US sports betting: Which states have legalized online sportsbooks?

38 states and Washington DC have legalized betting since the changes in legislation in 2018

YE Sports Betting (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Sports betting continues to grow in the USA and the market is said to be worth an estimated $18.5bn in 2025.

Missouri is the latest state to legalize it having passed a bill in November 2024, with sports betting set to be legal in the Show-Me state as of December 1, 2025.

While brick-and-mortar casinos and online casino gambling have been legal for decades, the legalization of sports betting is only a relatively recent phenomenon despite the US being home to three of the most popular sports leagues in the world in the form of the NFL, NBA and MLB.

The industry has seen vast growth since the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association decision in 2018, with many states launching online sportsbooks alongside provision for in-person sports betting at retail locations.

And these domestic sports leagues have driven an increase in betting revenue from $400m in 2018 to $11bn in 2023, according to Statista.

As of November 2025, 38 states, along with Washington DC, have legalized sports betting in some form since 2018, though certain laws and regulations in different locations mean that some states do not offer either retail or online betting, while wagering on in-state collegiate games and players remains prohibited in many locations.

The table below provides a breakdown of the sports betting situation in each state, including when retail and online sports betting was legalized along with relevant notes.

State	Legal status	Launch date	Notes
Alabama	Not legal	N/A	Multiple bills to legalize sports betting have failed
Alaska	Not legal	N/A	No forward motion or vote on bill since March 2024
Arizona	Legal	September 9, 2021	Both retail and online sports betting are available
Arkansas	Legal	July 1, 2019/March 4, 2022	Retail launched 2019, online in March 2022
California	Not legal	N/A	Multiple bills have failed, with new sports betting bills enacted in 2025
Colorado	Legal	May 1, 2020	Colorado has 16 online sports books, which is the most in the country
Connecticut	Legal	October 19, 2021	Only three online sportsbooks are available
Delaware	Legal	July 5, 2018/December 26, 2023	First state outside of Nevada to legalize sports betting
Florida	Legal	November 1, 2021	sports betting re-launched on November 7, 2023 after legal issues
Georgia	Not legal	N/A	Multiple attempts to legalize sports betting have failed
Hawaii	Not legal	N/A	Multiple attempts to legalize sports betting have failed
Idaho	Not legal	N/A	No proposed sports betting legislation in Idaho as of 2025
Illinois	Legal	March 9/June 18, 2020	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
Indiana	Legal	September 1, 2019	Player props on collegiate athletes is strictly prohibited
Iowa	Legal	August 15, 2019	Player props on collegiate athletes is strictly prohibited
Kansas	Legal	September 1, 2022	Player props on collegiate athletes is strictly prohibited
Kentucky	Legal	September 7/ September 28, 2023	No restrictions on wagering on collegiate games or player props
Louisiana	Legal	January 28, 2022	Not all parishes within the state allow sports betting
Maine	Legal	November 3, 2023	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
Maryland	Legal	December 9, 2021/November 23, 2022	Player props on collegiate athletes is strictly prohibited
Massachusetts	Legal	January 31/March 10, 2023	Player props on collegiate athletes is strictly prohibited
Michigan	Legal	March 2020/January 22, 2021	12 operators offer retail and online betting
Minnesota	Not legal	N/A	Legislation passed in August 2022, but no launch date set
Mississippi	Legal	August 1, 2018	Online sports betting is still prohibited
Missouri	Legal	1 December, 2025	State will offer sports betting through retail and online sportsbooks
Montana	Legal	March 2020	Sportsbooks are regulated through the state lottery
Nebraska	Legal	May 25, 2021	Only in-person betting is permitted
Nevada	Legal	2010	Online betting launched in Nevada eight years before any other state
New Hampshire	Legal	January 2020	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
New Jersey	Legal	June 14, 2018	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
New Mexico	Legal	2018	Sports betting limited to in-person wagering at tribal casinos
New York	Legal	July 2019/January 8, 2022	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
North Carolina	Legal	March 18, 2021	Online sports betting bill was signed into law on June 14, 2023
North Dakota	Legal	2021	Bettors can only place wagers at the state’s tribal casinos
Ohio	Legal	January 1, 2023	Both in-person and online betting permitted
Oklahoma	Not legal	N/A	Two bills aimed at legalizing sports betting stalled in the Senate
Oregon	Legal	August 2019	All bets on college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
Pennsylvania	Legal	2018	Both in-person and online betting permitted
Rhode Island	Legal	2018/September 4, 2019	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
South Carolina	Not legal	N/A	Gambling restricted solely to casino riverboats
South Dakota	Legal	September 9, 2021	Only in-person betting is permitted
Tennessee	Legal	November 1, 2021	Player prop bets in collegiate games are prohibited
Texas	Not legal	N/A	No movement expected until 2027 legislative session
Utah	Not legal	N/A	Constitution explicitly prohibits all forms of gambling
Vermont	Legal	January 2024	State only allows mobile sports betting
Virginia	Legal	January 2021	Bets on in-state college games and collegiate athletes prohibited
Washington	Legal	September 2021	All bets, whether in person or online, must occur on tribal lands
Washington D.C	Legal	May 2019	Sports wagering app and website is run by the DC Lottery
West Virginia	Legal	August 2018	Was fifth state to legalize sports gambling, both in-person and online
Wisconsin	Legal	Late 2021	Online sports betting is not yet legal, in-person limited to physical premises of tribal casinos
Wyoming	Legal	September 1 2021	Online only; state does not have any retail sportsbooks

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