Sports betting in the US 2020

Each and every state has different rules and regulations. Which states allow for in-person or online betting?

It has been over two years since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States.

As it stands, there are over 20 states with legal sports betting within their borders and 17 of these are already regulating local sports betting. It’s also expected that more states will follow suit.

Every state has different rules and regulations. Some states only allow in-person betting, but most states with legal betting allow both in-person and online betting.

This means that people can travel to casinos and bookies to place their bets. For more information on the best bookies and online bonuses, check this site.

Examples of states who allow for legal and regulated sports betting are Colorado, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Nevada, West Virginia, Oregon, Mississippi, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Montana, and Michigan.

Meanwhile, the states of Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia have already legalised sports betting and are only awaiting the launch of betting operations.

Tennessee, however, is still working on revising the final rules and regulations of implementing sports betting. This state in particular, only allows for legalised online sports betting.

This differs from New York, for instance, as the latter only allows in-person betting.

Whether mobile or online betting will be allowed in this state is still hard to tell at the moment as it appears that Governor Cuomo has not made legalised it just yet.

However, many are hoping for change as it has been made evident that mobile betting is now the preferred option of many, when it comes to wagering.

New Jersey is proof of this. It’s reported that around 80 to 90% of the state’s betting revenue is generated from the online market.

In fact, it was even once reported that punters from the state of New York are riding the train to New Jersey just to be able to place their bets with their mobile devices.

Apparently, this is still a better option for them, than having to drive to the licensed betting casinos in New York.

Currently, here is the list of states that have already legalised sports betting and what you should know about them:

  • Colorado – This state signed betting into law last year and officially launched it on 1 May of this year. Both online and in-person betting is allowed.
  • Arkansas – In-person betting became legal within this state’s borders on 1 July 2019. Currently, online betting is still prohibited.
  • Delaware – Governor Phil Murphy signed the bill that would allow local sports betting in Delaware on 11 June 2018. Both in-person and online betting is legal.
  • Iowa – Betting was launched in Iowa last year and both in-person and mobile betting are allowed. Certain prop bets involving college sports are banned.
  • Illinois – Illinois only launched sports betting 9 March, less than a year after Governor JB Pritzker signed its bill. Both in-person and online betting is allowed but betting is not allowed on minor league sports and college sports events.
  • Indiana – Betting was launched in this state September of last year. Both online and in-person betting is allowed. However, betting on high school sports is prohibited.
  • Mississippi – Currently, only in-person betting has been launched in this state. However, the state plans on launching mobile betting in the near future, too.
  • Michigan – This state recently launched betting on 11 March 2020. Both in-person and online betting is signed into law. However, the state is likely to launch online betting next year.
  • Montana – Sports betting was launched in March of this year. The state only licenses land casinos and bookies to take bets for now. Online betting should only take place in taverns.
  • New Hampshire – In December 2019, first bet was made in this state. In-person and mobile or online betting is allowed.
  • New Jersey – This state was quick to sign the bill after PASPA was struck down by the USSC. On 14 June 2018, the first bet was placed in the state. Online and retail wagering is allowed.
  • New Mexico – Only in-person betting is allowed and just a few casinos are allowed to take bets from the locals, since October 2018.
  • New York – This state launched sports betting in July of last year. However, only in-person betting is allowed at the moment.
  • Nevada – Betting has been legal in Nevada for a long time as it was exempted from PASPA. It’s the most mature betting market in the US.
  • Oregon – Betting returned to this state in August of last year and both retail and online betting is allowed.
  • West Virginia – This is the fifth state that signed betting into law in 2018. Both retail and online wagering is allowed.
  • Pennsylvania – Betting was also launched in 2018 in this state. Both in-person and retail betting is allowed within the territory.
  • Rhode Island – Also launched in 2018 was in-person betting in this state. However, in the following year, the state also allowed for online betting.
  • Tennessee – Online betting became legal in this state on 25 May 2019.
  • Washington DC – Betting is also legal here but it is still unknown when the state will officially take bets from the locals.
  • North Carolina – Betting is only prohibited within the tribal lands but statewide betting is already being considered.