For US citizens
new to online sports betting, what options are available to you, and the surrounding legality can be confusing.
What States Have Legal Sports Betting? As of April 2020, the following states have some form of legal sports betting: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. Some states only offer sports betting at physical sportsbooks, meaning casinos, racetracks, and gambling boats. Other states offer sports betting both online and at physical sportsbooks.
What States Have Online Sports Betting? As of April 2020, the following states offer mobile betting: Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. In these states, you can bet on sports from your mobile device or laptop. In Iowa and Nevada, you must go to a casino first to register your account before being able to bet. Mississippi has mobile betting, but only on casino grounds, which defeats the point of having mobile betting. Colorado and Michigan have also legalized mobile online betting. Colorado residents can expect to place wagers as early as May 1st, 2020. Michigan residents will have to wait until 2021 to place online wagers.
What’s available for the rest of us? For the majority of people who don’t reside in one of the states listed above, there are other online sports betting options available, namely offshore sportsbooks.
What is Offshore Betting? Offshore betting is betting on sports online through an offshore sportsbook operated overseas. Offshore sportsbooks are not regulated by a US governing body. Some of these websites have been around since the birth of the internet. Although they service many countries, offshore sportsbooks cater to the US market because of its size, and the fact that US citizens have not had US regulated options for decades.
Is Offshore Betting Legal? No, offshore sportsbooks like Bovada are not legal. Offshore sportsbooks are not legal because they are not overseen by a US regulatory body. Despite being illegal, over the last 20+ years US citizens have placed millions of bets with offshore sportsbooks, like Bovada, without any interference from the state or federal government. The American Gaming Association estimates that over $150 billion is illegally wagered each year. Although offshore sportsbooks are not technically legal, they are valid options for US bettors without access to legal options. Offshore sportsbooks have become valid options because the United States has not had legal sports betting and because the government is unable to punish offshore operators or customers.
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