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Legal Online Sports Betting Sites in the USA in 2024
Written by: Nate Hornung
Last Updated:
Read Time: 8 minutes
Online betting in the United States has grown in popularity exponentially over the last 15 years. Nowadays there are hundreds of legal online sports betting sites available to the American public, depending on where you live.
While the market has been operating for decades, it wasn’t until 2018 with the repeal of the PASPA law that legal betting started gaining traction in the US. Since the federal ban on sports betting was no longer in the way, states were able to determine for themselves whether they wanted to legalize and regulate this hobby.
Today, there are dozens of states that offer state regulated online sports betting, with several others set to join the fun in the coming years. A few others offer online sports betting in some capacity at specific sites, including Washington D.C.
Below is everything you need to know about online sports betting in the US. We cover the best betting sites across the States, along with a state-by-state guide.
USA Online Sports Betting Sites
This page will cover how to determine if your site is a good choice, and we’ve thrown in some recommendations of our own to help you make up your mind and find a safe and reputable site.
We also cover many different reviews of popular sportsbooks, as well as provide a detailed betting guide to help new players learn how to bet.
What Makes a Sports Betting Site “Legal”?
So what do we even mean by “legal”?
A legal online sports betting site is run and regulated by a government entity. Individuals who make up these gaming committees enforce laws and regulations for sportsbooks, as well as for casinos and the lottery.
They make sure everything is running smoothly and is fair to both the player and the sportsbook, thus ensuring that no foul play or shady business practices are happening.
Best Online Sports Betting Sites in the US
Many members of our staff are sports bettors as well, so finding the right combination of friendly user interface, promotions and payment options is just as important to us as it is to you.
With that in mind, the sites listed below in each state provide the best opportunity for fun, fair betting for US players according to our rigorous rankings criteria.
Online Sports Betting In The USA
Sports betting has been happening in Las Vegas for who knows how long. Sin City once had a stranglehold on the sports betting market, however that time has passed. Since 2018, legal online sports betting sites have popped up everywhere.
Currently dozens of states plus Washington D.C. have fully state regulated online sports betting, with Ohio and Massachusetts being the two new members of the party. Sports betting launched in Ohio both in-person and online in January of 2023.
Massachusetts launched retail sports betting at the same time, while online sports betting sites went live on March 10th, just in time for users to join for March Madness.
Local Regulation Across the States
States launched online sports betting at different times for various reasons. Some launched with retail and online sports betting right away such as Colorado, Connecticut, or Kansas, while others took a few months to launch online sports betting. Some states, like Arkansas, didn’t have online sports betting until in-person sportsbooks had been running for over three years.
Two states, Tennessee and Virginia, offer only online sports betting to their users and have no in-person options available. On the other side of things, Delaware, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, and Washington, only offer in-person sports betting, so online sports betting may not be available, or might be an option if you are on-site at a sportsbook.
Nevertheless, online sports betting sites are available to many users and to plenty others willing to drive across state lines. Take Missouri, who is completely surrounded by legal states that offer online books. Missouri residents are more than welcome to place online wagers, so long as they do so when they are physically located within a regulated state.
State-By-State Betting Legalization
Since states have the ability to decide on the regulation of sports betting for themselves, the laws vary greatly from state to state. While the general laws are somewhat similar across state lines, some jurisdictions have very specific laws protecting their individual residents.
Specific State Laws
Take New York for example. Their primary restriction is that users are not allowed to wager on in-state college teams, however, betting is allowed on colleges outside the state, competing within New York. So users could bet on a conference tournament happening at Madison Square Garden, as long as the teams involved were both from other states.
Prohibiting bets on in-state college teams is a common theme amongst states, including New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington. Illinois will let you bet on colleges within its borders, however they must do so before the game and in person.
New Jersey Takes It One Step Further
NJ users not only can’t bet on in-state colleges, but they also can’t bet on college games happening within the state. Thankfully, New Jersey isn’t a popular neutral site for big name games so this isn’t really an issue.
Another interesting one occurs across multiple states, where many do not allow wagers on individual college player props. This restriction occurs across Arizona, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia, likely to protect the college students.
If you want to bet on esports, you better not live in Colorado or Indiana, because those states do not allow it. Louisiana only allows online sports betting in 55 of their 64 parishes, or counties.
Clearly, the laws vary greatly from state to state.
State Betting Guides
Because of this, we’ve built detailed guides below that show you each state’s specific rules and regulations. Click each state individually to see an overview of their current laws and regulations.
Online Sports Betting Recap
In the US, there are betting markets for almost every sport imaginable, from the most obscure leagues to more popular sports like the NFL. As an American player, the opportunities are endless and most of the online sportsbooks serving US residents have a wide range of lines for sports from around the world.
Today, a majority of states offer sports betting, with 24 of them offering online sports betting sites to their users, including Washington D.C. Because states are able to govern themselves through their own gaming commission, the specific laws vary greatly from state to state.
More and more states are set to join in and locally regulate sports betting in the near future, thus increasing the number of users across the country. Several states including Missouri, Georgia, and Texas all have active legislation to localize sports betting.
The industry is growing at an exponential rate.
As online sports betting sites become more mainstream, the popularity of Same Game Parlays increases as well. Regulations on SGPs vary based on which sportsbook you bet at, so check out this guide to find the right sportsbook for you for Same Game Parlays.
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