42 States Have or Have Pending Sportsbook Legislation

The US Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting on May 2018. Since then, 11 states passed sportsbook legislation. They include New Jersey and New York. However, their laws do vary.

Also, seven states have already made sports betting legal. However, they are still preparing for their launch dates. Their governments are making sure all rules are set and the sportsbook software solution is ready to take on bets.

In addition, 24 states have pending sports betting legislation. Most of these states have proposed bills and are awaiting approval from their state legislatures before a vote. In fact, a political forum learned that Colorado will include sports betting on the public ballot after its governor signed the sports betting law.

Sportsbook Legislations in the United States

Only eight states are not moving towards the wagering on sports events. They don’t see the value of having sports betting in their territories.

The only dark cloud on the sports betting industry is the Department of Justice’s new ruling on the Wire Act. Passed in 1961, its goal is to stop organized crime. However, it came before the Internet era.

In 2011, the Obama administration gave a ruling that the Wire Act didn’t apply to online gambling. However, the DOJ changed the ruling in 2018 and stated the Wire Act covered all forms of online gambling.

New Hampshire challenged the DOJ ruling, and a federal judged said that the Wire Act only covered sports betting that crosses state borders. However, some sportsbook news analysts are still waiting for a final ruling on the Wire Act.

Arkansas was one of the states that approved sports betting in 2018. However, the expanded casino gaming law didn’t allow for online and mobile sports wagering. Licenses were limited to existing casinos in the state.

It is a different story for Illinois. The state legislature passed a bill legalizing both retail and online sports betting. However, online betting will have a delayed launch to give casinos a head start. As of press time, pay per head bookie reviews sites are still waiting for a launch date for sportsbooks in Illinois.