U.S. Sports Betting – news in a post-PASPA world
USBettingReport.com is dedicated to the world of U.S. sports betting. Our goal is to give you the latest news in sports betting regulations and help you find the best place to bet on sports.
In May 2018, PASPA – a federal law the previously prevented sports betting in the U.S. (with a few exceptions) – was lifted, paving the way for the positive change we want to see in the world of U.S. gambling and betting. Starting with sports betting in New Jersey, several states legalized sports betting and the list keeps growing.
Here is where sports betting is currently legal in the United States:
ARKANSAS
Following a state referendum in Arkansas, voters gave their support to Issue 4. Part of a wider push to authorize four casinos within Arkansas, Issue 4 also opened the doors to legal sports betting. Under the terms of the bill, Oaklawn Jockey Club and the Southland Racing Corporation were automatically granted licenses.
Two additional Arkansas sports betting venues in Pope County and Jefferson County will also be granted licenses. So far, only Oaklawn Jockey Club and the Saracen Casino Annex in Jefferson County have opened an operational sportsbook.
DELAWARE
The state of Delaware was the first state in the country to introduce legal sports betting post-PASPA. However, sports betting in Deleware is still restricted to the state’s three racinos. Those gaming facilities are Harrington Raceway and Casino, Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, and Casino @ Delaware Park. There have been no bills introduced yet that would legalize mobile sportsbooks in Delaware.
COLORADO
Sports betting in Colorado was officially made legal on November 6, 2019. The issue was put on the November ballot as Proposition DD and voters approved the measure by 51% voting in favor of legal sports wagering. Colorado sportsbooks will be limited to the towns of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, and Central City.
However, any casino in those towns can partner with an online sports wagering company to provide a statewide sports betting app in Colorado. The four sports betting providers that have signed deals with CO casinos are PointsBet, BetAmerica, Smarkets, and Wynn Resorts. The soonest any sportsbook can open in the state is May 1, 2020.
ILLINOIS
In Illinois, Governor Jay Robert Pritzker signed Senate Bill 690 (SB690) into law on June 28. The move was part of a $45 billion capital plan designed to help fund local schools, hospitals and amenities. In signing the bill, Pritzker ended a long-running debate between sports leagues, local officials and gaming operators.
Under the terms of SB690, casinos, racinos, and professional sports venues can build and offer Illinois sportsbooks. Online sports betting apps in Illinois will also become available, though, major players like FanDuel and Draftkings will have to wait 18 months after the first live venue opens to enter the market. The state will take in the first batch of applications from potential sports wagering operators in December 2019.
INDIANA
The Hoosier State legalized sports betting in May 2019. Following positive votes by the House and Senate on HB1015, locals were given the opportunity to access legal live and online sports betting facilities. Hoosier Park and Tropicana Evansville are among the two of the 13 venues now offering sports betting in Indiana.
Additionally, operators are permitted to offer mobile sports betting following a last-minute amendment to HB1015. So far only three mobile and/or online sportsbooks in Indiana are available and those are BetRivers, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
IOWA
Sports betting in Iowa was signed into law in May of 2019 and then launched in the state in August of 2019. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is in charge of regulating the industry and oversees the casinos that operate and offer the activity. Online sportsbooks in Iowa are tethered to retail locations.
Both mobile sports betting apps and retail sports wagering venues are now offered in the state. What’s important to note is that in order to use a mobile sports betting app in Iowa, you will have to register for an account in-person at the tethered location of the app. While it is a bit of a slight inconvenience, this provision is only active until January 1, 2021.
All but one casino in the state offers a retail sportsbook and certain casino brands share a single mobile sports betting license, giving you more options to sign up to a sports betting app in Iowa.
MISSISSIPPI
In Mississippi, 23 licensed casinos offer sports betting, but on-premise only. Mobile sports betting apps in Mississippi are also restricted to be used inside state-licensed casinos. The first tribal casino to enter the sports betting market was the Pearl River Resort, run by the Choctaw Indian tribe. A Mississippi sports betting bill to expand mobile wagering apps outside of casinos was introduced in the 2019 legislature, but it was not signed into law.
MONTANA
In Montana, House Bill 725 (HB725) was the route into the regulated US sports betting market. Following the likes of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Montana legalized bookmakers but with some caveats. When Governor Steve Bullock signed the bill in May 2019, he gave full control of the industry to the Montana Lottery. This means the state lottery will be in sole control of Montana’s sports betting industry. What’s more, mobile betting is restricted to licensed venues, meaning you can’t bet from home.
The Montana Lottery has published official rules and is currently accepting applications from businesses that want to offer MT sports betting. Approval time and launch time will vary due to the lottery having to install betting kiosks and train license holders on how to use the new technology.
NEVADA
In Nevada, sports betting, poker, and casino games are all allowed. To be able to bet on sports you would have to register for an account at a casino first. Most of these casinos offer live betting and online sports betting apps have been around since 2010.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
In New Hampshire, sports betting became legal in June 2019. The New Hampshire Lottery controls the local market and oversees all licensing and regulation. Currently, the only companies with a license to operate sports betting in New Hampshire are DraftKings and Introlat. Draftkings can operate retail sportsbooks as well as sports betting apps in N.H. while Intralot only has retail capabilities.
