Legalize Sports Betting in the US – A Comprehensive List of All the Legal States and What to Expect – At the start of 2018, we have seen a lot of movements toward legalizing sports betting where around a dozen states introduced or has reintroduced their legislation where they are legalizing some forms of sports gambling. All of these happened while the Supreme Court was still deliberating whether they will remove the partial federal sports betting ban that was enclosed in the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act or PASPA. It was the particular case of New Jersey versus professional sports leagues such as the NBA, NCAA, MLN, NHL, and NFL that started the call for legalized sports betting across the states.
Sports Betting Legalized
How is online sports betting legal? USA Sports betting legal was being contested by the American Gaming Association for years for sports protection of both professional and amateur sports. But with Jersey contesting the ruling, stating that the ban was infringing on the states’ rights, the Supreme Court had to make a call. The Supreme Court finally came down with a decision to strike down the federal law that bans sports wagering across the country. This 1992 federal law has restricted online sports betting of any kind from being offered in different states with the exception of Nevada which has become the central hub for all gambling sites both land-based and online.
The 6-3 Supreme Court ruling was considered a victory for New Jersey as well as other states that wanted to legalize sports betting in their area. One reason why legalized sports betting was being fought for by several states is to boost their tourism to help increase their tax revenue. Sports leagues such as NFL, NCAA, and NBA gave their support to the federal ban for fear that sports bets can be harmful to the professional sports in terms of outcomes of the games.
According to the Supreme Court, this federal law was already violating the constitutional principles that limit the federal government from taking control of a state’s policies, thus forcing these states to ban betting on sports in their area.
The court ruling of the Supreme Court against the 1992 law has opened the doors for the states to choose whether they will include themselves in the list of legal sports betting states in the country. This decision of the Supreme Court removed the monopoly of legalized sports betting in Nevada as well as the federal law that was protecting it for decades. The move of the Supreme Court legalize sports betting has gained a lot of approval not just from various states but also from sports bettors because they no longer have to travel to Nevada just to indulge in their sports gambling habits.
The Race by the States to Offer Legalized Sports Betting
With sports betting legalized this year, various states, such as New Jersey, are racing to be the first to kick of legal sports betting in their state. But it seems that there is already a winner with Delaware rolling being the first to roll out their sports wagering after the Supreme Court ruling against the law that banned online gambling on sports across the country.
Delaware launched their fantasy sports betting in three of their casinos namely Delaware Park, Harrington Raceway & Casino, and Dover Downs Hotel & Casino just three weeks after the Supreme Court decision removing the federal law against sports bets. The state has a partial exemption to this federal lawin place where they were allowed to offer parlay betting, particularly multigame bets, on professional football.
One reason why this state was the first to roll out sports gambling is that they already have the legal sports structure in place. Other states that are expected to follow suit include West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi. Jersey lawmakers are expected to consider their legislation where they will be able to regulate wagers placed by bettors in their betting sites.
Is Online Sports Betting Legal In New Jersey?
For those who are living in Jersey, Governor Philip D. Murphy has already signed a bill that legalized sports betting in the state which came just in time for the start of the much-awaited World Cup. With the decision of the Supreme Court favoring the stat, and the bill designed for sports betting legalized signed behind closed doors, the governor believed that this move will attract more businesses as well as sports wagering fans to their state thus helping boost their economy. The last hurdle is the licensing process so that casinos as well as sports betting sites will be able to offer gambling for sports legally.
The New Jersey Racing Commission, which is the one handling the licensing for racetracks, will hold a meeting to accept applications and distribute licenses to operators that will allow Monmouth Park to start accepting wagers. Other casinos, such as Meadowlands Racetrack, are still in the process of building venues as well as training their employees before they can offer sports gambling to those who are waiting for wagering to commence. So, for those who are asking, “When will sports betting be legal in NJ?”, it has already begun.
Where Is Sports Betting Legal In The United States?
Is online sports betting legal in New York? Where is sports betting legalized? Although the Supreme Court has removed the federal law that bans wagering on sports, the legalization of sports betting is not automatically statewide. However, it does grant states the power to make their own decision with regards to online gaming. As of today, Nevada, Montana, Delaware, as well as Oregon made the move to legalize legal sports gambling in their states, with Nevada being the only one that offers wagering for a single game.
