What States Is Sports Betting Legal?
Sports Betting Legal
It’s not known exactly what states are considering the legalization of sports betting, but several have introduced bills to legalize the industry. Among those are New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. While it’s unlikely that these states will legalize sports betting anytime soon, their recent actions indicate that they may be open to the idea. Also, Wyoming and South Dakota recently passed legislation to make the industry legal in their state. Other states that may have a better chance are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, and Nevada.
Although Nevada was the first state to legalize sports betting, many other states are eager to follow suit. In fact, some have passed bills for online betting, while others are determining the regulatory structure for this new industry. As of 2018, New Jersey became the first U.S. state to approve sports betting. Governor Phil Murphy signed the bill in January 2018, and the industry began in earnest three days later. NJ sports betting was able to use the casino infrastructure that it already had in place.
Despite the legalization of sports betting in Nevada, North Dakota is not yet open to it. The state’s legislature has rejected legislation for the industry in 2019. Ohio is the next state to pass legislation, though it didn’t start taking bets until August of this year. And Pennsylvania, which was one of the last to pass legislation, has finally legalized the industry. The first legal sports bets were placed in April of 2018. Additional licenses have been issued in Pennsylvania after the Supreme Court ruled against the ban in 2017. Mobile wagering is also accepted in the state.
What States Is Sports Betting Legal?
In addition to New York, Virginia is the only state to offer sports betting online. However, the casino industry remains illegal in the state. There are no brick-and-mortar casinos or sportsbooks, but the gaming industry is still thriving in the state. On April 2021, the governor of Virginia approved the legalization of sports gambling. Nonetheless, the legalization of sports betting is likely to lead to more casinos in the state.
North Carolina, like other states, has not passed comprehensive sports betting legislation. Moreover, the state does not have any regular casinos. Its only federally recognized tribe owns two tribal casinos. A law was recently passed in July that allows sports betting in these casinos. And despite its restrictions, sports wagering is not available in most of the state’s casino industry. The new laws will make sports gambling available to the public in North Carolina.
Currently, only Nevada and Pennsylvania are fully legalized for sports betting, but the two states are still in the process of legalizing the industry. Arizona is the only state in the US to allow online sports betting and has two casinos. Rhode Island, on the other hand, only offers mobile sports betting. Other states, including Tennessee, are considering legalizing sports betting in 2021. There are plans for online and retail sport gambling in Virginia in the coming years, which is expected to be a big step forward for the industry.