The contract with DraftKings will force the company to give up 40% of it’s revenue in the form of taxes to the state. According to New Hampshire sports betting laws, there can only be a total of 10 retail sportsbooks in the state and 5 different state-wide mobile betting apps. Retail locations have to be located in cities that approved it through a local vote. Popular cities such as Nashua, Dover, and Concord all voted not to have retail sports wagering, but Manchester did. N.H. online sportsbooks will be available regardless of a local vote.
NEW MEXICO
Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel was the first Native American tribe to offer sports betting in New Mexico. Although there aren’t any new laws permitting sports betting within the state, Santa Ana used a clause within the Tribal Gaming Compact to launch a legal sportsbook in October 2018.
Since then, Buffalo Thunder Casino and Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino launched their own sports betting kiosks in March and July 2019, respectively. Isleta Casino Resort is the latest venue to offer sports betting in New Mexico. Despite its live bookmaking provisions, online or mobile sports betting in N.M. is not yet available. It will have to take a bill to be signed into law in order to make that happen.
NEW JERSEY
New Jersey offers in-person sports betting in 12 separate locations and online sports betting is available through 16 different sites and apps. New Jersey was the second state to launch state-regulated sports betting in June of 2018 and the first legal sports bet was placed at Monmouth Park.
NEW YORK
To many people’s surprise, sports betting in New York has actually been legal since 2013 when NY voters approved the construction of four commercial casinos in the state. That voter referendum paved the way for those casinos and for tribal casinos to open sportsbooks in NY in 2019.
However, sports betting in NY is restricted to only in-person betting at these gaming establishments. A mobile/online sports betting bill was introduced during the state’s 2019 legislative session, and while it did pass the Senate, it died in an Assembly committee.
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina was able to legalize sports betting in a state that is traditionally against gaming expansion by simply updating the existing tribal gaming laws. The passing of NC SB 154 added sports wagering and horse race betting to the list of games that the Cherokee owned casinos could offer.
There are only two Cherokee owned casinos, both of them are located on the western side of the state, and neither of them have opened N.C. sportsbooks yet. They are not allowed to offer online or mobile sports betting outside of their physical property.
OREGON
A certain type of sports betting in Oregon was actually available before PASPA was passed in 1992 and it is because of this reason that the state was grandfathered into the law. After PASPA was repealed the state didn’t have to pass any new laws to bring about full-fledged sports wagering.
The activity is now available at tribal casinos and through a state-wide mobile sports betting app powered by the Oregon Lottery. However, the lottery does not offer collegiate betting at this time. In order to bet on college sports teams in Oregon, you will have to go to a tribal casino. The only ones with an active sportsbook at the moment are Chinook Winds Casino and The Mill Casino.
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania was one of the few states that anticipated the repeal of PASPA and passed a sports betting law in 2017. Pennsylvania sports betting laws requires that operators pay a license fee of $10 million and a tax rate of 36% for any money generated from sports wagering. Despite this huge ask, nearly every casino that was able to apply for sports waging did.
To add to this, almost every casino in the state has an operational sportsbook now. Several casinos also have a statewide sports betting app in PA. PlaySugarHouse was the first of these apps, but the state now has options like Fox Bet, BetRivers, and FanDuel Sportsbook.
RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island sportsbooks are limited to only two casinos: Twin River and Tiverton Casino. Here, the state lottery oversees all legal sports betting. To wager on sports, you will have to either be physically present in a casino or use the one and only mobile sports wagering app in Rhode Island.
RI S 37 was passed in March of 2019 and legalized mobile betting through the state’s two casinos. Mobile betting in Rhode Island is available state-wide, however, you will still have to register to use the app in-person at one of the Twin River locations.
The legality of sports betting in Rhode Island has been taken to court before and a second suit is set to begin as well. Sports betting options will remain active unless the ruling of the case stops operators from providing the activity.
TENNESSEE
Tennessee is slightly different from other US sports betting states in that it’s an online-only affair. SB16 underwent First Consideration in January 2019 and eventually made it into law in May. All licensed operators will be subject to a 20% tax rate and all Tennessee sportsbooks will only be available online or via mobile. Sportsbooks in Tennessee will also have to use official league data for any in-game odds they offer. The Volunteer State is only one of two states to mandate this requirement in their state laws.
As of now, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council has released proposed rules for how the industry would operate in the state. The draft rules will now go through a public comment period before being taken to the Tennessee Lottery to be published. Applications for TN sports betting licenses will then have to be vetted so expect sports wagering apps in Tennessee to launch in late spring of 2020.
WASHINGTON DC
As the end of 2018 loomed, the District of Columbia approved the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act. By January 2019, Mayor Muriel Bowser gave the bill her seal of approval allowing it to go before Congress. With another positive round of voting, Washington DC sports betting became a reality soon after.
The DC Lottery has sole control of the state’s one and only bookmaking app, while the state’s lack of casinos means betting will be available offline at kiosks inside of bars and restaurants as well as sports stadiums. Capital One Arena has already indicated they will offer a Washington D.C. sportsbook given regulatory approval. The D.C. Lottery is currently in the process of reviewing sports gambling applications from various companies. Sports betting in Washington DC is expected to launch in the early part of 2020.
WEST VIRGINIA
In West Virginia, the gambling industry is regulated by the state lottery. Wheeling Island Casino, Mardi Gras Casino, and the BetLucky state-wide mobile sports betting app all suspended sports gambling operations due to a contract dispute between their parent company and third-party vendors.
Three casinos operate sports betting at the moment: Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, The Greenbrier and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort. There are also two online sports betting apps in West Virginia and those are FanDuel and DraftKings.
