How to read and calculate sports betting odds

Where is Sports Betting Legal? Status of Every US State in 2026

Lawmakers have discussed broader gaming packages in recent sessions, but those efforts have not produced a regulated sportsbook market. Sports wagering is not offered as a broad statewide commercial mobile market. They quickly added mobile betting to their offering in September 2019. Pennsylvania launched sports betting in August 2018, not long after the PASPA overruling. Sports betting has been available at tribal casinos in North Dakota since December 2021. Online sports betting launched at noon on March 11, 2024, and eight state-licensed sports betting apps are currently available to bettors in the state.

Wisconsin became the 33rd state with full online betting on April 9, 2026, when Governor Tony Evers signed AB 601 into law. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. The 10 highest-rated US sports betting operators, ranked by our editorial team. Most states establish a minimum age of 21 to bet on sports or participate in online gambling. However, we do not let that affect the integrity of our reporting and we only promote the best betting sites to our readers. The 2011 opinion paved the way for states to legalize online gambling sites for the first time in American history.

How to read and calculate sports betting odds

These offers usually require a small initial bet and return a sizable bonus. “Bet and Get” promotions reward new customers with bonus bets or bet credits after placing a qualifying wager. Promotions for existing customers are usually smaller but still provide value through bet refund offers, odds boosts, and enhanced parlay payouts. However, this approach has also resulted in a fragmented market in which the laws vary from one state to the next.

Tribal land was the only place gambling was legal, outside of the three commercial casinos in Detroit, but by working together, they have created something incredibly successful. Many states use tax revenue from sports betting to help fund those initiatives. Tax rates vary by state from as low as 6.75% in Nevada to 51% in Washington, DC, but in 2023 states collected more than $1.8 billion in tax revenue from sports betting. Through May, the AGA reported that nationwide sports betting revenue through was $6.5 billion, which is well ahead of last year’s record pace.

Selection of betting markets

It offers a wide range of betting markets, innovative features and competitive odds, making it a go-to platform for many sports bettors. Legislation has been introduced to legalize sports betting in Texas, but the Texas legislature has largely ignored the issue. You can research some of the biggest U.S. sports betting markets with the Props.com states index. Expect more states to legalize sports betting in the coming years.

One thing led to another and, in 1949, the state eventually legalized sports betting. Although horse racing was still exempt, the stigma attached to gambling and sports betting resulted in many racetracks closing down. In 1860, authorities banned all forms of gambling and sports betting, apart from horse racing. This type of betting is also called live betting, and is at the forefront of mobile sports betting.

The Rhode Island Lottery, in conjunction with Caesars Sportsbook, supplies the betting lines and odds. The sportsbook partners on the commercial end will pay $40,000 every four years. The gaming compact legislation was signed between the Governor and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes.

The Maine Gambling Control Unit approved rules surrounding sports betting, paving the way for online sports betting to start in November 2023. Online and retail sports betting are both legal. Online and retail sports betting is legal and officially began in October 2021.

International betting sites also post odds on entertainment events, elections and other outcomes that are generally unavailable through state-regulated sportsbooks. Check out which sportsbooks offer legal MLB betting and the best lines in baseball. There are no federal laws prohibiting US-based gamblers from betting on pro and college games using online sportsbooks that are legitimately operational outside the country. The UIGEA targeted online gambling and sports betting by prohibiting financial transactions related to unlawful internet gambling. For example, New Jersey, New York and Ohio have active regulated sports betting both online and at retail locations, while Tennessee and Wyoming only have online sports betting. Let’s now explore the exciting world of the legality of online sports betting in the US.

Betfred and bet365 are international sportsbook operators, and Hard Rock Sportsbook at Bristol is a retail book. In August of that same year, online sportsbooks launched operations through desktop and laptop computers via the web. After a US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the states, the Garden State quicky passed the necessary bill to let legal sportsbooks operate in its border. The Connecticut Lottery formed its own sports betting site with Rush Street Interactive.

This shift also encouraged legislation on iGaming and online poker. Scandals involving alleged insider trading on military and election outcomes on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket catalyzed the measure. This resolution bans senators, officers, and staff from trading on prediction markets.

