Sports Betting’s Legality in the United States
Sports betting has been known to illegal in the US for a very long time. It was just last year when the Supreme Court repealed PASPA or the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992. Last year’s court decision finally allowed all states to legalize sports betting if they wish to.
Now, you may wonder where exactly it is in the US where sports betting is legal. Well, there are already 10 states in the US where sports betting is completely legal as of June 2019. Some states already have pending bills about its legalization, while some just really don’t bother looking into it yet.
The first few states that allowed sports gambling are the ones that were never affected by PASPA. This was the case because they already had laws about the matter before PASPA was in effect. These states are Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and New Jersey.
As of March 2019, Nevada is still earning the biggest when it comes to the revenues that sports betting in their state is bring in. They already earned $35.8 million of revenues as of February. With this, they are projecting to earn at least $300 million in revenues.
Following Nevada is New Jersey. This state is known to have legalized gambling in general. When it comes to the revenue that they are expecting from sports betting by the end of this year, they are expecting it to be around $250.6 million.
Now, those are the two states with the biggest revenue among the 10 states where sports betting is already legal. Here are more details about the other eight states that allow sports betting. These are the things you should know before you gamble on sports in the US.
- Delaware
Delaware has legalized sports betting in their state, including single wagering since 2018. This is the first state to do this outside Nevada. Mobile sports betting is also legal in Delaware, but right now, it’s still not being offered. The legal age to place bets in Delaware is 21 and above.
- Mississippi
It was also in 2018 when Mississippi’s government has legalized sports betting. Mobile sports betting is allowed in this state as long as bets are placed outside or off the grounds of a casino. This state is expecting its sports betting revenue to be as much as $41.9 million by the end of this year.
- West Virginia
This is the fifth state that legalized sports betting in the USA few months later, after its legalization in August 2018, online sports betting was also allowed in the state. This made West Virginia the third state to do so. However, they are still waiting for the first online sportsbook in their state to open this year.
- Pennsylvania
It also didn’t take Pennsylvania long to legalize sports betting after the Supreme Court’s decision with regard to PASPA. There are currently three online sports wagering sites in PA, and this just says a lot about how they welcomed online sports betting right away.
- Rhode Island
Rhode Island is no different when it comes to how quick they were to act on the legalization of sports betting in 2018. People in Rhode Island can wager on sports at two active casinos. Currently, they still don’t have a mobile sportsbook, but they are already working on it. People from this state should be able to wager on sports online this year.
- New Mexico
Sports betting on this state is only available at a pair of tribal venues, and one of these is the Sta. Ana Star Casino. Class III gambling, which includes sports betting, is allowed in their state. However, they should only happen on Indian lands. Right now, online wagering is still on the blur for this state.
- New York
It was just recently that New York allowed sports betting in their state. However, New Yorkers can only do so in four particular casinos. These are the Del Lago Resort and Casino, Tioga Downs Casino, Rivers Casino, and Resorts World Catskills. Online sports betting is still not legal in this state, but they are pushing for it and are hoping to have it completely legal soon.
- Arkansas
This state was very strict about sports betting, but that lasted until recently, July 1 of this year. The first legal sports bets in the state of Arkansas were finally placed at the Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort. This is the only allowed sports wagering in this state as of the moment. Online wagering on sports in Arkansas may still have to wait for a while.
