Understanding New Sports Betting Rules

The Supreme Court recently ruled favorably towards sports betting, making it easier than ever for states to pass their own sports betting laws to make sports betting legal. With that said, not every state throughout the country is going to legalize sports betting, and even with the states that do, many are going to take some time to pass the new laws into effect.

There are essentially three different types of states when it comes to the sports betting ruling. Some that were ready to make sports betting legal already, and that were just waiting for the Supreme Court to pass a favorable law on the subject. Those that have been considering sports betting and aren’t quite done with deliberation just yet, and those that haven’t even broached the subject. That’s why, things look very different for sports betting depending on the state that you live in. Below is a state-by-state breakdown of sports betting and what you can expect over the next year or so.

Alabama

Currently all forms of gambling are prohibited under the state constitution and there’s no chance of that changing until at least March of 2019. The governor’s office doesn’t currently have any plans of making changes either, so it could be quite some time for sports betting to come to Alabama.

Alaska

According to a spokesperson for Governor Bill Walker no legislation has gone into affect concerning sports betting and the subject hasn’t come up when looking at changes to be made in the state.

Arizona

In Arizona sports betting won’t be legal until the state changes it’s laws, and there are no plans currently to change any sports-betting related laws. With that said, Governor Doug Ducey is looking closely at the Tribal-State Gaming Compact and working on expanding tribal sports betting to open up areas for citizens to wager throughout the state.

Arkansas

Arkansas has historically opposed all forms of wagering within the state other than the education lottery, but it is taking a look at sports betting after seeing the Supreme Court’s ruling. There are currently no changes planned for gambling law within the state though.

California

Governor Adam Gray has spoken about sports betting in the past and is in favor of it. A Constitutional Amendment has been introduced for sports betting and it should be expanded and regulated throughout the state in the coming years. The only issue is whether Native Americans will hold exclusive rights to casinos in the state or not.

Colorado

In Colorado the constitution explicitly says spots betting is illegal, and a vote of the people is required to legalize it. There is no information about whether this will occur in the future and no guarantee the state will see legal sports wagering.

Connecticut

Governor Dannel Malloy is planning to call in the General Assembly to consider making sports betting legal. This is something that could happen quickly for the state, but there is no guarantee currently.

Delaware

Delaware already had minor sports betting in place, but will launch full scale sports betting sometime in June. Players within the state should be some of the first to enjoy legalized sports betting of all types in Delaware.

Florida

In Florida, any new gambling laws must be passed by a voter referendum, so the Florida Legislature must make new changes if any are to happen for sports wagering.

Georgia

Currently there isn’t an legislation around sports betting in Georgia and nothing will be considered by the state until January of 2019.

Hawaii

In Hawaii a commission is being established to examine sports betting and whether it would be beneficial to the state or not. This will determine what sort of legal action around the subject occurs in the future.

Idaho

Governor Butch isn’t interested in bringing sports betting to players around Idaho, so it’s unlikely that any sort of pro-gambling initiative is going to pass there. The Governor is supportive of the horse betting industry there though, and that might see expanded privileges.

Illinois

Illinois is poised to begin taking advantage of sports betting as much as possible thanks to a few different pending bills in place at the moment. Not only is sports betting going to be separated from other forms of wagering legally within the state, but there is going to be a push to start making it possible to give out licenses for sports betting. A tax amount of 12.5% has already been established for operators and citizens should be able to start wagering on sporting events pretty soon.

Indiana

Sports betting has a promising future in Indiana and there are already steps in place to push a bill through to allow a vote for sports wagering in the state next year. There is no guarantee that a vote will be successful though. The best-case scenario will make sports wagering legal in Indiana by September of 2019, so there is still quite a bit of waiting left to do.

Iowa

Any sports betting laws won’t have a chance to pass until 2019 when the legislature convenes to talk about the latest bills. There is a push in place to try and encourage sports betting, but the Governor is still exploring options and isn’t going to necessarily go ahead with sports betting, even though the Supreme Court’s decisions was favorable for the activity.

Kansas

Kansas is working on getting together bills for sports betting, but there are still multiple ideas about where sports betting should occur. Currently there is a debate between betting solely at racetracks and betting at other locations as well. Either way, there is a wait until next year before any of that can be sorted out, so players in Kansas will have to wait until at least 2019 before they can legally wager on sporting events.

Kentucky

The state has existing laws that should make sports betting legal at race tracks. The governor isn’t sure about how sports betting will continue in the state in the future and there are likely to be some policy changes in the coming year concerning sports wagering in the state.

Louisiana

Though attempts have been made to push through sports betting in Louisiana, nothing has been approved yet. A special committee is looking into sports wagering and might develop a new policy toward the gambling in the coming weeks, but it could take some time before sports wagering is legal in Louisiana.

