Expanding your sports betting business in the U.S. market comes with many questions: Where is Sports Betting legal? Which are the states that allow sports betting? And what types?
As more U.S. states prepare to go live with arguably the biggest potential in North America, there is plenty of room for new entrants. Currently, there are about 30 states where sports betting is legal, including 19 that have made online sports gambling legal. This means more than 100 million Americans can place a legal wager where they live.
Some states only allow certain types of sports betting—retail, online or mobile—while others have opened their arms to brands and suppliers to offer U.S. customers betting and gaming opportunities.
The U.S. has had a long history of gambling and sports betting, with a veritable tug-of-war happening between gambling laws and the people who want to enjoy betting in various forms.
Throughout it all, the American appetite for it remains as voracious as ever, and attitudes have shifted in favour of allowing U.S. states to establish their own legislation—without federal intervention.
Late summer 2018 was a landmark moment for the industry, with the Garden State spearheading the movement that led to the Supreme Court striking down PASPA on 10th Amendment constitutional grounds.
Since then, revenues have exploded. In 2020, New Jersey was approaching 1bn USD in online casino GGR, and the state alone is one of the world’s largest online gaming markets. Across the U.S., the industry grew to a whopping 6bn USD in 2020, with multiple states setting new records.
Since sports betting was made legal in 2018, sports betting statistics have shown that the industry has been growing at an unprecedented rate, mostly due to technical advancements and access to one crucial tool: data.
Today, data is the fuel that powers sports betting. The U.S., especially, is seeing sports betting data rise in importance, not only in the last five years but practically on a month-by-month basis.
OddsMatrix estimates that sports data feeds will be a vital asset for emerging sports betting businesses in the U.S. in the months and years to come, as new operators look to gain a vital insight into the market and player preferences.
Operators, leagues, and media brands are counting on automated, low-latency feeds for their insights. As the industry grows, it continues to demand highly accurate odds and markets to attract, engage, and retain millions of sports fans 24/7. Catering to these demands is the only way to both attract and retain a sizable player base, something that every emerging U.S. market will want to do.
Depending on what forms of sports betting are legalized in a state, there are a few primary methods in which bettors can place wagers: at retail/land-based venues and online.
Retail, land-based properties include casinos, racinos, horse racing tracks, sports stadiums, and even select OTB parlours and retail facilities. Online wagering affords bettors with varying degrees of convenience, depending on how restrictive a state’s sports betting regulations are. Mobile and online bettors are not allowed to place interstate wagers.
In the legal sports betting industry’s fourth year, states that offer both retail and online or mobile sports betting show a clear trend. U.S. bettors prefer mobile betting by a significant margin.
Five of the biggest sports betting markets in the U.S. saw online betting handles accounting for 87% or more of the overall betting handle: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana, and Illinois.
Erik Nyman, President Americas at OddsMatrix’s mother company, predicts that the U.S. will become “a more successful online operation than European countries as with only a handful of states live, the U.S. market will outgrow Europe shortly, with far fewer people.”
The list of legal sports betting states continues to grow. Hardly a month goes by without new legislation being proposed or an active bill being passed. Currently, it’s up to 30 states and Washington, DC, but the official launch is still pending in some spots.
Legal online sports betting is available in 19 states, and efforts are underway to make it a reality in Ohio and Maryland.
Source: American Gaming
“Live, Legal” denotes states where single-game sports betting is legally offered to consumers through retail and/or online sportsbooks. States classified as “Legal – Not Yet Operational” have authorized sports betting but have yet to launch it. “Active or Pre-Filed Legislation” denotes jurisdictions where bills to legalize single-game sports betting have been pre-filed/introduced in the state legislature or where a voter referendum is scheduled.
Here’s a list that shows what states have legal sports betting, as well as what types:
| State | Online | Mobile | Retail |
| Arizona | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Arkansas |
| ⬥ ^ | ⬥ |
| Colorado | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Connecticut | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ |
| Delaware | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ |
| Illinois | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Indiana | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Iowa | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Louisiana | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ |
| Maryland | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ |
| Michigan | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Mississippi | ⬥* | ⬥* | ⬥ |
| Montana | ⬥* ‘ | ⬥* ‘ | ⬥* ‘ |
| Nebraska |
|
| ⬥ ^ |
| Nevada |
| ⬥ | ⬥ |
| New Hampshire | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| New Jersey | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| New Mexico |
|
| ⬥ |
| New York | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| North Carolina |
|
| ⬥ |
| Ohio | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ | ⬥ ^ |
| Oklahoma |
| ⬥* | ⬥ |
| Oregon | ⬥ ‘ | ⬥ ‘ | ⬥ ‘ |
| Pennsylvania | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Rhode Island | ⬥ ‘ | ⬥ ‘ | ⬥ ‘ |
| South Dakota |
|
| ⬥ |
| Tennessee | ⬥ | ⬥ |
|
| Virginia | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ ^ |
| Washington DC | ⬥ ‘ | ⬥ ‘ | ⬥ ‘ |
| Washington | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| West Virginia | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
| Wisconsin |
|
| ⬥ |
| Wyoming | ⬥ | ⬥ | ⬥ |
⬥Legal
^ Legal but not live yet
* Only available when on licenced premises
‘ Only available through state-owned operators
OddsMatrix is the EveryMatrix sportsbook solution designed to provide all the necessary tools to help operators expand their sports business and increase profits. It combines modern front-end and sophisticated back-office to offer complete customizability, support, and monitoring.
OddsMatrix sports data feed API offers extensive odds, fixtures, stats, scores, and settlements for the most popular tournaments and betting markets inside and outside the U.S. We provide secure, time-tested data, delivering real-time odds for both live and pre-live events.
As a company expanding its portfolio to include betting data on U.S.-popular sports, you need to know more than just the answer to “Where is online Sports Betting legal?” You need the right partner to help you tackle challenges and provide you with accurate data feed covering odds, fixtures, scores and settlement on U.S. popular sports. Someone who can provide you with know-how on how to structure and offer U.S. sports and how to tap into very specific U.S. sports fan cultures across multiple countries.
In 2022 and beyond, data-driven technology will continue to drive growth and innovation, highlighting the punters’ thirst for U.S. sports-data driven wagering. Get in touch with us, and let’s identify the choices and support that empower you to thrive and be highly profitable in your markets.
Disclaimer: The information in this article might have changed since the time of its publication. Get in touch with us today if you wish to and find out more about the OddsMatrix sports data feed and API services.
