Online Sports Betting in The U.S.

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How to sign up for an account with an online betting website

The process you’ll need to sign up for an online sportsbook in the U.S. depends on the state you’re in. For states like Iowa and Nevada, you’ll need to register for an online sportsbook at the site’s partnered casino sportsbook. For all others, you can sign up from home.

Here is an example of DraftKings online sign-up form:

DraftKings SignUp Page One thing that remains the same with all states is that you’ll need to have proof of I.D. in order to comply with the state’s legal betting age.

You’ll also need to verify your location since you have to be located inside certain states in order to use their online sportsbook.

Once you give the sportsbook your email and basic personal information you’ll need to choose a deposit method. Once you get funds into your account you can start betting!

How to use promotions to get a sign-up bonus

Getting a bonus from an online sportsbook often requires more steps to take than the advertisement would lead you to believe, which is why it’s crucial you read the terms and conditions before trying to claim a bonus.

Often times you’ll be rewarded with a risk-free bet or a deposit match bonus for the first bet you make or the first deposit you make into your account.

Draftkings Promotion

Note that the bonus amount of money you get is not redeemable immediately.

Instead, you’ll have to bet through the full amount at least once before you can withdraw those funds. This is a way to prevent people from making an account just to take out their free money and then terminate their account.

This leaves the possibility of you losing your bonus on other bets, but the fact that you have the opportunity to bet with any free funds at all is worth looking into.

How to deposit and withdraw funds

The deposit and withdrawal options will depend on the sportsbook you use and the state you live in. But there are common ones you’ll see across the board.

The most popular deposit options for U.S. sportsbooks are:

Credit/Debit card
E-check/ACH
Players Card (Provided by specific Sportsbook)
PayNearMe (in-person cash deposits at select 7 Eleven locations)
Cash at the casino cage
E-Wallet (Skrill or PayPal)

Every one of these options puts funds into your account almost immediately. The minimum and maximum amounts you can deposit also depend on the sportsbook but the lowest deposit you can make on average is $5. The maximums can change if you contact the sportsbook.

When it comes to withdrawals the options are a bit more limited and the payout times will take longer to hit your bank account.

The most common withdrawal options for U.S. betting sites are:

Check
ACH
Players Card
Cash at the casino cage
E-Wallet (Skrill or Paypal)

The fastest of these options is often the ACH as it goes straight to your bank account. The slowest would be getting a check as this option can often take up to 72 hours or longer to hit your mailbox.

4 Key considerations for bettors who want to bet online

Your location matters

To be able to bet online, you need to be physically present in a state that offers mobile and online betting. If you live in a state that has not yet legalized sports betting then you must travel to a state that has in order to place a bet.

There are no federal laws for online betting specifically

However, there are two federal laws concerning online sports betting: The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), and the Wire Act, which, in effect, prevents online gambling illegal across the state line. The UIGEA prohibits banks from knowingly accepting or transferring money to an unregulated gambling website while the Wire Act prohibits online sportsbooks in the U.S. to accept bets from people outside the state in which it is regulated.

Offshore books are not regulated in the U.S.

As a result, when betting on sportsbooks like Bovada and MyBookie you need to be aware of the fact that these sites are not licensed in states with legal sports betting. Many state laws do not outright prohibit offshore sportsbooks but since they are not regulated, in the event that you are not able to collect your winnings, there are no authorities you could go to in order to resolve the matter.

Betting on offshore sites leaves your money at risk and we therefore only recommend betting sites that are licensed to operate in the United States.

You pay taxes on sports betting winnings

Just like if you went to a casino, you will have to report your online sports betting winnings on your taxes the following year.

How do you bet on sports? What lines and odds do you focus on?

Our free sports betting guide teaches you how odds work and what types of bets you can make online. We also give betting tips each week so make sure to subscribe and get our latest betting advice.

What are the most popular sports to bet on?

According to recent research, Basketball is the most popular among first-time bettors, followed by football, hockey, and baseball:

Sports betting in the National Hockey League

Betting on NHL gives you ample opportunities to place wagers thanks to the massive number of matches taking place during the season. You can make NHL prop bets based on teams, individual games, and season outcomes.

In play props

Other NHL bets that are popular are the futures market, parlay betting, and live betting where you can place bets while the action unfolds in front of you.

NHL betting on individual matches differs from other American sports in there are two types. There is the moneyline where you simply predict the outcome of the game and the Puck Line, also known as the Canadian line, where the favored team is normally given a spread of 1.5 goals.

Sports wagering in the NBA

NBA lends itself to betting and there are dozens of different bets to make during a typical game or season.

The most popular NBA bets are the points spread bets where the favored team starts with a points deficit that they have to win by in order for your bet to payout. These points spread bets even up the teams and generally sees both teams start at the same price.

Moneyline betting is a straight bet on the outcome of the game where the favored team will have a shorter price than the less fancied teams.

Also, look for NBA Total bets where you bet on the over/under of a predetermined overall points tally in the game, prop bets, parlay bets and futures bets such as who the NBA MVP will be, the winner of each conference and the overall NBA Finals champions.

