The Biggest Sports Betting States in the US

Sports betting is growing fast in the United States, with more and more Americans now able to have a legal wager on the big game as a result of states relaxing their rules around the activity.

While it is hard to imagine sports betting ever being legal in every single state, it seems likely that most Americans will be able to bet legally within the next few years or so.

Many states are working on changes to legislation to allow sports betting via the internet and this list of legal sports betting sites is a good place to start for anyone considering starting out.

Here are the five biggest sports betting states in America right now.

• Nevada

When it comes to gambling, there is nowhere more natural to start than in the state of Nevada.

With Las Vegas arguably being the gambling capital of the whole world, it was no surprise to see Nevada was the quickest state in America to legalise online sports betting as well. While heading to a casino is always going to be one of the most popular ways to have a bet in Nevada due to the propensity of options in Vegas, sports betting is a viable alternative in the state too.

There are numerous mobile betting apps available to people in Nevada, providing a quick and easy way to place a sports bet while out and about or on the move. Mobile sports betting is expected by many people to be the future of the industry, with Nevada continuing to set a course for the gambling sector that many American states will be following in the near future.

Nevada has been setting records for sports betting in America over the past few years and it seems safe to say Nevada’s approach to the industry is likely to be replicated across the US. As well as sports betting, Nevada is one of the US states to have opened the door to online poker, which is also set to spread at a rapid rate across the US over the course of the coming years.

• Pennsylvania

While few states have been able to keep up with Nevada when it comes to the gambling industry, Pennsylvania is one that is on its tail thanks to the fast pace of regulation changes.

In Pennsylvania, a land-based sportsbook based at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course became the first place where people could go to place a legal sports bet in 2018, with the first online sports betting site and mobile app following a year later. It is already the case that well over half of sports bets in Pennsylvania are being placed through the internet. 

Users in the Keystone State have the choice of over a dozen different operators for sports bets.

• New Jersey

Sports betting was made legal in June 2018 in New Jersey, with the Garden State quickly making the most of the Supreme Court’s decision that paved the way for regulation changes.

In New Jersey, sports fans can place a wager on the big game of the day at around a dozen of the state’s land-based casinos, but as in Pennsylvania the future is pointing at online here too.

Companies such as DraftKings, FanDuel, SugarHouse and William Hill are among those to have launched legal sports betting options in New Jersey over the course of recent years. New Jersey also has legal online poker available for players to try out as well, with fans of the card game likely to be keeping a close eye on which operators make a move in this key area as well.

• Mississippi

As Mississippi launched legal and regulated sports betting in August 2018, the state was not far behind New Jersey in giving the green light for sports fans to be able to place legal wagers.

While a lot of people are sceptical about the prospect of legal sports betting making its way throughout the southern states, Mississippi shows there is a potential path for the industry here. But there is one strange thing about sports betting in Mississippi compared to how the rules and regulations for the sector have been set up in other states such as Nevada and New Jersey.

In Mississippi, people need to be at a physical casino in order to be able to place a sports bet. As a lot of sports fans would prefer the option of using an online sportsbook or a mobile app to place wagers, it seems as if this approach might prove to be unsustainable in the long run. While Mississippi is one of the biggest sports betting states in the US, until there is a state-wide mobile or online sports wagering option here the potential growth of the sector may be stymied.

• West Virginia

Last but not least on our list of the top five biggest sports betting states in America is West Virginia, where the Hollywood Casino – which is located at Charles Town – became the first place where people could place a sports bet legally after a change to local laws in 2018.

The BetLucky platform brought mobile betting to West Virginia in 2019 but there were issues with it caused by a contractual dispute, which led to this option being closed down. As a result, for a time sports betting was legal in West Virginia but people in the state did not actually have any legal ways to do it, but this changed when FanDuel’s sportsbook was cleared for launch.

West Virginia sports fans are now also able to use the DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM Sports apps to place a wager on the big game, even if they are not at home at the time. There are also a handful of casinos and racinos that can accept wagers on sporting events here too. The Casino Club at The Greenbrier is one of the places in West Virginia offering legal betting.

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