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Sports betting is not one national market - it is 50 separate state decisions, plus D.C., each with its own launch date, regulator, tax rate, and rules on what you can bet and how. This directory groups every state by what is actually legal there today: full online-and-retail sports betting with a regulated online casino attached, sports betting alone, online-only or retail-only markets, tribal-compact arrangements, and states with no regulated betting at all.
Use this page to quickly compare what is legal in each jurisdiction, then click through to a full state guide where one is published. For readers who are still learning the basics, we have also linked the most useful sportsbook guides below.
Every state below is scored on three independent questions - a state can answer "yes" to one and "no" to the others.
"Online" and "retail" refer to sports betting specifically. "Online casino" means a separate, regulated real-money iGaming product (slots, table games, live dealer) - most sports betting states do not have one. Confirm current status with your state's gaming regulator before depositing; this page is updated on a rolling basis but legal status changes frequently.
A legal mobile or desktop wagering product available statewide or under approved geolocation rules.
A physical sportsbook located at a casino, racetrack, or licensed betting venue inside the state.
A separate iGaming market for slots, table games, and live dealer products - not the same as sports betting.
State legality is only the first step. Smart bettors also compare market depth, available operators, welcome offers, payment methods, and safer gambling tools before opening an account.
TIER 1
The most complete legal markets in the country - online and retail sports betting plus a regulated online casino, all under one state license.
| State | Online SB | Retail SB | Online casino | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full guide |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes | Yes | View guide |
| Michigan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Full guide |
| Connecticut | Yes | Yes | Yes | View guide |
| Delaware | Yes | Yes | Yes | View guide |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes | View guide |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes | Yes | View guide |
| Maine | Yes | Yes | Pending | View guide |
* Louisiana: Sports betting is legal in 55 of 64 parishes. See the Louisiana guide for the nine prohibited parishes.
TIER 2
The largest group of states: mature, multi-operator sports betting markets where a regulated online casino has not (yet) been authorized.
| State | Online SB | Retail SB | Online casino | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Arkansas | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Iowa | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Kansas | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Kentucky | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Louisiana | Yes* | Yes* | No | View guide |
| Maryland | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Massachusetts | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Missouri | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Nevada | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| New York | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| North Carolina | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Oregon | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Virginia | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
| Washington, D.C. | Yes | Yes | No | View guide |
TIER 3
Some states permit sports betting through only one channel by design - mobile with no casinos to host retail books, or in-person only with no statewide mobile framework.
| State | Online SB | Retail SB | Online casino | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | Yes | No | No | View guide |
| Vermont | Yes | No | No | View guide |
| Wyoming | Yes | No | No | View guide |
| Mississippi | No | Yes | No | View guide |
| Montana | No | Yes | No | View guide |
| Nebraska | No | Yes | No | View guide |
| South Dakota | No | Yes | No | View guide |
| Wisconsin | Pending | Yes | No | View guide |
TIER 4
Sports betting exists in these states, but access runs through a tribal gaming compact or a single designated operator rather than an open commercial licensing system.
| State | Online SB | Retail SB | Online casino | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | Yes | Limited | No | View guide |
| Washington | No | Limited | No | View guide |
| New Mexico | No | Limited | No | View guide |
| North Dakota | No | Limited | No | View guide |
Florida's mobile market operates statewide under the Seminole Tribe's compact (Hard Rock Bet); retail access is limited to the tribe's own properties rather than an open commercial license system.
TIER 5
No regulated sports betting - online or retail - exists in these states as of this writing. Some have active legislative or ballot efforts; others have no current path forward.
| State | Online SB | Retail SB | Online casino | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | No | No | View guide |
| Alaska | No | No | No | View guide |
| California | No | No | No | View guide |
| Georgia | No | No | No | View guide |
| Hawaii | No | No | No | View guide |
| Idaho | No | No | No | View guide |
| Minnesota | No | No | No | View guide |
| Oklahoma | No | No | No | View guide |
| South Carolina | No | No | No | View guide |
| Texas | No | No | No | View guide |
| Utah | No | No | No | View guide |
Puerto Rico (a U.S. territory, not a state) also has a regulated online and retail sports betting market under the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission, separate from the 50-state picture above.
Two states can both be "legal" while offering very different user experiences. One may support many online operators and aggressive promotions, while another may route betting through a single compact operator or limit access to retail locations.
Need a starting point? Compare our full New Jersey and Michigan state guides, then compare operators in our sportsbook reviews section.
STATES FAQ
When the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018, it removed the federal barrier to sports betting - it did not create one national market. Each state legislature (or, in some cases, tribal compact) decided independently whether to legalize, what to tax, which operators to license, and whether to allow online betting, retail betting, or both.
Online casino gaming is politically and structurally a bigger step for most legislatures than sports betting - it competes more directly with existing brick-and-mortar casino revenue, and several states with commercial or tribal casino industries have resisted authorizing it for that reason. Only eight states currently have a live or legalized real-money online casino.
No. Licensed sportsbook apps use geolocation to confirm you are physically within a state where that operator is licensed before allowing you to bet, regardless of which state issued your ID or where your account was originally registered.
In several states, sports betting authority sits with tribal nations under a gaming compact with the state rather than an open commercial licensing system. Access is typically limited to tribal land, or in Florida's case, to a single statewide mobile operator (Hard Rock Bet) tied to the Seminole Tribe's compact.
We don't recommend using unlicensed offshore sportsbooks, which fall outside any U.S. state regulator's consumer protections. The realistic options are to wait for your state to legalize, or to bet legally while physically present in a state where it's regulated.