Betting On Football Games Legal

• Betting On Football Games Legal Lines
• Betting On Football Games Legal Expert
• Are There Any Legal Sports Betting Sites
• Betting On Football Games Legal
• Betting On Football Games Legal Sites

Yes, college football betting is legal in the United States and there are two options. Domestic Sportsbooks - There are many states that have legalized domestic sports betting and wagers on NCAAF can be made if bettors are of the required legal age for that region. Pennsylvania is the biggest state that has legal sports betting apps. Population centers and football-crazy cities Philadelphia and Pittsburgh create a good starting based for legal sports gambling. There are only a handful of apps in the state as of September 2019, but more are on the way.

There are two ways that bettors in the United States can wager on football, with a domestic sportsbook located nearby, or an international betting site operating outside of the USA's jurisdiction.

Nov 28, 2020 Many online sportsbooks have operated legally outside America’s borders for decades, providing bettors with a means to make a wager on the outcome of NFL games. Using these betting sites will not. Feb 11, 2021 As you probably already know, it is completely legal for you to bet on NFL games in Nevada. After all, Las Vegas was the original sports betting capital of the United States. Nevada was the original state that allowed sports betting to be legal. Las Vegas is not the only place you can go to bet on sports.

Football is the most bet on sport in the United States with an estimated $100 billion to be wagered on NFL and college football betting combined each year. Below we detail the status of legal domestic football betting in each state in the country.

States With Legal Football Betting Already In Place

Arkansas - Voters passed Issue 4 in the 2018 Midterm elections. The amendment makes sports betting legal throughout the state and approves 4 licenses for casino-style gaming establishments. Arkansas launched domestic sports betting on July 1st, 2019.

Colorado - In November of 2019 voters passed Proposition DD to allow the state legislature to enact sports betting laws. After Prop DD passed the voter referendum, lawmakers subsequently enacted HB19-1327 that allows casinos to obtain state-issued sports betting licenses. Online sportsbooks will also be permitted with proper licensing. Online and mobile sportsbooks launched in May of 2020.

Delaware – On June 5, 2018, Delaware became the first state to launch legal sports betting following the repeal of PASPA, allowing bets to be placed at three Delaware-based casinos: Delaware Park, Dover Downs, and Harrington Raceway. Gambling research experts are predicting Delaware sports betting to generate at least $23.1 million in annual revenue for the state and when including online, as much as $49.6 million in annual revenue – most of which is expected to come from betting on NFL and college football.

Illinois - Packaged with a gambling expansion bill, Illinois Governor signed S-516 into law allowing a sports betting industry within state lines. The state also has plans to allow sportsbooks at sports stadiums across the state. Land-based sportsbooks launched in March of 2020.

Indiana - Indiana started accepting bets on sports on September 1st, 2019. There are currently seven casinos that have licenses issued by the state to accepts sports wagers. More sports betting locations are expected to be added later this year and in 2020. Mobile sports betting was also passed on Sept. 1st, but mobile is not expected to launch till 2020.

Iowa - In late April of 2019, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law SB 617 which allows 19 of the state's casinos to offer wagering options in person or online. Under this bill, in-state college game props are banned and in-person registration for gambling is required until the end of 2020.College, professional, and fantasy sports games can be legally wagered on by players over the age of 21. The state will collect 6.75% in taxes on the gross revenue of wagers. Licenses for operators will cost $45,000 and $10,000 for annual renewals. The state launched sports betting on August 15th, 2019.

Michigan - The state legislature passed a bill allowing for domestic sports betting via physical locations and online in December of 2019. There are currently three casinos located near the Detroit area that feature operating sportsbooks, with online options expected to appear at some point in 2021.

Mississippi – Following the PASPA repeal, Mississippi became the third state and first state in the South to launch legal sports betting on August 1, 2018, with the first bets being placed at the Beau Rivage and Gold Strike Casino Resort. Mississippi currently requires all football bets to be placed in person with legislation regarding the operation of online sportsbooks within state lines to be voted on at a later date.

Montana - On May 3rd of 2019, Governor Steve Bullock signed into law HB 725 which gives the Montana Lottery regulatory and operational control over domestic wagering activities in the state. The House Bill allows wagering in-person or online through a browser or mobile app. The state lottery expected to provide the state government with $3.7 million in tax revenue after the first year of legalized operations. The state launched its sportsbooks in March of 2020, much later than they had hoped.