The process for legalization in Missouri was long and winding, but the lawmakers got a bill narrowly passed and launched with several operators at the tail-end of 2024. The in-person sign-up requirement was dropped on March 5, 2022, allowing players to register online or on mobile. Back in 2018, Delaware was one of the first states to accept a legal single-game wager, behind Nevada.

A joint resolution to put a ballot measure to voters for the November midterm elections to legalize online sports betting through Deadwood casinos passed the Senate 23-10. New Mexico was one of the first states to offer legal sports betting after PASPA, but it exists only in person at tribal casinos. Legal sports betting launched in Colorado in May 2020, and state law requires online sportsbooks to partner with a local casino. It has been legal to bet on sports in Arizona since September 2021, and 14 online sportsbooks now operate in the state while tribal casinos handle most of the retail action.

Daily Fantasy sports is regulated separately, so while sports betting may be off the table, legal fantasy and pick’em games may be available in your region. And Puerto Rico, have legalized some form of sports betting. Regulated markets are not homogeneous across the U.S. and regulated sports betting in general is by no means perfect. Overall, Congress has lately seemed content to let states legalize and regulate sports betting as they see fit. But the bill — which would have basically created a clearinghouse and some federal standards for state sports betting markets — didn’t have any legs.

BetOnline accepts international players from a variety of countries, with it being one of the top sports betting options in Mexico. Many great online sportsbooks accept international players in 2026. While local sportsbook apps like DraftKings do offer college football game lines, they have banned player props and other bet types in a ton of states in 2026.

Licensed sportsbooks must confirm the physical location of every customer who wishes to place a wager. However, you can only place real money wagers from within a state where that online sportsbook holds a license. As a result, sports fans can play at legal, US-based daily fantasy sports sites for real money.

Yes, sports betting is legal in the United States, but the laws vary by state. Now compare that with the annual betting handle estimated in 2017 to be about $150 billion by illegal books and offshore sportsbooks operating illegally. As a result of PASPA, state-authorized legal sports betting in the U.S. was frozen in time, leaving Nevada as the only state with full-fledged legal sports betting, drawing an annual betting handle of about $5 billion. But after that, decisions boil down to money, which leads to decisions about the appropriate tax rate and which regulatory body (perhaps a brand new one) is best equipped to oversee legal sports betting. As more and more states flip the switch for legal sports betting, we will see healthy competition and turf wars, which ultimately are good for the consumer. The case that mercifully opened the door to legal sports betting across the U.S. was Murphy v NCAA.

After a few years of making a solid effort, Betway finally gave up on its US sports betting venture in 2024. After failing to garner much of an audience, the sportsbook shut down and reverted back to just being an online casino. In 2024, Prophet pivoted into the sweepstakes model of sports betting and was re-christened as ProphetX in 40 states.

On January 17th, 1996, online sports betting was born, and the first wager was placed across state lines. High taxes, organized crime, and various Acts prohibiting the movement of information and materials required for sports betting led to many sportsbooks closing down (see the Federal Wire Act). You can find prop bets on a majority of reputable online sportsbooks in the US https://www.pokernewsdaily.com/sportsbooks/ and abroad. From straightforward moneyline bets to multi-selection accumulators, online sportsbooks cater to all levels of bettors.

Knowing where to bet on sports legally is a key part of doing this right. With zero bills introduced in 2025, Idaho is still a long, long way from legal sports wagering. However, just like in North Dakota, South Dakotans can’t wager online – at least, not unless they’re actually located in one of the casinos. Additionally, Montana residents can only wager at retail sportsbook locations. Sportsbooks welcomed $47.4 million in wagers while sportsbooks took in just over $5 million in gross revenue. Things took a pausein 2007, but the market resurfaced in August 2019 when Chinook Winds CasinoResort began accepting in-person bets.

• For example, before you can bet online with FanDuel you must visit the FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing venue in Collinsville, IL and register there.
• Maryland’s sports betting market has been legal since 2021, offering both online platforms and retail sportsbooks.
• BetOnline is one of the most reliable and trustworthy online sportsbooks that is available.
• This is mainly the case for New Jersey, though with such a fast-changing legal sports betting online landscape, you should check back here often.
• Elsewhere, NFL owners are increasingly considering sports betting as part of their business strategies.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan gaming tribes already had retail casinos in the state. California, Florida and Texas are individual states for sports betting because of their large size. This state-by-state guide on legal sportsbooks is broken down to sections across the country.

