More states legalize online gambling in the United States

With significant changes at the federal level increasingly unlikely and local legislation severely limited in scope, state-by-state legislation will prove the catalyst for any developments.

More than half the country has begun the process of legalizing sports betting. States’ authority to choose their own online gambling laws has created unique systems in essentially every jurisdiction. Some states, such as Hawaii and Utah, ban all forms of gaming while others, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, permit nearly every form of commercial gaming.

Internet casino gaming remains illegal in every state that doesn’t explicitly legalize the games. New Jersey helped lead the way for online gaming in the early 2010s. Nevada, Delaware, Pennsylvania (and soon West Virginia) also have legal online gambling.

Sports betting, in contrast, is legal and live as of late 2019 in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Delaware, West Virginia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Iowa, Indiana, New York, Arkansas and Oregon. Of those, all but New York, New Mexico, Delaware and Rhose Island don't have mobile sports betting (Mississippi allows mobile only on casino property).
Six additional states and Washington, D.C. were poised to take first bets in 2020.

The slow state-by-state expansion of the lottery and later casinos created a domino effect of states legalizing these games; as one state began offering these options it frequently compelled its neighbors to do the same as lawmakers remain remiss to lose residents’ dollars across state lines. However, online gaming such as poker, slots and digital card games have been slower than some of these other forms.
Nevada is the only state to permit a wide variety of legal sports betting. Given its long history in successfully offering regulated sports wagering, many states might look to Nevada for best practices.

2020 USA election

Prop measures to legalize sports betting were on the ballot in Maryland, Louisiana and South Dakota. After being approved in all three States, the measures still require further action from each legislature. Legal land based and/or online sports betting will be available in each jurisdiction at some point in 2021.

That sets up a situation in which by the end of next year more than half the country could have legal sports betting, less than three years after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for all 50 states to adopt it if they chose.

The gambling map is always evolving as North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington recently passed bills to legalize sports betting. Virginia approved casino gambling in four locations, Nebraska authorized adding casino games at its horse racing tracks, and Colorado expanded the number and type of casino games it can offer, along with eliminating some wagering limits.

Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Ohio and Vermont have active bills that are pending legislative approval.

Some states are resisting the move as bills failed in 2020 in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri and Wyoming. Seven states, Idaho, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin, do not have active sports betting legislation.