Nevada – Before the PASPA repeal, Nevada was the only state permitted to offer full-blown legal betting on football centered around its Las Vegas gambling market, which had existed for decades prior to the law being enacted. In fact, a record $158.58 million was bet on Super Bowl LII at Nevada sportsbooks in 2018. Many states are expected to examine Nevada’s gambling laws and find the best regulations that apply to their state regarding gambling oversight, integrity, and management.

New Hampshire- In July, New Hampshire became the 6th US state to legalize domestic sports betting in 2019. Only 10 licenses will be awarded. Statewide mobile betting launched in January of 2020.

New Jersey – New Jersey became the second state to launch legal sports betting following the PASPA repeal on June 14, 2018, with the first bets placed at Monmouth Park. In addition, DraftKings Inc., the world’s most popular daily fantasy football company, launched the DraftKings Sportsbook app, the first legal online sportsbook in the country on August 1, 2018, allowing New Jersey residents and visitors to place wagers on the 2018 NFL and college football season.

New Mexico - A New Mexico tribal casino started accepting bets on sporting events in October of 2018. Since there is no federal ban on sports betting, tribal casinos in New Mexico are allowed to offer domestic sports betting through their gaming agreements with the state. More NM tribal casinos are expected to have sports betting operations in place by the end of 2018.

New York - New York currently allows Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) betting. Recent efforts to legalize mobile sports betting across the state have failed but will likely reappear in 2020. However, domestic sports betting is allowed in upstate NY casinos.

Oregon - Oregon launched its Scoreboard sports betting app on October 16th. The day before the launch the state's Lottery website crashed but officials say it was not because of the sports betting app.

Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania approved legal sports betting in 2017 and with the repeal of PASPA. Sports betting officially launched on November 15th, 2018. The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course was the first establishment to start accepting bets on sports.

Rhode Island – Governor Gina Raimondo signed the state budget on June 22, 2018, giving the Lincoln and Tiverton Twin Rivers Casino locations the exclusive rights to brick-and-mortar sportsbooks in the state. Rhode Island became the 7th state to launch domestic sports betting on November 26th, 2018.

Washington D.C. - Players 18 and over in D.C. are now able to legally wager on football via their mobile betting website, GambetDC, the same software provider that operates the city's lottery system.

West Virginia – On August 30, 2018, West Virginia became the fourth state to offer legal sports betting following the repeal of PASPA when the first bets were placed at the Hollywood Casino. West Virginia was the last state to permit wagering on NFL and college football before both fully kicked off their 2018 seasons. All other states will have to vote on legislation during or after the 2018 NFL and college football season. West Virginia launched statewide mobile betting in August of 2019.

Sports Betting Laws Passed - Pending Launch of Sportsbooks

North Carolina - In July of 2019, North Carolina lawmakers passed a sports betting bill that will allow two tribal casinos to offer domestic sports betting. Harrah's casino resort in Cherokee, NC, and Harrah's casino in Murphy, NC have been approved to offer football betting domestically in North Carolina, and both should be open for operation soon.

Tennessee - The Tennessee Senate heard SB 16 and voted 20-12 in favor of its passage. Under this bill, license fees would be $750,000 annually. Wagering would only be permitted through online means and not in-person. Wagering revenue would also be taxed at 20% and also allows sports leagues to place certain restrictions on TN wagering. Online betting on football in TN is expected to coincide with the start of the NFL season in September. So far, four licenses for online sportsbook operations have been accepted.

Virginia - In April of 2020, a law was enacted that allows for in-state sports betting that can be performed online or on mobile betting applications. The hope is that the Virginia sports wagering apps will be enabled before the end of 2020, but there have been delays that may push the rollout to 2021.

Washington - In March of 2020 the governor signed a new bill into Washington state law that will allow for the construction of domestic sportsbooks. The bill now needs to be vetted regional Tribal gaming interests to see if the new regulation adheres to gaming compacts that are currently in place. No activity can proceed until clearance has been received from the Native American casinos, which could cause a delay of several months.

States That Introduced Legislation on Football Betting - Pending Action

The following states have either presented sports betting bills that did not pass in previous legislative cycles, are expected to present those bills that previously did not pass in the next legislative cycle, or have introduced football betting legislation for the first time.

• California
• Georgia
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Nebraska
• Ohio
• South Dakota
• Vermont

The following states have laws prohibiting the wagering on football at brick-and-mortar locations in state lines and have not publicly announced any plans to legalize betting on football.

• Idaho
• Texas
• Utah
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

As legal sports betting rolls out across the US, the biggest slice of the market is betting on the NFL.

Pro football is the most-watched sport in America, and that translates to it being the most bet-on sport as well.

