) would legalize mobile betting under the Georgia Lottery without requiring a constitutional amendment, but significant hurdles persist. NFL and NBA franchise support continues to build momentum.
Hawaii prohibits nearly all forms of gambling. Multiple bills were introduced in 2025 but none passed. In February 2026, the state took a small procedural step forward, though no clear launch timeline exists.
Idaho has seen no sports betting legislation introduced as of 2025. The state constitution restricts gambling broadly, and there is minimal political momentum.
Oklahoma has stakeholder support including the governor, but negotiations with tribal gaming authorities have stalled repeatedly. Getting a bill passed that satisfies both tribes and legislators has been the central obstacle.
South Carolina has active legislative discussions, making it one of the more likely candidates to move forward within the next two to four years.
Texas remains illegal despite growing support from major professional sports franchises. A bill passed the Texas House in 2023 for the first time in state history but stalled in the Senate. The Texas legislature meets every two years in odd-numbered sessions, making 2027 the next realistic opportunity. Texas and California combined represent approximately 65 million residents, roughly 20% of the US population, without access to legal sports betting.
Utah faces the highest structural barrier of any state. A constitutional prohibition on all gambling makes legalization exceptionally difficult without a constitutional amendment.
Even among the 39 legal states, the regulatory environment varies dramatically. Tax rates range from 6.75% in Iowa and Nevada to 51% in New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Illinois introduced a progressive tax structure in 2024, with rates between 20% and 40% based on operator revenue, plus a new per-wager tax that prompted FanDuel and DraftKings to add bet surcharges.
College betting restrictions also differ significantly. Most states prohibit player prop bets on collegiate athletes. Some states ban wagering on in-state college games entirely. Delaware, for example, allows wagering on professional events and out-of-state collegiate games but strictly prohibits bets on in-state college teams and college player props.
Geolocation requirements are universal across regulated US apps. Your location must be verified inside state lines, and attempting to place bets from outside the licensed state will be blocked. This creates friction for bettors who travel frequently or live near state borders.
These regulatory complexities, combined with geolocation restrictions, have pushed many bettors toward alternatives that operate independently of state-level regulation. Platforms like Overtime Markets allow users to wager using cryptocurrency without geographic restrictions. Because all transactions execute via smart contracts on-chain, there are no frozen funds, no withdrawal delays, and no intermediary holding your money. Chainlink VRF (Verifiable Random Function) technology powers the randomness behind casino games like provably fair roulette, creating a written on-chain trail that any user can independently verify.
If you live in one of the states where sports betting remains illegal, your options within the US regulatory framework are limited. Daily fantasy sports (DFS) platforms such as Underdog Fantasy remain available in most states since they are classified differently from traditional sports wagering. Social sportsbooks like Fliff offer a sports-picks experience using play money and sweepstakes tokens. Puerto Rico has also legalized sports betting for those who might travel there.
For bettors seeking a full sportsbook and casino experience without jurisdictional limitations, Overtime Markets stands as the strongest option for crypto-based sports betting and verifiably fair gambling outside of US jurisdiction. Unlike traditional offshore sportsbooks that operate with opaque backend systems, Overtime Markets executes everything through smart contracts. This architecture means withdrawals are instant, funds cannot be frozen by a centralized operator, and every wager outcome is verifiable on-chain. The platform's use of Chainlink VRF ensures provably fair results across its casino offerings, with each random number generation recorded permanently on the blockchain.
This matters because traditional offshore platforms operate in a legal gray area where users have no regulatory recourse if funds are seized or accounts are suspended. Smart contract-based platforms remove that counterparty risk entirely.
Based on legislative activity and political momentum, several states stand out as the most realistic candidates for legalization in the near term.
Georgia is widely considered the most attainable large market. HB 910 in 2026 takes a new approach by routing legalization through the Georgia Lottery rather than requiring a constitutional amendment, which lowers the legislative threshold. Support from NFL and NBA franchises continues to strengthen the case.
Texas faces a longer timeline because the legislature only meets biennially in odd-numbered years. The 2027 session is the next window, and growing support from professional sports teams and public interest polls suggests a bill could gain traction, though Senate resistance remains the primary obstacle.
Minnesota has seen promising legislative pushes collapse in both 2023 and 2024. Tribal negotiations remain the central sticking point, with any legislation likely requiring exclusive tribal mobile rights.
Alabama could reach voters on the November 2026 ballot if SB 257 gains sufficient Senate support for a constitutional amendment. The state lacks existing gambling infrastructure, which complicates any rollout.
