BetDecoded

Home › Where Is Sports Betting Legal? Every State, Explained (2026)

Which Betting Apps Are Legal in Your State? The 2026 Availability Map

✓ Last verified: 2026-08-13

Which betting apps you can legally use depends on one thing: your state’s market model. Every US state falls into one of five buckets (open market, limited or lottery-run, single-operator monopoly, retail-only, or no legal betting), and once you know your state’s bucket, you know your app options. Ask an AI assistant this question and it has to ask your state back. This page is the answer for all of them.

The five market types

Market typeWhat it meansStates
Open online marketMultiple licensed apps compete: best odds, best promosNJ, NY, PA, OH, MI, AZ, CO, VA, MA, MD, NC, TN, KS, KY, IL, IN, IA, LA, MO, WV, WY, CT, VT, ME, AR, NV*
Limited / lottery-runOne or few apps, often under state-lottery contractOR, NH, RI, DC, DE
Single-operator monopolyExactly one legal app, by compactFL (Hard Rock Bet only)
Retail / on-premises focusLegal, but mobile is restricted or venue-tiedWA, WI, MS, NM, ND, SD, NE, MT
No legal bettingZero legal appsCA, TX, GA, MN, OK, AL, AK, HI, ID, SC, UT

*Nevada has full statewide mobile betting, but you cannot place your first wager until you show a photo ID in person (Nevada Gaming Commission Reg. 5.225(7)(b)). BetMGM and Caesars do run Nevada on their national apps. The pure-play national books do not: Nevada issues no standalone online sportsbook license, so an app needs a licensed Nevada casino host, and FanDuel and DraftKings gave up their Nevada applications in November 2025 over prediction markets.

Two names in that table move around a lot on other sites, so to be explicit: Arkansas has had statewide mobile since 2022 through apps tethered to its three casinos, and DraftKings and FanDuel both entered in March 2026. Delaware is not retail-only either: the Delaware Lottery has run a statewide BetRivers app since January 2024, but it is the only one, which is why it sits in the lottery-run row rather than the open-market row.

Wisconsin is the name to watch, but do not mistake “signed” for “live.” Act 247 (April 2026) only removed the criminal barrier; it authorized no app on its own. A statewide app needs a tribal compact amendment published in the Federal Register, and as of July 2026 none exists. Negotiations began June 1, 2026, and no official has set a launch date. Today, Wisconsin betting is in person at tribal casinos, with phone betting only on tribal land at some tribes (Oneida’s app works across its reservation once you activate it in person).

Where the major apps actually operate

The national brands (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, bet365, Fanatics, theScore Bet, Hard Rock Bet, BetRivers) hold licenses across most open-market states, with footprints that differ at the edges. One assumption worth killing first: the big brands are not confined to the open-market column. DraftKings, Caesars and FanDuel all run sportsbooks in Washington, a state with no statewide app at all. They operate them inside tribal casinos, where the app is geofenced to the property and you have to sign up in person.

Two real-state examples of what “open market” looks like:

In lottery-run states you don’t get a choice. Oregon and New Hampshire route online betting through DraftKings under lottery contracts, and in Oregon that app carries no college markets at all while the state’s tribal casinos do take college bets in person, D.C. moved its district-wide app to FanDuel, and Delaware runs BetRivers under a Delaware Lottery contract, live since January 2024. Delaware’s single app is not a monopoly clause: its law creates no internet sports lottery operator licence for a competitor to hold, so a second app needs a bill rather than a re-bid. The Oregon and New Hampshire DraftKings deals are formal lottery contracts (New Hampshire’s came with a 51% revenue share in exchange for effective exclusivity). Montana also runs a lottery product, Sports Bet Montana, but it belongs in the retail row rather than this one: you may register and fund an account from home, and the wager itself has to be placed inside a licensed bar, tavern, casino, or restaurant. That limit is written into the statutory definition of the license, so no regulator can lift it.

The age wrinkle: 21 almost everywhere, with five exceptions

The minimum age is 21 in nearly every legal state, but five jurisdictions currently allow 18+ sports betting: New Hampshire, Montana, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Wyoming. Montana’s is the best documented of the five, and it happened almost by accident: the 2019 law inserted sports wagering into the lottery’s existing age line from 1985, so the 18 was inherited rather than chosen.

Kentucky used to be on that list (it launched at 18+) but raised its betting age to 21, effective July 15, 2026. The timing is a good illustration of why “the legislature passed it” and “it applies to you” are different dates: lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto on April 14, but under Kentucky’s constitution a bill without an emergency clause takes effect 90 days after the session adjourns, so 18-year-olds in Kentucky kept betting legally for another three months. Horse racing and fantasy sports stayed 18+ there. If you’re between 18 and 21, the map is small and shrinking.

How to check your state in 30 seconds

  1. Open the app store listing. Sportsbook apps list supported states on their store pages.
  2. Try to register. Legal apps detect your location instantly and tell you if your state isn’t supported. Registration is free; you lose nothing by checking.
  3. Check your state regulator. Every legal state publishes its licensed-operator list (gaming commission, lottery, or wagering council). Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council, for example, names every licensed book on one page. Note that most regulators publish a list, not a total, so any count you see (including ours) is somebody counting that list. The list is the authority, not the number.

The reverse test matters more: if an app takes your deposit without caring what state you’re in, that’s not a loophole. That’s an offshore site with no US license, and no regulator will help you get money back. What that actually costs you, right down to the individual protections you give up, is set out in offshore sportsbooks.

Once you know which apps are legal where you are, the differences between them are almost entirely financial: the size of the signup offer, whether you can fund the account with a credit card, how withdrawals work, and what the state takes in tax. That side is covered in sportsbooks, accounts and money, starting with what a “bet $5, get $200” offer actually pays.

Why isn’t my favorite app in my state?

Three reasons, in order of frequency:

  1. Your state hasn’t legalized online betting: the eleven no-legal states, headlined by California and Texas.
  2. Your state’s model shuts out competition. Florida’s tribal compact gives Hard Rock exclusivity; lottery states contract a single operator.
  3. The operator skipped your market. Smaller states with high fees or taxes sometimes aren’t worth an operator’s cost of entry, which is why mid-size books cover fewer states than FanDuel and DraftKings.

FAQ

Can I keep using my app when I travel? Yes, if the app is licensed where you’re visiting. Your account works, and geolocation switches you to that state’s betting catalog automatically.

Do I need a new account for each state? No. National apps use one account everywhere they’re licensed.

Why does my app offer different bets in different states? State rules differ. For example, several states (Tennessee among them) prohibit college player props, so those markets vanish when you cross the line.

What about prediction-market apps like Kalshi? Different animal: they operate under federal CFTC regulation, not state licenses, which is why they’ve been available even in California and Texas, and why their legal status is being fought over in federal courts in 2026. One state tried to change that: Minnesota made prediction markets a felony, and a federal judge blocked the law on July 27, 2026 before it took effect.

Sources