Sports betting has become much more accessible in the US in recent years, as a number of states have approved regulations allowing their residents to place bets. What’s the current situation and where can you currently wager on sports events?
In addition to covering states with sports betting already in place, we’ll take a look at the parts of the country where a new bill is expected to come into force soon.
Expected in 2023 or Shortly After
There are several states where sports betting has been approved but the laws haven’t yet come into force. For example, Ohio’s bill was passed at the end of 2021 and legal Ohio sports betting will be available from January 2023. Massachusetts should follow shortly after this, as they’ve also approved the legislation. The case of Florida is more complex, as the laws have been approved but sports betting is currently paused due to a dispute that may or may not be resolved in 2023.
Nebraskans need to wait a bit longer, as laws for sports betting still aren’t in place despite the idea being approved. Maine has some sports betting laws in the pipeline, but there’s no date yet given for when they will go through. Each state introduces its own laws, so it’s important to check the exact details in the state where you want to play.
Where Can You Bet?
Maryland became one of the latest states to allow online sports betting, when it was introduced at the end of 2022. It joined some of the long-established places for sports betting in the US, such as New Jersey and Colorado. Nevada was the first state to allow sports betting, and it also became the very first place to accept online sports bets too.
You may recall that New York’s online sports betting started with a bang early in 2022. This was because more than $150 million was placed in bets during the first weekend after new laws came into force. Sports fans in Arizona have been able to bet legally since 2021. Arkansas has had sports betting for a while, but the chance to wager online only began in 2022.
Connecticut is another American state with legal sports betting, and online bets have been accepted since 2021. North Carolina, Wisconsin, and New Mexico are examples of places where sports betting is legal but limited in some way. For example, it may only be possible to do this at land casinos.
Many other states have also introduced the laws necessary for sports betting to take place. They include the likes of Iowa, Delaware, Michigan, Kansas, and Indiana. Pennsylvania has well-established sports betting market, as do Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Montana, and Oregon.
As you can see, it’s a long list of states with legal sports betting, but there are still some more to add. This is because Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Washington DC, West Virginia, and Wyoming are also on the list. All these places let you place sports bets in one way or another.
What About the Rest?
As we’ve seen, the majority of American states now let residents bet on sports events, either online, in person, or in both of these ways. But what about the other states we haven’t mentioned? Some are in the process of making this legal, while others don’t appear to be in a hurry to do this.
California is one of the most notable exceptions from our list. A huge campaign to try and get sports betting legalized here failed, as voters didn’t back the plans. It isn’t yet clear what the next step is, but it seems certain that we haven’t heard the end of the sports betting debate in this state.
South Carolina doesn’t currently offer sports betting and there are no clear signs of when this might change. There was an attempt to introduce a bill in Oklahoma in 202, but it failed and it isn’t clear when they might try again. Hawaii doesn’t have any legal sports betting and there are no dates for possible laws to be introduced.
As we’ve seen, the situation varies widely over the country, with some states now offering a strong framework for gambling and others having little or no laws in place. Take a moment to check where your state is at so that you know exactly where you stand.