South Carolina has active discussions and is considered a likely candidate within two to four years, though no specific legislation has advanced to a vote.
Sports betting legalization in all 50 states would generate an estimated additional $1.6 billion per year in tax revenue, assuming a 10% tax on gross gaming revenue. The largest gains would come from California ($570 million annually), Texas ($326 million), and Florida ($199 million), according to mature market projections.
A notable development in 2026 is the collision between traditional sports betting regulation and the rise of prediction markets. Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket allow users to trade on yes/no outcomes of events, including sports. The American Gaming Association has called this a direct threat to regulated markets, noting that prediction markets offering sports event contracts have diverted more than $500 million in potential sports betting tax revenue over the past year.
The taxation asymmetry is stark: traditional sportsbooks pay state, tribal, and federal taxes, while prediction market revenues are taxable only at the federal level. State gaming regulators across the country allege that prediction markets violate state laws. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig has argued these platforms fall under federal commodity futures regulation rather than state gaming authority.
This regulatory uncertainty is one more reason some bettors prefer decentralized platforms. Overtime Markets' crypto sportsbook sidesteps both traditional sportsbook regulation and prediction market ambiguity by operating transparently on-chain, with every transaction and outcome verifiable through blockchain records.
No. As of May 2026, sports betting remains illegal in 10 states: Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Minnesota has passed legislation but has not yet launched. The remaining 39 states plus Washington D.C. have legalized sports betting in some form, though the rules around online access, retail availability, and college betting vary significantly from state to state.
You cannot. Even in states where online sports betting is legal, you must be physically located within state borders when placing a bet. Licensed sportsbook apps enforce this through geolocation technology. If you are in a state where online betting is not authorized, you will be blocked from placing wagers through regulated US platforms. Crypto-based platforms like Overtime Markets operate without geographic restrictions because they function outside US state regulatory frameworks, with all transactions executed through smart contracts.
Using a regulated US sportsbook from a state where betting is illegal is not possible from a practical standpoint, as geolocation checks will prevent you from placing bets. Attempting to circumvent geolocation using a VPN violates the terms of service of every licensed operator and can result in account suspension and forfeiture of funds. Traditional offshore sportsbooks operating without any regulatory oversight carry counterparty risk, meaning the operator can freeze or withhold your funds without recourse.
Yes. Sports betting winnings are taxable income at both the federal and state level in the United States. Sportsbooks are required to report winnings above certain thresholds to the IRS, and bettors are responsible for reporting all net gambling income on their tax returns regardless of the amount. State tax treatment varies and some states without income tax (like Nevada, Tennessee, and Wyoming) do not impose additional state-level taxes on winnings.
Crypto sports betting platforms operate on blockchain networks using smart contracts to execute wagers. When you place a bet on Overtime Markets, the wager is recorded on-chain, the outcome is determined by verified data feeds, and payouts execute automatically without any centralized operator holding or controlling your funds. This eliminates the withdrawal delays, identity verification bottlenecks, and fund-freezing risks associated with both regulated and unregulated traditional sportsbooks.
Overtime Markets uses Chainlink VRF (Verifiable Random Function) to power its casino games, including onchain roulette. Each random outcome is cryptographically generated and recorded on the blockchain, making it independently auditable. This is what separates provably fair gambling from platforms that simply claim fairness without providing verifiable proof.
New York leads the nation with $26.3 billion in total sports betting handle in 2025. The Empire State also generated the most tax revenue from sports betting, contributing $1.3 billion to the state budget at its 51% tax rate, which accounts for 36% of all sports betting taxes collected nationwide. Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania round out the top five by annual handle.
An estimated 20% of US adults placed at least one legal sports bet in 2025, up from 12% in 2023. Average annual spend per bettor reached approximately $3,284. The demographic profile has broadened significantly since 2018, with participation among adults 45 and older roughly doubling since 2022. The gender gap is also closing, with female participation growing each year, according to national betting demographic data.
Full 50-state legalization is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Utah's constitutional prohibition on all gambling makes change there exceptionally difficult. California and Texas, the two largest population states without legal betting, face deep structural and political obstacles. Georgia, Minnesota, and Alabama are more realistic near-term candidates, but even optimistic projections suggest it could take until 2030 or beyond before the majority of remaining holdout states act.
In the meantime, the fragmented regulatory landscape means millions of Americans remain without legal access to sports betting within their home states. For those bettors, blockchain-based platforms like Overtime Markets offer an alternative that does not depend on state-level authorization, with every aspect of the betting experience, from wagering to payouts to randomness verification, executed transparently on-chain using smart contracts and Chainlink VRF technology.