Placing bets on MLB games

If you thought the NBA played a lot of games during a season, wait until you check out MLB betting because those guys manage to fit in 162 regular-season games between the first Sunday in April and the first Sunday in October! Imagine how much MLB betting you can do!

MLB Odds World Series

Ten teams progress to the postseason playoffs once the regular season is completed and four rounds are played culminating in the World Series a best-of-seven series between the pennant winners in each league.

MLB Run Line betting is popular with sports bettors because it gives the favored team a run deficit it must make up in order for the bet to pay out, evening the game significantly. You can also bet on the MLB moneyline which is a straight bet on who will win the game, parlay betting where you choose several teams to win, prop betting, and futures betting.

Legal sports betting by state in 2021

We are going to see each state progress in a different way because local lawmakers decide on what type of betting will be available to their residents.

As Justice Alito puts it when delivering the court’s opinion “Americans have never been of one mind about gambling” and this is as true today as it has ever been.

As each state has unique sports wagering and casino regulation, the sports betting options for local bettors vary from state to state.

As of 2021, each legal state falls within one of these three categories

States where you can bet both on the phone and at a casino
States where only online betting is available
States where you have to be present at a casino to bet

States with both online and in-person betting

Arizona

When did sports betting in Colorado become legal? April 2021
Is online sports betting available? Not Yet
Is land-based sports betting available? Not Yet

Sports betting in Arizona came by way of an updated tribal compact between Governor Doug Ducey and the state’s recognized tribe. AZ sports betting laws, however, don’t give the tribes a monopoly on the market.

Instead, professional sports venues along with tribal casinos are allowed to host retail sportsbooks. Online sports betting companies can also partner with the tribes to offer their services state-wide.

Arizona sportsbooks are expected to launch shortly before or during the early part of the 2021-2022 NFL Season. Anyone 21 years old or older can then put action on their favorite AZ teams.

Colorado

When did sports betting in Colorado become legal? November 2019
Is online sports betting available? Yes
Is land-based sports betting available? Yes

Sports wagering in Colorado became legal on November 6, 2019. Lawmakers passed a Colorado sports betting bill with ease thanks to the fact that the 10% tax on sportsbook revenue would be used to fund the Colorado water plan.

The state estimates that it will generate $29 million a year by allowing casinos in the towns of Black Hawk, Cripple Creek, and Central City to offer the activity. Any of those casinos can open a land-based sportsbook in Colorado or offer a statewide mobile sports wagering app.

Now that mobile sports betting apps in Colorado have launched, bettors above the age of 21 can register as long as they are physically located within state lines.

DraftKings and FanDuel were some of the first to become online operators in Colorado through their deal with Twin River Worldwide Holdings. There are now over a dozen different options to choose from.

Indiana

When did sports betting in Indiana become legal? May of 2019
Is online sports betting available? Yes
Is land-based sports betting available? Yes

Home of the Pacers, Indiana sports betting has been legal since May 2019. The first retail sportsbooks opened in September 2019 and the first online sports sites launched the next month.

There are 15 casino sportsbooks in the state as of now, but only eight mobile sports betting apps in Indiana. Those eight apps are DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, BetRivers Sportsbook, BetAmerica Sportsbook, PointsBet, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbooks, and theScore.

Over 21’s are allowed to bet on both live and mobile sportsbooks with single and multiway wagers on a variety of sports. There are certain in-play restrictions for those betting as Hoosier Park, however.

Additionally, customers are not able to speculate on eSports and amateur competitions where the participants are under the age of 18.

USBettingReport.com partner with these sportsbooks in Indiana:

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Illinois

When did sports betting in Illinois become legal? June 2019
Is online sports betting available? Yes
Is land-based sports betting available? Yes

Illinois voted in favor of sports betting in June 2019 and while the industry is still finding its feet, the betting bill introduced contains provisions for offline and online betting.

There are several online sportsbooks available today. BetRivers was the first to launch since they are tethered to Rivers Casino Des Plaines.

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Sportsbook

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Rivers Casino Des Plaines was the first casino sportsbook to launch but six more have opened since.

The Illinois Gaming Commission continues to accept sportsbook applications and they are vetting through other potential operators now. DraftKings has launched, and so has FanDuel and PointsBet by partnering with retail casinos.

Look out for more Illinois sportsbooks to open throughout 2021.

Iowa

When did sports betting in Iowa become legal? May 2019
Is online sports betting available? Yes
Is land-based sports betting available? Yes

Sports fans and gamblers alike have multiple ways in which they can bet on sports in Iowa.

When lawmakers and Governor Kim Reynolds passed IA SF 617 in May of 2019, it opened the door for both retail sportsbooks to be opened in the state’s casinos and for mobile sports wagering apps to launch in Iowa.

As of right now, every casino in the state has been approved by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to offer a land-based sportsbook. Besides Casino Queen Marquette, each of these casinos currently accepts sports wagers.

In order to use sports betting apps in Iowa, you used to have to register in-person at the casino. This rule remained in place until January 1, 2021. But, now Iowa sports bettors can register for any mobile sportsbook from anywhere.

Online betting website in Iowa:

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Sportsbook

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