NFL betting sites

Read on for more information about betting on the NFL in 2021 and the market for it in the US.

Where you can legally bet on the NFL in the US

There are more than a dozen states where you can legally bet on NFL football games currently. Here is the list of states where sports betting is legal, or where it has been legalized pending launch (click through to learn more about betting options in any of these states:

Online betting is currently live in these states, which should be the largest markets for sports wagering in short order:

NFL betting in New Jersey

The second biggest market for betting on the NFL is New Jersey, and it will likely surpass Nevada in the near future — possibly in 2020 or 2021.

That’s for several reasons:

• It’s a more open market for online betting — you can register online from anywhere in the state
• New Jersey is also interesting in that it has access to the New York City market; NY only has a few physical sportsbooks upstate. But New Yorkers can cross the river into New Jersey and bet easily.
• Betting on the Giants, Jets and Eagles is popular among New Jersey residents.

There are no shortage of NJ sports betting apps:

• BetAmerica
• Hard Rock
• Bet365

NFL betting in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is the biggest state that has legal sports betting apps. Population centers and football-crazy cities Philadelphia and Pittsburgh create a good starting based for legal sports gambling.

There are only a handful of apps in the state as of September 2019, but more are on the way.

• Parx Sportsbook

NFL betting in Illinois

Illinois is the sixth most populous state in the US, while Chicago is the single largest metropolitan area with legal online sports betting. Sportsbooks are also keen to acquire customers now, while in-person registration is suspended.

There are already a handful of live apps in the state, including:

NFL betting in Colorado

Despite only launching in May, the Colorado market already has a wide range of sportsbooks for betting NFL.

The CO apps live today include:

• BetMonarch
• Circa Sports
• ELITE Sportsbook
• Smarkets
• Sky Ute

NFL betting in West Virginia

West Virginia has two of the major players in online sports betting: DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook.

Betting On Football Games Legal Lines

There are also a trio of physical sportsbooks. While betting on West Virginia University is huge, expect a lot of betting on the NFL teams in surrounding states as well.

NFL betting in Nevada

Betting On Football Games Legal Expert

Sports betting has been around for decades in Nevada, and it’s the biggest market for NFL betting right now. Hundreds of millions are wagered on NFL games in Las Vegas and beyond.

While there are more than 100 physical sportsbooks, nearly all of them also have a sports betting app. While the tech in Nevada lags behind other markets, and you have to sign up in person for an app, they are still a good option.

Mobile betting accounts for more than half of all betting — NFL and otherwise — in Nevada.

Are There Any Legal Sports Betting Sites

NFL betting in Iowa

Iowa went live with sports betting in the summer of 2019, rolling out physical sportsbooks and online sports betting apps almost in parallel.

There are already more than a dozen sportsbooks in the state, along with apps that you have to register for at a casino and racetrack.

Legal NFL betting apps vs. illegal offshore apps

If you’re not in one of the states mentioned above, you are not betting at a site that operates legally in the US or in your state.

While many people believe that sports betting became widely legal in 2018, all that happened was the repeal of a federal ban allowing states to legalize sports betting.

So if you want to bet on the NFL, keep in mind where you’re betting. While individual bettors are unlikely to get in trouble for betting at a site that operates outside of the constraints of US law, the sites themselves do run afoul of federal and state law. Despite the fact that these sportsbooks will tell you they are operating legally, that is far from the truth.

If you’re in Nevada, New Jersey and other states that have betting laws, you have a number of regulated choices to choose from. Unfortunately for much of the country, there is no legal option. That includes large states like California and Florida. In New York, you can bet at some upstate sportsbooks but only in-person.

How much do Americans bet on the NFL?

Despite the fact that the NFL has the fewest games of any pro team sport, it’s by far the most popular to bet on.

With a handful of preseason games, 16 in the regular season and then a win-to-advance playoff system, there’s a premium on every game. That dynamic makes the NFL the most popular sport to watch on TV; the Super Bowl every year is the most-watched program on TV in the US.

All of that interest creates a robust market for betting on the NFL in the US, despite the fact that single-game wagering has only been legal in Nevada before 2018. People still find myriad ways of having a monetary interest on the outcome of games, from fantasy sports, to betting against friends, to using illegal offshore sportsbooks.

Gauging how much is bet on the NFL by Americans is tricky because of all that. The American Gaming Association says that 38 million adults will bet on the NFL in 2019.

If you include fantasy and social betting, the number is certainly in the hundreds of millions. If limited to offshore books, the number has been estimated from the tens of billions to $150 billion.