Let’s take a closer look at legal sports betting states and which ones are still considering whether to legalize sports gambling for various gaming leagues such major league baseball and others, in their state.
Nevada
This state was the only one that was allowed to offer wagering on American gaming throughout the United States with the 1992 federal law backing it up. But after more than two decades, the Supreme Court has moved to strike down the said law thus allowing other states to make their own law on how to regulate gambling that will not affect the integrity of the gaming association of sports leagues in the country.
New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that allowed sports betting in this state thus opening its doors to casinos that wanted to offer off-track betting and the like. The William Hill sportsbook was the first one to receive bets on June 14, 2018. After 30 minutes, the Borgata, located in Atlantic City accepted wagering bettors as well.
Delaware
Like it was mentioned before, Delaware was the first state to offer sports betting to its customers less than a month after the court has ruled in favor of New Jersey by lifting the ban on sports betting.
Mississippi
It was only in August 1 when the state booked its first bets from the two casinos owned by MGM Resorts. More casinos are expected to offer wagering for sports leagues in the coming months. The ruling was that all sports gambling should be conducted in person with online gaming to be determined later on.
New York
This state is on board with the idea of legalizing sports wagering, but its gaming commission has to complete regulations first, “in the short term”, so that their four on-site locations will be able to offer gaming bets.
Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Wolf already signed a new bill on sports betting where it will legalize DFS as well as online poker back in 2017 with the goal that the state be ready to offer this type of gambling this year. Now that the Supreme Court has removed the ban, sports betting will be allowed as soon as all the regulations have been finalized. However, the NFL are still expressing their concerns with regards to consumer protection, enforcement, and such.
Illinois
The “Sports Betting Consumer Protection Act” was introduced in the state in January of this year. This bill was designed to authorize sports betting or even electronic sports betting by patrons as well as facilities in the state. Although there were several bills on gaming and betting were introduced this year, no formal vote has taken place as of yet.
Massachusetts
An active bill that is designed to create a special commission that will conduct a study and come up with a proposition on how to regulate online sports gaming and betting is still waiting for the ruling of the court. When this is approved, the legislators will have to debate about the bill which can be a lengthy process. This means that locals will have to wait a while before any decision as to whether sports betting will be given.
Ohio
Governor John Kasich is in no hurry to legalize sports wagering as of yet even though the state has several casinos to its name. According to the Governor’s communications director, this wasn’t their top priority. And although they were aware of the ruling of the Supreme Court, they are still studying the impact on their own policies.
Connecticut
This state has come up with a comprehensive bill with regards to sports betting during the early part of this year. They conducted hearings and accepted testimonies from various stakeholders as well as from representatives of professional sports leagues. The session ended without any formal vote with regards to the bill, but Governor Dannel Malloy is suggesting that he may call for a special session to re-start their talks on sports betting and whether it should be legalized or not.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the lifting of the 1992 federal law that bans states from offering sports betting has created a huge wave among the gambling community as it has given the states the power to determine whether they should legalize this type of betting in their area. The federal law did prevent illegal sports betting, although some still occur in the black market, but now that it was removed, several states are scrambling to pass a bill that will regulate this type of gambling.
Here’s a recap on which states have already legalized sports betting and which ones are not.
- Legal. Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, and Mississippi have already legalized sports betting in their states after the Supreme Court has favored Jersey last May.
- On-board. States such as Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, and Rhode Island are on board with the idea of legalizing this type of gambling in their states. Rules and regulations are still being discussed and concerns are being ironed out.
- Moving for legalization. California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Carolina are taking steps to legalize sports betting in their area.
- No activity. There are several states that are not joining in the bandwagon yet after the Supreme Court removed the federal ban against sports betting. These states include: Alabama, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Georgia, Nebraska, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington State, Washington D.C., Wyoming, and Wisconsin.
- Not likely. Utah is the only state that is not likely to legalize sports betting any time soon as the prohibition has already been incorporated into their law. Changing anything in their existing policy will be a huge departure from their anti-gambling laws.
With the Supreme Court’s ruling on lifting the federal law encouraging states to reconsider their laws on sports gambling, bettors are waiting for rules and regularizations to be rolled out in order for casinos to be licensed to offer sports gambling to their customers. Although it may take a while, it seems that states are seeing the value of having online sports gambling as a means of revenue.
