States With Legal Sports Betting

You'll notice on BettingLegal.com that we make it known the distinct difference between land-based sports betting and online sports betting in the United States. It needs to be this way for a few reasons.

First, there are different laws governing the type of practice of the different betting arenas. What is legal for one aspect might not necessarily be legal for another aspect.

Second, online betting sites have the ability to affect and reach many more people in the U.S. than land-based sportsbooks, which is a testament to the growing nature of betting on the Internet.

As we further our discussion regarding states with where sports betting is legal, and other things like U.S. betting laws, we are going to attack it by land and thru the web. The ways in which sports betting can be done by way of a land-based sportsbook aren't as extensive as the ways it can be done online.

States With Legal Land-Based Sports Betting

The Professional And Amateur Sports Protection Act is highlighted when we discuss land-based sports betting in the United States. It's a law established at the federal level, and was implemented back in 1992. Per this piece of legislation, sport betting was made illegal in all states but four. It was only because of the fact that these four states chose to pursue the stipulation from PASPA that allotted for a period of one year for states to apply for immunity to be grandfathered in. There were rules with this immunity though, of which the most important one was the 10-year licensed gaming that had to be in each state prior to the introduction of the bill.

Which states opted for this? Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware. Yes that right, only four states are able to have legal betting on sporting events under PASPA. If you do the math that means that 46 other states are left off this list. Less than 10 percent of the states in the U.S. can have legal sports betting with PASPA in effect.

Legal Betting Sites That Take Players From The U.S.

Online sports betting is an entirely different animal. It's similar in the sense that there are laws against sports betting site in the U.S. It's different though because the online world extends well beyond the borders of the United States. This is where things change. Whereas just four states have legal land-based sports betting, all 50 states are legally allowed to play at online sportsbooks that accept them.

States won't find regulated sportsbooks within the U.S., but they will find regulated sportsbooks outside of the U.S. There is no federal level law banning an online sports bet, the laws only discuss sports betting site from the perspective of the business and how it's run. This would be the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, and the Federal Wire Act.

There are examples of some states that might not be accepted at various online sportsbooks offshore, but on the whole, all 50 states are accepted at a variety of different sports betting sites, for which they can sign up and bet money on any line that is offered to them there.

If you'd like to learn more about if it is legal to bet in the U.S. - click here

Future Of Legal Sports Betting In The U.S.

We've seen recent progression for online gambling regulation in the United States from the standpoint of poker and casinos - sports betting has seemingly been left on the back burner. But betting on sports is different than a casino or poker game, because the outcomes are based on real people performing. Regulation of poker sites and casinos will come before sports betting, and actually have in fact already started to come on a grander scale.

In New Jersey, plans to have the 12 casinos in Atlantic City have online casinos mirroring them is in plan, and expected to be ready to go by late 2013 or early 2014. This will include casino games and poker, but sports betting continues to be left off the list. It's no matter though, as offshore sportsbook provide the desire that is not being met here in the United States. The sports gambling industry continues to be a draw for American bettors as long as users will not get into any trouble when betting at these websites.