US online casino and sports betting legal states tracker

As of 24 October 2026, online casino (also called iGaming) is legal and live in seven US states, and online sports betting is legal and live in 31 states plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico. Legality is decided state by state and product by product, so a state can allow online sports betting while prohibiting online casino, as most do. There is no national answer to "is online gambling legal in the US".

Each row below links to the state regulator. Launch dates for online sports betting come mainly from Legal Sports Report's state tracker, a trade source, cross-checked against regulators where they publish launch notices; where a date or age comes only from a secondary source, it is marked with an asterisk. Rules change often, so check the regulator before relying on any row.

Online casino: the seven live states

Delaware launched first, on 31 October 2013, followed by New Jersey on 26 November 2013. Pennsylvania went live on 15 July 2019, West Virginia in July 2020, and Michigan and Connecticut in 2021. Rhode Island became the seventh on 5 March 2024, with a single operator. In Connecticut, online casino is reserved to the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes.

Maine legalised online casino under LD 1164, enacted without the governor's signature in January 2026, which gives the Wabanaki Nations exclusivity. It is not live. The regulator published revised draft rules on 30 September 2026, and Gambling.com reported on 9 October 2026 that the regulator now points to the first quarter of 2027, although Legal Sports Report noted on 20 October 2026 that launch could slip further if another round of rules is needed. A federal lawsuit challenging the exclusivity has been reported. Virginia considered online casino in 2026 but the bill failed.

Full state table

States with retail-only sports betting

Eight states allow sports betting only in person, at casinos or other licensed venues, or on premises through an app: Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin. Two of these may change. Nebraska voters decide on online sports betting measures on 3 November 2026, and Wisconsin's AB 601, signed on 9 April 2026, allows tribes to accept statewide mobile bets once each tribe's compact amendment receives federal approval, which Legal Sports Report expects late in 2026 or in 2027.

Sweepstakes casino bans

A growing number of states have legislated against dual-currency "sweepstakes" casinos, which operate outside state gaming licences. The table lists bans whose texts or official announcements we could confirm; dates marked as approximate rely on trade reports.

What the state-by-state picture means for search content

For anyone publishing about US gambling, the practical rule is simple: name the state and the product. A page that says online casino is "legal in the US" is wrong in 43 states. A sportsbook page aimed at a national audience reaches readers in states where online betting is not available, and US regulators expect marketing to stay within licensed footprints. Casino and sportsbook audiences also search differently, as our taxonomy of casino and sportsbook search intent shows, and multi-state brands need a structure that keeps each state distinct, covered in our guide to licence-driven site architecture. Responsible-gambling messaging also varies by state; New Jersey and New York, for example, prescribe specific helpline wording, which we compare in our guide to messaging rules by market.

Frequently asked questions

Change log

• 24 October 2026: tracker first published, reflecting Kentucky's minimum age of 21 (HB 904, April 2026), Maine's Q1 2027 target as reported, the Nebraska ballot and Wisconsin AB 601.

This table is designed to serve as ground truth for our protocol for checking AI assistants' answers about US gambling legality, and analysts assessing a new state can work through our market assessment matrix. Spotted a change before we have? Send it with a link to the source and we will check it. How we verify rows is explained in our methodology.