Across the US, many states have started to introduce legislation to make sports betting legal for residents. This has allowed far more Americans to enjoy placing wagers on their favorite sports. Yet, the way that each state is making changes to their laws has led to some doubts about where exactly it is legal to bet online.
The States with a Regulated Online Sports Betting Market
There have been some big changes across the country in the last couple of years, as many states have agreed to allow legal sports betting. This is a constantly-changing situation, as the laws needed to allow online gambling are at different stages in each state.
However, at the time of writing the following states are those which have passed their relevant laws and where residents can now place wagers on different sports on the internet.
Colorado
Colorado has had regulated sports betting operators since 2024. There are no legal online casinos here, but residents and visitors can choose from a range of land casinos across Colorado.
Illinois
Residents can bet on sports since 2024. One of the interesting aspects of online betting in this state is that a rule introduced in 2024 obliges residents to register in-person at a physical location before they can start betting online.
Indiana
It is another state with legislation in place to permit online sports bets being made. In this case, Indiana has these specific laws and you can find out more about it in this website: https://www.twinspires.com/states/indiana
Iowa
It has been allowing online gambling to occur since 2019 and the market has grown steadily since then. This state has recently gone the opposite way from Illinois and removed the need for residents to register in person before placing online bets.
Michigan
It is one of the latest additions to this list, as their new regulations were introduced at the start of 2024 following in-person sports betting being allowed the year before this.
New Jersey
has one of the longest-established sets of gambling laws in the US. Efforts to legalize the activity began way back in 2009, but it took a decade before the legislation was finally put in place, before it quickly became one of the most important gambling hubs in the US and enjoyed a profitable 2024.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has allowed online wagering since 2018, with the market growing impressively since then. The state also has a selection of internet and land-based casinos that residents can wager in. You need to be aged 21 or over to place a legal sports bet here.
Tennessee
Sports betting went live at the end of 2024, with several operators being awarded licenses to set up sites for residents of the state. This is in contrast with online and land-based casinos, which still aren’t authorized here.
Virginia
It is another place that made sports wagering live early in 2024, with sports betting apps joining the state’s land casinos in offering different ways of gambling for real money.
What Can Members Bet On?
After joining a sports betting website in one of the above states, players can look through the various sports and events that are listed there. As you would expect, the most popular sports such as horse racing, football, and baseball are all covered. Tennis, golf and other popular sports tend to be easy to find too.
According to PowerPlay, You can bet on just about any major sporting event in the country, from the Kentucky Derby to NASCAR and from the Super Bowl to the NBA Championships. If you want to cast your gaze further afield, you can also look at big matches, races, and events from all over the world.
Each sport has a series of types of bet that you can place. For instance, with horse racing you can place your wager on the horse that you think will win or else choose something like an exacta and trifecta, where you predict the first two or three horses to come home, respectively.
In the NFL, you might want to bet on which team will win an upcoming game or which player will score most touchdowns in it. Alternatively, you could look further ahead and predict which team you think will win the AFC or NFC Championships, as well as which team will win the Super Bowl.
Money lines, parlay, and point spreads are some of the terms you will come across. It isn’t particularly complicated once you get started, but you might want to take a moment to understand the basics before making your first bet.
What Other States May Follow Soon?
The big question for people who live in states other than those listed is when they can expect to be able to place bets online for their favorite sports. A number of states have gambling legislation in place but haven’t yet allowed online operators to get started. If we look at the example of Delaware, it has also passed a law allowing sports betting, but to date the launch of the websites offering online betting has been delayed.
This is one of several states that currently allowed in-person betting but not the online type. Of course, each state is different in this respect. In some of them, there is a good possibility of online sportsbooks opening up in the near future. For example, Wyoming and Kansas are among the states where some movement is expected in this respect before too long.
Other states, such as Alabama and Alaska, appear to be further from approving sports betting. Another type of situation is found in Mississippi and Washington, which both allow mobile betting but only when it is carried out from inside a land casino. It seems clear that the next couple of years will see some big changes in this market.
The residents in many different states have voted in favor of allowing gambling, and legislators have been won over by the revenue that this move could produce for them. If you can’t currently bet where you live, keep an eye on the latest news stories to see if you will soon be able to do this.