Maine

No sports betting laws are being considered currently and the state is still examining whether or not it makes sense to allow such wagers to occur. It could be a long time before sports betting is legal in this state and there is no guarantee that it will ever be.

Maryland

Bills that would have put sports betting to a vote weren’t passed through the legislature. Instead the issue is going to be debated next year and citizens won’t know any more on the matter until that point.

Massachusetts

There is currently a special committee in place that’s studying whether or not it makes sense to pass sports betting laws and to allow these types of wagers within the state. Even if the committee says that it is a good idea, lawmakers would have to debate specifics and decide if they want to even allow sports betting to occur. It could be a long-term process making it legal within the state.

Michigan

There are currently eight different bills all looking to expand gambling within Michigan. Several of these are directly related to sports betting. None of these bills have been passed through the Senate and House of Representatives though, so there is no way to know if sports betting is going to be legalized or not. More bills are being considered currently as well.

Minnesota

Though politicians are pushing for sports betting to be legalized within Minnesota, the legislature hasn’t yet considered a bill that would make the action legal. That means it will likely take until next year before the issue is even debated and it could be several years before sports betting is legalized if it is at all.

Mississippi

Sports betting was legalized by the Mississippi Legislature last year, though most casinos don’t have it active just yet. Lawmakers expect casinos to be offering sports betting as soon as 45 days from the Supreme Court ruling. Gamblers that want to take advantage of sports betting should look to local casinos over the next few months.

Missouri

There were three bills related to sports betting brought to the legislature but none of them have passed through far enough for consideration. The issue is effectively on hold until session in January of 2019, which is when it’s possible sports betting could be legalized or at least debated about a bit more.

Montana

Some sports wagering is legal in Montana currently, including things like fantasy sports leagues. That doesn’t include every type of sports wagering though and there is no information about how the Supreme Court ruling will have an affect on these laws if it does at all.

Nebraska

The Governor is firmly against sports wagering in the state and doesn’t have any plans to change that in the future. That means that it’s unlikely that the activity is going to become legal anytime soon within the state.

Nevada

It’s already fully legal within the state and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Enjoy!

New Hampshire

Sports betting won’t be considered until 2019 but the Governor is favorable on the idea and has confidence that it will have a good shot of being passed.

New Jersey

Sports wagering is expected to be available within the state soon, regulations are being put in place to make sure it’s safe and reliable for everyone.

New Mexico

The state isn’t currently considering the issue and it might not in the future either. There is no way of knowing if it’s going to be legalized here in the coming years.

New York

Though Governor Cuomo is open to the idea of sports wagering within the state, he isn’t in a hurry to pass a law that would make it legal. The issue won’t be considered until 2019.

North Carolina

Progress towards legal sports betting in the state is expected to be slow and nothing is being considered currently.

North Dakota

There aren’t any bills that currently consider sports betting and there currently aren’t plans for any in the future, though the governor is open to the idea.

Ohio

The Governor is in no rush to legalize sports wagering and won’t be considering sports betting in the near future.

Oklahoma

At one point Oklahoma was considering a change to legal language that would legalize sports betting. The language was changed further to just expand casino games and sports betting isn’t being considered currently.

Oregon

There aren’t any sports betting bills being considered currently and there is no reason to expect that to change.

Pennsylvania

There’s a law in place that would allow sports betting thanks to the Supreme Court’s ruling, but there are some pretty harsh requirements for betting operators that would try to run an operation within the state.

Rhode Island

Sports betting should become available at casinos throughout the state soon, though no wagering on collegiate level sports is prohibited.

South Carolina

Legalizing sports betting is being considered strongly, though nothing can happen until next year.

South Dakota

There isn’t any active legislation for sports betting in the state and there isn’t any reason to think that will change next year.

Tennessee

The Senator Brian Kelsey plans to push legislation that will make sports betting legal and will give the proceeds to education. No constitutional amendment should be necessary in order to make this happen, so it could happen quickly.

Texas

Nothing is being considered currently and the state isn’t likely to rush toward legal sports betting either. It could be years before anything is even considered.

Utah

The Governor doesn’t plan on bringing sports betting to people in Utah anytime soon. The legislative session is over and nothing is being considered currently and it seems very unlikely.

Vermont

Sports betting isn’t likely to become legal anytime soon and the state isn’t considering any legal bills that would approve it. There could be a debate next year, but it’s unlikely.

Washington

The state requires a 60 percent majority vote from the state legislature in order to pass sports betting. This is something that will be looked at more next year.

West Virginia

There was already a bill in place and the state was just waiting for the Supreme Court’s ruling. Now that it’s gone through sports betting should become legal within the state soon, so look to local casinos.

Wisconsin

It’s possible that tribal casinos could seek to get their laws modified to allow them to offer sports betting. There aren’t any pending legal decisions around sports betting though.

Wyoming

No legislature around sports betting is being considered currently and there’s no reason to expect that to change in the future.