Sports Betting Legalization in the United States

Sports Betting

The United States has finally given the okay to repeal PASPA and allow states to govern themselves when it comes to Sports Betting. Since 1992, PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) has made Sports Betting essentially illegal everywhere outside of Nevada and Delaware.

There was a one-year period where states could allow sports betting that had physical casinos already, but many did not take advantage (and lost out on a lot of tax revenue).

In 1992, online was barely a thing and the idea that you could do about anything you wanted from a machine in your pocket was thought as a plot from a science fiction movie.

Online – The New Frontier

In 2009, 17 years after PASPA was put into place, Senator Ray Lesniak, a New Jersey State Senator, started to get backing in his questioning of the constitutionality of the bill. This was when the ball started to roll. By 2011, New Jersey put a constitutional amendment for sports betting up for a vote securing a majority with 64% of voters.

Senator Lesniak introduced the Sports Wagering Act which would allow for legalized sports gambling in New Jersey. A year later, in 2012, New Jersey law makers approved of the Sports Wagering Act and Governor Chris Christie signed it into law! After that, the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, and NCAA all sued Governor Christie and New Jersey to prevent sports gambling from becoming legal in the state.

Unfortunately for New Jersey, and the rest of the country, PASPA was upheld in the court of law during 2013. This lead Governor Christie and New Jersey down another path. Rather than trying to make sport gambling legal, they decided to propose ending the self-imposed ban on sports betting. By looking at it this way, their would be no violation of PASPA if the state was not involved. The bill was introduced and signed leading to New Jersey Casinos to start preparing the opportunity to have sports betting on site.

Again, the professional sports leagues and the NCAA stayed the course and the bill was shot down in the US District Court and the Third Circuit Court. In a twist, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to take the case on and hear both sides of the argument.

Governor Chris Christie at this point left New Jersey Office and on December 4th, 2017, Governor Murphy vs. NCAA took place in front of the SCOTUS. The hearing went well in favor of Governor Murphy and the State of New Jersey. By May of 2018, SCOTUS awarded Governor Murphy a 6 – 3 win repealing PASPA and allowing online sports gambling across states!

Sports Betting Legality

Nevada

We all know that sports betting and Las Vegas go hand in hand, within PASPA, any state that it was already legal in was fine. Nevada ran with this. They are currently behind in terms of Mobile betting though. Only partial currently, needing bettors to come to a casino to register before being allowed to only use their phone.

Delaware

Delaware actually beat New Jersey to the punch and legalized sports betting first after PASPA was repealed. They didn’t quite do it in the best way though. There is no Mobile Betting and the lottery is currently running the operation. This has resulted in low handles for the state.

New Jersey

New Jersey fought for states to legalize Sports Betting at their own descretion and it worked well for them! Easily the most advanced, handles have been going up since the start. Over $4.5 billion in handles for 2019 with over 80% of that money coming in through Mobile Betting.

Michigan

Michigan is currently opened up for Physical Betting only with Mobile Betting well on it’s way. Multiple online retailers have already announced partnerships with the retail casinos.

Mississippi

Mississippi is currently in limbo with only Partial Mobile Betting. You can walk into a physical location and place a bet in person, or electronically. Full Mobile Betting is expected to come in the near future.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island allows both Physical and Mobile Betting, with the Mobile Betting ran through a partnership between William Hill and the Rhode Island Lottery.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is fully open for both Physical and Mobile Betting. In 2019, PA tallied over $1.5 billion in wagers, 3rd most in the country.

Arkansas

Arkansas is open for Physical Betting only. A bill to introduce Mobile Betting was announced by was turned down due to language within it.

New York

New York has not yet allowed for Mobile Betting to take place, Physical Betting only. There is a lot to gain for New York, so it’s expected to gain Mobile Betting eventually.

Iowa

Iowa has Physical Betting and Partial Mobile Betting. Before placing a wager on your phone, you must register at a Physical location.

West Virginia

West Virginia is fully live for Mobile Betting and Physical Betting. Take me home!

Indiana

Indiana has full Mobile Betting capabilities with an average monthly handle of over $100 million.

Oregon

Oregon was one of the few states grandfathered into PASPA, but never took advantage. Tribal casinos started to offer Physical Betting and the state lottery has taken over the Mobile Betting.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire has full Mobile Betting within state lines and is gearing up to have Physical Betting locations as well.

Illinois

Illinois currently has Physical Betting locations and these locations get an “18 month head start” from online only retailers. Each of the physical locations can allow Mobile Betting, but a person will need to register in the location. This will also allow for the stadiums in Illinois to apply for betting kiosks for in stadium betting.

Montana

Montana has legal Physical Betting and is allowing bars and restaurants to apply for licenses to allow betting in their establishments. Mobile Betting will only be allowed within these Physical Locations.

Colorado

Colorado has full Mobile Betting capabilities and is looked at as one of the most consumer and retailer friendly.

New Mexico

New Mexico has not passed a bill to allow sports betting, but Native American Tribes have interpreted that they are allowed under the current state tribal gaming compact.

North Carolina

North Carolina has legalized sports betting but has it currently limited to two Physical Betting locations. They are looking to put together a gaming commission to determine the viability of Mobile Betting.

Tennessee

Tennessee has legalized sports betting but it is still working out the kinks. They are looking at Mobile Betting ONLY with an added “feature” of allowing a bettor to win at 85% of their stake. This will most likely affect the wagers once fully operational.

Virginia

Virginia has legalized sports betting but has not gone online yet. They will allow Mobile Betting and Physical Betting. They are looking to have up to 18 online sportsbooks, similar to New Jersey.

Washington

Washington has legalized betting within the state, but has not made it possible yet. It will be limited to Physical and Mobile Betting in the states Tribal Casinos.

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. has legalized sports betting but does not have it up and running yet. There will be Physical Betting locations and the Mobile Betting will be ran through Washington D.C.’s Lottery App.

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