Where Is Sports Betting Legal? A State-by-State Guide for NFL Bettors

Key takeaways

• Online: 31 states and Washington, DC have licensed online sportsbooks taking bets as of October 12, 2026. Wisconsin legalized online betting in April 2026, but it hasn’t launched.

• Retail only: eight states allow sports betting only in person, at casinos or lottery outlets. Wisconsin is one of them until its tribal apps go live.

• Not legal: 11 states have no legal sportsbook. Four of them, Texas, California, Georgia and Minnesota, are home to seven NFL teams.

• Age: it’s 21 in most states and 18 in five jurisdictions. Kentucky raised its age from 18 to 21 in 2026.

• Prediction markets: CFTC-regulated platforms operate in most states, including those with no sportsbook, but federal appeals courts have split on whether states can stop them.

Where sports betting is legal in the US

Sports betting is legal in some form in 39 states and Washington, DC. In 32 of those jurisdictions, 31 states plus DC, a bettor can use a licensed online sportsbook while physically inside the state. Eight states allow betting only at a casino or another licensed location, and 11 states don’t allow it at all.

A Chiefs fan in Kansas City, Missouri, has been able to bet on a phone since Missouri launched in December 2025, while a Cowboys fan in Dallas has no legal sportsbook to use. Packers and Seahawks fans can bet only at tribal casinos. Prediction markets regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) follow a separate map, set by federal law and by court cases that are still being decided.

How sports betting became legal state by state

Until 2018, a federal law called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) kept most states from authorizing sports betting, and Nevada was the only state with full-scale single-game wagering. On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court struck PASPA down in Murphy v. NCAA, and each state became free to decide for itself. New Jersey, which won the case, opened its first sportsbooks a month later. Since then, 38 more states and DC have legalized some form of sports betting, each with its own licensing rules and age limit.

Sports betting legal status in all 50 states and DC

The table shows each state’s status as of October 12, 2026. “Online” means at least one licensed online sportsbook is taking bets statewide, and most online states also have retail sportsbooks. The last column lists the state actions on prediction markets covered in this article; several other states have lawsuits or letters of their own.

States with legal online sports betting

Most of the 31 online states license several sportsbooks, so the big national apps compete for the same bettors. A few run a single operator: Florida’s only online sportsbook is Hard Rock Bet, run by the Seminole Tribe, and Delaware’s online betting runs through BetRivers. Missouri is the newest online market, launching on December 1, 2025, after voters approved sports betting in 2024. Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming have online betting but no retail sportsbooks.

A legal bet depends on where the bettor is physically located when the bet goes in. Sportsbook apps check a phone’s location before every bet and block anyone outside the state’s borders, so a visitor from Texas can bet in Kansas City and a Missouri resident can’t bet from a hotel in Dallas. The best sports betting apps guide covers the apps available in online states.

States with retail-only sports betting

Eight states allow sports betting only in person: Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. Mississippi’s sportsbooks are inside its casinos, and South Dakota limits betting to the casinos in Deadwood. Nebraska allows it at racetrack casinos, while Montana’s betting is regulated through the state lottery. New Mexico, North Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin allow sports betting only at tribal casinos, and each tribe sets its own rules, including the minimum age. Some of these states let bettors use a casino’s app while they’re on the property.

Gov. Tony Evers signed a law on April 9, 2026, that allows statewide online sports betting in Wisconsin, run by the state’s tribes, with the servers that take the bets located on tribal land. Each tribe has to amend its gaming compact with the state and clear a federal review before it can launch an app, and as of October 12 no statewide app is taking bets.

States where sports betting is not legal

There are 11 states with no legal sportsbook of any kind: Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah. Seven NFL teams play in four of them: the 49ers, Rams and Chargers in California, the Cowboys and Texans in Texas, the Falcons in Georgia and the Vikings in Minnesota.

Utah’s constitution bars the legislature from authorizing games of chance, so legal betting there would take a constitutional change. Bills have failed in several of the others, including Georgia, where a 2026 bill to put mobile betting under the state lottery didn’t advance.

Prediction markets operate in most of these states, because they’re overseen by the CFTC and argue that state gambling law doesn’t apply to them. FanDuel and DraftKings, which can’t run sportsbooks in these states, offer sports event contracts there through FanDuel Predicts and DraftKings Predictions. The prediction markets vs. sportsbooks guide explains how a contract on an NFL game is priced and what it costs compared with a sportsbook bet.

