Legal Online Sports Betting FAQs

Domestic sportsbooks are legal in several states via in-person, online, or mobile options. Offshore sports betting sites are legal to do business with in every state, plus Washington, D.C. Visit our guide to which US States allow sports betting here.

Chances are, yes. Almost all states allow for international sports gambling sites to accept bets over the Internet. Nearly half of the states in the USA have regulated domestic sports betting, and more are entertaining the idea each year. Visit our bill tracker page for the latest developments in your area.

More than 35 US states and districts have legalized sports betting as of this writing, but not all of them have provided regulations that allow for sportsbooks to begin operating.

As mentioned throughout this site, there are no federal laws barring US sports fans from betting on sports online.  

So, in order to ensure you are legally placing your bets, they must be placed at an online sportsbook that is operating legitimately (licensed or covered by the licensing credentials of a parent company), regulated either by a US state or a legal governing jurisdiction outside of the US. 

Since there are so many offshore sportsbook sites on the web today, we advise restricting your internet sports betting to the bookmakers we’ve provided in the table above. We’ve vetted these online sports gambling venues to ensure they are operating legally and are the most reliable in the industry, with exceptional services and fast payouts. 

Betting on sports with an offshore sportsbook does not violate any existing Federal or state gambling laws.

Yes. There are no laws in place that prevent US bettors from doing business over the web with an online sportsbook operating in a licensed, regulated district in another country.

Yes. Both domestic and offshore sportsbooks provide legal sports betting apps. Domestic apps typically require a download to your iPad, iPhone, or Android smartphone or tablet, but international sports betting applications are web-based and can be accessed by clicking on one of the links we’ve provided on this page with a current mobile browser.

The rationale that state legislators use when suggesting that sports betting should be legalized domestically is twofold. Citizens are already participating in sports betting via offshore sportsbook sites or nearby regional facilities, and the tax dollars are escaping to the benefit of other territories.

On the homepage of the online sportsbooks, locate the join button at the top and click it. You’ll then create an account by entering your personal data, which should be 100% accurate to avoid any issues when payouts are collected. Finally, select your sportsbook banking option, make your deposit, and place a wager.

Simply put, a sportsbook is an entity that exists at an in-person location, on a website, or via a mobile application, that offers betting odds on sporting events to the public.

Betting odds are set by bookmakers in such a way that wagers are placed evenly on both sides. If all goes as planned, and bets are placed evenly for both outcomes, then the book doesn’t make any profit. Because of this, sportsbooks place vigorish, or juice, on any odds that are not money lines that scrape a small percentage that goes directly to the house regardless of the outcome.

In almost all US states, offshore sports betting sites accept members starting at the age of 18. Nearly have of the states in the USA now feature domestic sportsbooks, but almost all of them require a minimum age of 21 years old to place a bet.

Yes. Both federal and state income taxes require the reporting and taxation of gambling winnings. Each state varies in their reporting and tax requirements.

The best of anything is subjective, but when it comes to which sport sees the most action laid on it, it is NFL Football betting by a long shot. Each year, more bets are placed on the Super Bowl than on any other single annual sporting event.

Hedging a bet means to place an alternate bet that will win in the event that your main wager fails. For instance, a bet on Donald Trump to win the Presidency could be hedged by an alternate bet that the Republican Party loses the Presidential election, although this practice also effectively negates profit.

The best practices for making money betting on sports is to limit your wagers to 3% of your total bankroll, and to belong to more than one online sportsbook to ensure that you are getting the best odds for your wagering dollar. Remember that sports and the performance of athletes is unpredictable, a win is never guaranteed, even in the most favorable circumstances. 

It is not mathematically possible to win every sports bet that you place and is not a goal that should be strived for. Playing the odds wisely and shopping from book to book is how to win consistently in sports betting, and can gain bettors an edge by can providing an easier path to victory.

Please visit the National Council For Problem Gambling if you need help for yourself or someone you know.