Is Sports Gambling Legal in the United States In 2024?
Yes. International sportsbook sites can be accessed in the United States and there are no federal or state gambling laws in place to prevent them from taking bets over the Internet. CT and WA feature prohibitions on all online gaming, but those laws target illegal operators, and thus, we’ve yet to hear any record of bettors being arrested in those states.
Following the 2018 SCOTUS repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), each state was granted the right to decide how they wanted to proceed with sports betting regulations.
Domestic sports gambling is now a feature of over 20 states in the USA, and each year, more are added the list. Each state differs, as they can decide their own minimum age to participate, and whether or not they want to offer their sports gambling services via online, in-person, mobile, or a combination thereof.
States With Legal Sports Gambling
There are no laws in place that ban online sports gambling via an international sportsbook site in 49 out of the 50 states in the USA. Washington passed laws that prohibit online gambling of any kind, but these laws have gone unenforced, and furthermore, the online sports betting sites we recommend above accept members from this state. In addition, WA is in the process of establishing their own online sports betting infrastructure, which will render the previous law null and void.
The reason for this is that the United States has no jurisdiction over the online international sportsbooks we recommend and cannot prevent bettors inside the USA from doing business with a legitimate offshore sports betting site.
Despite the lack of enforcement of these gambling laws in WA, we advise reviewing and following all local and federal gaming regulations before placing a bet on sports in your state.
How To Gamble On Sports
If you are on American soil, as long as you have some money to risk and meet the minimum age requirements, legal betting on sports is an option. There are several venues that will allow for gambling on sports across the USA, but what is available to each bettor differs from state to state (see the two sections above).
Before placing a wager on a game, gamblers should become familiar with the sport they are betting on and, more importantly, must know how betting odds work.
A standard betting line for a game or athletic contest will typically include the point spread, money line odds for winners, and the over-under.
This is the amount of points that a team is expected to win or lose by. Underdogs are represented by a positive spread and must lose by less than the amount for bets on them to win. Favored teams are listed in the negative and must win by more than that amount to payout.
These odds allow for bets to be made on the team that will win the game. The team with the lower odds is favored to win. Positive money line odds payout at more than the amount wagered (ex. +350 will payout at 3.5 to 1), while negative odds require more risk than reward (ex. -400 pays out at $1 per $4).
This type of wager asks gamblers to select whether or not they think the total amount of points scored by both teams will equal a number that is higher or lower than the line set by oddsmakers.
There are also futures odds that compile at least two competitors into one bet and place money line odds next to each option that suggests their overall chance of victory.
Combination bets are also available via parlays, teasers, and pleasers. These wagers combine two or more bets into one to increase the odds and payouts. If one element of the bet fails, the entire wager fails. Teasers allow bettors to move the odds to their liking, while pleasers allow the book to adjust the lines.
How To Sign Up With An Online Sportsbook
There are a few easy steps to signing up with a legal online sports betting site:
- Locate the join button at the top of the page and click it
- Enter the info required to create an account and submit
- Make a deposit into your online bankroll
- Consider cryptocurrency and Bitcoin (BTC) for the fastest and most secure transactions available.
- Don’t forget to investigate the deposit bonus offers that are available at each sportsbook site
- Visit the sportsbook and place your bets!
What Sports Can I Gamble On Right Now?
The best part about the betting odds for college or pro sports are that they can be gambled on at any time of year, even during the offseason. When the season is in-play, there’ll be lines for individual games, Super Bowl futures, and prop bets that can cover any aspect of the television broadcast of a given sport.
When the season is over, futures odds will remain on the boards for the following year, but the only kicker is, they often don’t pay out for several months.
Below are the most popular sports to bet on at overseas sports betting sites:
March Madness Betting
Entertainment Odds
NHL Games
UFC Odds
NBA Odds
Are Sports Gambling Websites Legitimate & Safe To Use?
Yes, as long as you narrow your options to the choices we’ve provided above. Not all online sportsbook sites are legitimate and trustworthy, and that is exactly why we’ve done the legwork and provided the absolute best sports gambling sites in the industry for your convenience.
These offshore sports betting websites have been vetted to ensure that they include reliable customer service, banking options that allow for fast deposits and withdrawals, and a selection of betting odds for the most popular sports occurring on the planet, including college and pro, as well as political betting and entertainment odds.
Best Sports Gambling Apps
Some states that have regulated domestic sports betting have approved of mobile sportsbook apps that allows gambling on the go via downloadable applications.
The offshore sportsbooks that we recommend here also provide mobile sports betting, but you can skip the download because they are web-based. That means that their entire sportsbooks can be accessed on the go using web browsers via iPhones, iPads, and Android devices.
These applications also grant access to any other online service that these sportsbooks provide, including poker rooms and casino games.
Sports Gambling FAQs
Legal Sports Gambling Information Resources