The advent of legal sports betting outside of Nevada will increase all of these figures even more. The NFL, as the country’s most popular sport, will drive betting handle in most states.

When is NFL betting the biggest?

Betting On Football Games Legal

The interest in betting on the NFL usually follows a rhythm, starting out strong before hitting a crescendo in the postseason:

Betting On Football Games Legal Sites

• The first few weeks of the NFL season are usually the biggest in the regular season, outside of weeks that feature several top teams facing off and/or divisional rivalries. Everyone is excited to bet on the NFL when it returns, and that honeymoon usually lasts several weeks.
• Thanksgiving is now a big time to bet on games. With the unidivided attention of NFL fans — at least before dinner is served — there are three games that take place on the holiday every year.
• The end of the season is often a bit slower for betting on the NFL, from attrition of bettors to lack of interest as some teams fall out of the playoff hunt. But that resets as the playoffs begin, with huge numbers of bettors wanting to have action on wild-card games, divisional games and conference championships.
• The Super Bowl is usually the single biggest day for betting at any sportsbook. Tens of millions of people will watch, and many of them have action on the game some way, whether through a sportsbook, a squares competition or a wager with a friend. But as sports betting rolls out in more and more states, expect there to be a lot of betting on the NFL.

Sports betting apps vs. physical sportsbooks for NFL

NFL fans love to watch games at sportsbooks. Nevada has long cashed in on the intersection of betting and lots of TVs, packing sportsbooks in Las Vegas and elsewhere with fans on NFL Sundays.

It is usually a good experience, except it can be difficult to get your bet down in-person on a busy Sunday. The lines to place bets in states with legal sports betting are usually extremely long; in states where online betting is legal, it’s far more convenient.

Here’s a bit of a breakdown:

Sports betting app advantages

• Multiple ways to deposit and withdraw funds
• Easier to place bets
• Live betting options — betting while games are going on — is far more robust.
• Convenient to bet from nearly anywhere (as long as you are located in a state where it is legal).
• Deposit bonuses and odds boosts

Physical sportsbook advantages

• Personal contact with a ticket writer
• Can watch nearly every game at a sportsbook
• Free drink tickets are sometimes given at sportsbooks

More about NFL betting odds and lines

If you are betting on the NFL, there are a variety of ways to do so. Here is a quick look at some of the ways:

• Point spread: This is the most common way to bet on NFL games, and is generally the type of bet that sportsbooks see the most of. Here, the sportsbook sets a line that team X will win a game by Y points; for instance, New England could be a three-point favorite at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. If you bet New England at minus-3, you are betting that New England will win by four or more points. If you bet on the Eagles, you are betting that Philly will either win, tie or lose by two or one points.
• Moneyline: This simplest type of bet, a bettor is just picking who will win the game. The confusing part for bettors not used to looking at moneyline odds. Here, a favorite will usually be assigned a negative number, and the underdog a positive number. New England could be a -148 favorite, meaning you need to bet $148 to win $100. Philly could be a +128 underdog, meaning you bet $100 to win $128. Favorites, therefore, return less money than underdogs.
• Totals: Betting on how many points will be scored in an NFL game is another very common bet. Here, the sportsbook sets a line, and you bet whether the two teams will combine to score more or fewer points than that total.
• Futures: There are a variety of ways to bet on future events for the NFL. The most common is to bet on the winner of the Super Bowl. You can also bet on conference champions, division champions, and regular-season win totals among other things.
• Prop betting: Here, a bettor is betting on whether something will or won’t happen in a game. Will Tom Brady pass for 300 yards or more? Will Antonio Brown score two touchdowns? You’re betting on whether the number set by the book.
• Parlays: A bet where you connect more than one outcome into a single bet. For instance, you could combine three point spreads into a single bet that would result in longer odds and an increased payout if the bettor picks all three correctly. These are generally profitable bets for sportsbooks because of the degree of difficulty for the bettor.
• Live betting: Betting on a game while it is in progress is an increasingly popular way to wager. Most of the methods of wagering above are available while games are going on, including spreads based on the current score and time, what players will do during the game, etc.
• Teasers: This is essentially a two-leg parlay that lets you move the point spread or total six points in your favour. For example you could tease two 8.5 point favourites down to -2.5. You normally pay -110 to -120 on a two-team teaser.

Note that all of these types of winning bets will include vigorish or a commission that the sportsbook charges on winning bets. More on sports betting terms can be found here. And that’s not an exhaustive list of bet types either.