US Sports Betting Laws

• Sports Betting Laws Allow Sportsbooks In 38 States
• Learn About PASPA And Other Laws That Impact US Sports Betting

The United States has various laws that effectively dictate what gambling operations can occur within the Land of the Free. This page describes 18+ betting sports betting and the federal laws that coincide, whether for online or physical sportsbooks. Sports betting laws differ by country; domestically, betting can be addressed at the state or federal level.

The United States’ highest court assisted in the overturning of a PASPA in 2018, a federal law that prevented domestic state-regulated wagering operations in most of the country. Since the overturn, states have increased interest in the betting market and are looking to reap any and all benefits from the law’s de-federalization.

United States Sports Betting Laws

Following the repeal of PASPA, several US states have announced their plans to launch sports gambling venues within their borders. Nine states have active operations, another two states have passed legislation to allow wagering but have yet to launch, and multiple states have proposed legal betting bills.

Often, legislation concerning betting in states includes clauses describing who will regulate and oversee operations, who may obtain an operator’s license, provisions for working at the venue, consumer tax configurations and where the tax revenue will go, what types of wagering will be made available, wagering restrictions, as well as, state minimum betting ages, and violation penalties.

Within these pieces of legislation are provisions that allow non-state residents visiting the state the capability to wager, as well as general prohibitions toward minors under eighteen who participate in betting.

Many US States are interested in regulating domestic sports betting and utilizing its legalization as extra tax revenue.

Certain states are inclined to allow young bettors as old as eighteen to wager, such as:

• Kentucky
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• Rhode Island
• Tennessee
• Washington D.C.
• Wyoming

Most states only allow older gamblers who are at least twenty-one:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• South Dakota
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

States where there is no domestic sports betting include:

• Alabama
• Alaska
• California
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Minnesota
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Utah

The Repeal Of PASPA In 2018

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) limited domestic wagering by excluding these offerings in states outside of Nevada and other grand-fathered states. This allowed PASPA to effectively ban sports gambling for 25 years in most of the US, and through numerous litigation suits against grand-fathered states like Oregon, Montana, and so on, major athletic leagues and associations prevented these states from offering betting – making Nevada the sole source for state-based legal sports wagering.

PASPA created a provision to extend a deadline one year after the law’s effective date to allow states to introduce their own sports gambling legislation. However, relevant states, including New Jersey, failed to produce before the deadline. This prevented the introduction of new or updated betting legislation at the federal level.

New Jersey eventually pushed back on this law by filing a lawsuit for discrimination, permitting a voter referendum to change the state’s constitution, and passing laws to allow sports wagering in the state regardless.

This stirred major league commissioners into action, citing PASPA violations to stop NJ. The issue was dealt with in lower circuit courts, which ruled in favor of the leagues. After numerous appeals, the case finally received attention from the Supreme Court in 2016.

In 2018, SCOTUS ruled in favor of New Jersey on the 14^th of May and officially threw PASA out. This repeal allowed states equal rights concerning the choice of offering or outlawing this form of gambling within their state lines.

Other Federal Laws Affecting Betting: Federal Wire Act

Update:  On January 14, 2019, the Department of Justice issued a reversal to their 2011 interpretation of the Wire Act, stating that the Federal Wire Act prohibits all forms of state-regulated online betting. The fallout from this decision has yet to be determined in its entirety. However, many expect states and gambling providers to take legal action.

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The Federal Wire Act of 1961 was also known to accompany PASPA in its prohibitive nature during the 2000s by cutting access to online gambling. However, the law was written in 1961, long before online access, so its application to the internet was not entirely explicit but rather interpreted.

The Wire Act combated illicit mafia activities, which included racketeering through bookies and game-fixing through the early to mid-1900s. The Act addressed interstate communications regarding sports betting via wired facilities, which, at the time, encompassed telegraphs and telephone calls.

However, in 2011, the Department of Justice released a formal opinion memorandum that revisited the Wire Act’s modern interpretation and freed domestic US-based online non-sports gambling from its prohibition.

It would not be until PASPA’s formal repeal in 2018 that the Federal Wire Act would again come into question. As of this writing, the Act has been determined only to prohibit US-based interstate wagering, not state-regulated online sportsbooks.

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Additional Resources

• The Official Website Of The US Congress