Where In The United States Can You Gamble?

Nearly 30 States Have Launched Mobile/Online Gambling, With More On The Way

The mobile/online sports gambling industry is booming across the United States, and it’s only going to continue growing as more states legalize it over time.

In May 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). The act had essentially banned sports gambling from taking place in most parts of the U.S., but the SCOTUS’ groundbreaking ruling paved the way for each state to legalize it.

Fast forward more than four years later, and over two dozen different states have since launched some form of mobile/online sports betting. Following the SCOTUS’ ruling, the states of Delaware, Mississippi and New Jersey moved quickly to join Nevada in running sports legalized gambling.

Several other states are also on the verge of legalizing gambling, including Maryland and Kansas. Though nothing has been formally announced, the hope is that Maryland online gambling will go live at some point here in 2022.

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If Maryland launches sports betting, customers in the “Old Line State” would be able to use top sportsbooks like Caesars, BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings and PointsBet.

The sportsbooks would likely offer special promos and welcome bonuses to new customers, as well. Some of these can be risk-free bets worth $1,000 or $1,500.

Last month, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan penned a letter to the Sports Wagering and Application Review Commission, asking them to take “action” towards legalizing mobile betting  amid what he referred to as “endless bureaucratic roadblocks that continue to hold back progress.”

Like Maryland, there is hope that the state of Kansas will launch sports betting this year, or else in early 2023. The states of Florida and California have also made some progress towards launching sports betting.

In the meantime, here is a look at where you can gamble in the United States.

States That Currently Run Legal Online/Mobile Gambling

As previously noted, Delaware, Mississippi and New Jersey were the first states to legalize gambling following the SCOTUS’ ruling (it was already legal and operating in the state of Nevada).

Although more than two dozen have legalized some form of sports betting (states (per The Action Network), they don’t all have the same rules or sportsbooks.

For instance,states such as New York, Louisiana, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Arizona and Arkansas allow customers to place wagers in-person and through mobile devices. But the states of Delaware, Mississippi, Montana, Washington, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota and South Dakota only legalize in-person betting.

On the flip side, the states of Tennessee and Wyoming disallow in-person bets. Only mobile/online wagers are allowed to be placed in those two states.

Which States Don’t Allow Sports Betting?

There are 12 U.S. states that don’t have any firm concrete plans for launching mobile/online or in-person gambling any time soon.

The 12 states that haven’t made any significant progress are (via The Action Network): Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Vermont.

More than half the states are currently running legalized sports gambling. And perhaps within the next three or so years, that number will climb to 40. After all, the sports gambling industry has proven to be a massive money maker.

For instance, New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that The Empire State has garnered more than $300 million in tax revenue from mobile sports bets. It was noted that this greatly exceeded state projections.

The state of New York spends the tax revenue on good causes such as youth sports and gambling addiction services. And New York only launched mobile sports betting in January of this year.

Perhaps the success of the gambling economy across the United States will prompt other states to eventually legalize it as well.

There is hope that some of the states that have yet to launch mobile sports betting will take a closer look at doing so in 2023. Just consider that the states of Minnesota, Texas and Massachusetts could greatly benefit from launching legalized betting since they have professional sports franchises in each of the “big four” leagues (NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB).

As we’ve seen over the last four years, a lot can change. More than half the states have legalized betting since the Supreme Court of the United States overturned the PASPA. It’s only a matter of time until the industry.