How prediction markets fit into state betting law

A prediction market lists event contracts, which pay $1 if an outcome happens and $0 if it doesn’t, on an exchange the CFTC has designated as a contract market. Kalshi was designated in November 2020, and Ludlow Exchange, LLC, which operates as Novig, was designated on June 16, 2026. These platforms argue that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive authority over their contracts, which would let them operate in states where sportsbooks can’t. Many states say a contract on an NFL game is a sports bet that needs a state license.

Court fights by federal circuit as of October 12, 2026

Federal appeals courts have split on that question, and each ruling binds the federal courts in its own circuit.

• Third Circuit (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania): sided with Kalshi on April 6, 2026, upholding an order that blocks New Jersey from enforcing its gaming law against Kalshi’s sports contracts. New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to review the case (No. 26-299), and Kalshi’s response is due November 9. The NFL submitted a brief in the case on October 8.

• Ninth Circuit (Nevada and eight other Western states): sided with Nevada on August 28, 2026, upholding a district court order that dissolved Kalshi’s injunction against the state.

• Sixth Circuit (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee): sided with Ohio and Tennessee on September 25, 2026. The panel held that Kalshi’s sports contracts aren’t swaps and that, even if they were, the Commodity Exchange Act doesn’t preempt either state’s gambling law.

• Fourth Circuit (Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia): Kalshi’s appeal of a 2025 ruling for Maryland was argued in May 2026 and hasn’t been decided.

State enforcement against prediction markets

Several states have moved against the platforms directly, and some of those actions name Novig. Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection issued cease-and-desist orders to nine platforms, Novig among them, in September 2026. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sent letters dated September 17 to six, including Novig, Kalshi and Polymarket. On October 2, the Ohio Casino Control Commission sent letters to 10 platforms, again including Novig, asking each to stop offering sports event contracts in Ohio and confirm it in writing by October 16.

State courts have also issued orders against Kalshi. A Massachusetts judge granted the state a preliminary injunction against Kalshi’s sports contracts in January 2026, and a Michigan judge did the same in September 2026, with a $500,000-per-day penalty for violations. North Carolina has gone the other way. A law taking effect on January 1, 2027, treats CFTC-registered prediction markets as lawful in the state and sets a tax on the trading fees they collect there.

Where Novig is available

Novig’s help center lists it as available in every state except Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, based on where a user is physically located at the time of a trade. That includes all 11 states without a legal sportsbook and all eight retail-only states. Novig requires users to be 21, and its listing hadn’t changed as of October 12, after the letters from Connecticut, Missouri and Ohio. The best NFL betting sites ranking compares it with sportsbooks and the other prediction markets.

Minimum betting age by state

The minimum age for sports betting is 21 in 31 states. Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Wyoming and Washington, DC set it at 18. In New Mexico, North Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin, where betting happens at tribal casinos, each tribe sets the age.

Kentucky had been the sixth jurisdiction at 18. House Bill 904 raised its sports betting age to 21, and the legislature passed it over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in April 2026. The new age took effect in July 2026.

Prediction markets set their own minimums. Kalshi accepts users at 18, ProphetX requires 18 or the local age of majority, whichever is higher, and Novig requires 21.

Help with problem gambling

The National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738).

Where is sports betting legal? FAQ

Is sports betting legal in my state?

As of October 12, 2026, 31 states and Washington, DC allow online sports betting, eight allow it only in person, and 11 don’t allow it. The table above lists every state.

How many states have legal online sports betting?

There are 31 states plus Washington, DC. Wisconsin legalized online betting in April 2026, but no statewide app had launched as of October 12.

Which states don’t allow sports betting?

Alabama, Alaska, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah have no legal sportsbook.

Can I bet on NFL games while visiting a state where it’s legal?

Yes. Sportsbook apps go by your physical location, so a visitor can bet while physically inside a legal state and can’t once they leave it.

What is the legal age to bet on sports?

It’s 21 in most states. Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Wyoming and Washington, DC allow betting at 18, and Kentucky moved from 18 to 21 in July 2026.

Are prediction markets legal in states without sportsbooks?

CFTC-regulated prediction markets operate in most states, including the 11 with no legal sportsbook. Whether states can stop them is unsettled: the Third Circuit sided with Kalshi, the Sixth and Ninth Circuits sided with the states, and New Jersey has asked the Supreme Court to take the question.

Is Novig available in every state?

No. Novig’s help center lists it in every state except Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, and it requires users to be 21. Connecticut, Missouri and Ohio have sent it cease-and-desist letters.