Is Sports Betting Legal in Your State?

sports betting

Before you start sports betting, you need to be sure that the sport is legal in your state. If it is not, you can look up the laws for Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Kentucky, or Nevada. You can also look up the best sports betting sites in each of these states. There are many advantages to sports betting online as these sites will have fewer regulations. Nevertheless, you still need to make sure that you are legally allowed to place your bets before betting online.

New Jersey

New Jersey sports betting is legal in the Garden State. The state successfully pushed the Supreme Court to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prohibited betting on sports. While this decision has opened up the betting market in New Jersey, there are certain restrictions on the type of sports bets players can make. Most sports betting in New Jersey is limited to games between teams from New Jersey or events that take place within the state. Those restrictions, however, are not as significant as they once were.

Delaware

Sports betting in Delaware is legal, but you can only do full service wagering in three casinos in the state. Delaware was one of the few states to gain partial exemption from the federal ban on sports betting. The ban, known as PASPA, was in place since 1992. However, it was struck down by the Supreme Court in May 2018.

Rhode Island

Legalizing sports betting in Rhode Island was a major step forward for the state. In 2018, Rhode Island became the first New England state to legalize sports betting. In response, the state’s legislature passed a bill that sanctioned organized sports gambling and signed it into law. Before the Supreme Court’s decision, Rhode Island was one of the most progressive states in regard to sports gambling. In June 2020, the Rhode Island Superior Court upheld the constitutionality of sports betting. However, this does not mean that the state has jumped ship yet.

Kentucky

Legalized sports betting is one of the hot topics in Kentucky right now, with lawmakers promising to expand tax revenue. But Kentucky faces competition from neighboring states that already have sportsbooks. There are currently no major gambling companies operating in the state, so predicting when sportsbook apps will appear is difficult. Nevertheless, two legislators have vocally endorsed sports betting. If legalized, Kentucky could be a missing piece of the gambling puzzle between the Upper Midwest and the South.

Ohio

The Ohio Casino Control Commission has received three applications for sports betting in the state. They are Penn Interactive, Hall of Fame Village, and Elys Gameboard Technologies. Each company is applying for a different type of license. Depending on the license, they can choose from online, retail, or kiosk-style games. If they receive the OK, they will be allowed to offer sports betting in the state by the beginning of 2023. But that date is unlikely to come anytime soon.