Online sports betting was originally registered at retail sportsbook, but that state law was officially changed March 5 of 2022. In Jan of 2021, Virginia launched legal online sports betting in its border. Early in 2023, seven legal online sportsbooks in Maryland launched legal betting on sports. There are a number of sportsbook operators, including BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings and FanDuel as the four largest sports betting sites. These New York online sportsbooks pay 51% of their revenue to the state, which is the largest sports betting tax in the US.

While it didn’t specifically prohibit online betting, the UIGEA targeted the financial transactions linked to sports betting. Online sports betting hit a snag in 2006 when the federal government passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). It was a sign that lawmakers recognized the potential in regulated sports betting.

HB 551 passed the House and Senate in 2023, and sportsbooks opened in September of that year, with retail on September 7 and online on September 28. The first retail sportsbook opened in September 2019, with mobile following in October, months after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law. Indiana bettors have access to legal in-person and mobile betting across multiple tribal and commercial casino venues. Separately, Hawaii introduced HB 2198 in January 2026, which would explicitly define prediction market platforms offering sports contracts as illegal gambling.

Ohio sportsbooks began taking bets at midnight on New Year’s Day 2023, after lawmakers passed a bill at the end of 2021 and Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law. New York’s first retail sportsbooks launched in July 2019, and mobile followed on January 8, 2022 after lawmakers folded it into the state budget bill. New Jersey’s legal fight is what brought PASPA down in May 2018, and the state launched retail and mobile operations shortly after, opening its first sportsbooks on June 14, 2018. Gov. Pete Ricketts signed sports betting into law on May 25, 2021, but the law only authorized in-person wagering. People in Montana over 21 can legally bet on sports in person or via a mobile sportsbook at a retail location.

They may not have these live betting opportunities for every game, though. Many of the ESPN Bet betting locations changed into “The Score”. With an attempt to record 5% of the amount of money bet on sports in the US by the end of 2025, they fell short of this goal. This is why we recommend using Bovada over local sportsbook apps like DraftKings or FanDuel. Sportsbook apps were trying to outdo each other in protected play, deposit matches, and free bets.

It also explains how entertainment odds are created and where these specialty markets are commonly available. Learn how these wagers work, where eligible U.S. players can find available odds, and what to know before placing a bet. Discover how these entertainment markets are priced and where eligible U.S. players can access available odds. Learn how Big Brother odds are determined, where eligible U.S. players can find available markets, and what to know before placing a wager throughout the season. Learn how Golden Globes odds work, where eligible U.S. players can find available markets, and what to know before placing a wager on the ceremony. Depending on the event, bettors may find odds on an award winner, competition result, television outcome, chart performance or another publicly verifiable result.

Outside of a hand full of states, Bovada is able to supply odds to all other US residents whether their local sports betting market has launched or not. Read this page to compare legal online sportsbooks and to make sure your desired site is available in your area. Our guide on these states will also update you on their steps to make betting on sports online legal.

Initially intended to address organized crime, the Department of Justice has since used the act to prohibit all forms of online gambling, including sports betting. Since then, PASPA’s repeal and national support for legal sports betting has created a new boom in the industry. Online sportsbooks based outside of the USA (like the ones featured on this page) operate outside of the jurisdiction of United States betting laws. The legality of sports betting (both online and otherwise) is decided on a state-by-state basis. US residents living in states without sports betting approval can still enjoy a variety of betting options through safe offshore sportsbooks. The following resource is available for reference for organizations and others concerned about the legalization of sports betting, and how it may increase instances of gambling disorder in their communities.

For the experienced bettor, live betting can be one of the best ways to take advantage of inefficient betting lines and beat the market to secure lots of value. A totals bet requires the player to decide whether the number set by the sportsbook is too high or too low, known as taking the over or the under. You’ll need to create an account to bet online, and when you do so, you can use either a mobile app or a desktop website. Idaho’s laws currently expressly prohibit sports gambling but allow horse racing. However, throughout the rest of the state, you cannot engage in mobile betting. You can bet at tribal casinos in Wisconsin either through traditional in-person methods or with supported apps.