Get Started With Online Sports Betting
Is sports betting available in my state?
Sports betting Tips
Where is sports betting legal in the USA?
Check the status of legal sports betting in your state:
New Jersey Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
The efforts of New Jersey were the catalyst behind the Supreme Court’s reversal of PASPA in May 2018. Monmouth Park Racetrack took the state's first sports bet on June 14 2018. The Garden State has been at the forefront of this sports betting explosion with its robust array of opportunities from Atlantic City casinos, to horse racing tracks, to mobile and online products.
Colorado Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
Colorado swept onto the sports betting scene in May 2020 because it was the first state to attract Nevada-based sports books out of Las Vegas. The SuperBook USA (home of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book) and Circa Sports (found in Downtown Las Vegas) were the first to set up partnerships in Colorado, alongside traditional mobile operators like DraftKings, FanDuel, and others. PointsBet opened its North American headquarters in Denver, signifying Colorado’s importance in America’s sports betting landscape.
Indiana Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
All eyes will be on Indiana in the coming weeks as Indianapolis will attempt to hold the entire NCAA Tournament during March and April. Sports betting was introduced in Indiana in September 2019 with mobile wagering and in-person betting at the state's casinos and racetracks. The Hoosier State offers a great mix of online sports betting operators.
Pennsylvania Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
The Keystone State was slow to move, but it has become a major force in US sports betting. Pennsylvania legislation passed its sports betting bill in October 2017, but the state did not take their first bet until November 2018. It took another six months before mobile sports betting was up-and-running. Looking to place a bet before a Pirates, Steelers, Phillies or Eagles game? There are casinos within walking distance of each of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia's sports stadiums and arenas.
Tennessee Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? No
Honey, we're going to Nashville. Tennessee is the only state in the southern US with mobile sports betting. Tennessee legislature approved its sports betting bill in April 2019, and the state began accepting its first wagers in November 2020. Tennessee does not have any brick-and-mortar casinos, so all sports betting in the state needs to be done only. Tennessee has four sports betting operators: DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Action 24/7.
West Virginia Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
The Mountaineer State was ready to go. West Virginia made their push for sports betting legalization in March 2018, two months before the Supreme Court’s decision that opened the doors across the country. West Virginia accepted its first sports bet in August 2018, becoming the fifth state in the US to offer legal sports betting. West Virginia was the third state to offer mobile betting and features a robust list of available operators.
Illinois Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
Grab a Chicago Dog, and Old Style, and a ticket on the Cubs runline? It's coming. Sports betting in Illinois was introduced in March 2020, and the Land of Lincoln is one of the few states that has been aggressive with in-person wagering at sports arenas. Plans are in place to offer wagering at Wrigley Field (Cubs), the United Center (Bulls), Soldier Field (Bears) and Guaranteed Rate Field (White Sox). Until then, bettors in Illinois are still able to place bets at the state's casinos and racetracks, in addition to online.
Iowa Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
Iowa was an early adopter of sports betting following the removal of PASPA, but it came with a big asterisk. For the first year-and-a-half of operation, Iowans had to register for a sports betting account in person at a casino. Those restrictions were removed in 2021, allowing for online registration. Bettors in the state can now sign up, deposit and bet online from anywhere within state lines. With no professional sports teams in the state, action on the Hawkeyes, Cyclones and the rest of the state's college teams is paramount.
Michigan Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
In-person sports betting was introduced to Michigan's casinos in March 2020, but it took almost a full year for online and mobile wagering to follow. In conjunction with online sports betting, Michigan also introduced online poker, making Michigan just the fifth state to offer online poker. The Wolverine State is expected to offer upwards of 15 sports book operators by the end of 2021.
Virginia Sports Betting
- Can you bet online? Yes
- Can you bet in person? Yes
Mobile sports betting was introduced in Virginia in January 2021, and bettors in the state are navigating the introductory phase. Wagering on college sports (or amateur events like the Olympics) is prohibited. FanDuel was the first operator to go live in the state, with others coming on board later this year. The state has four brick-and-mortar casinos, but wagering is also expected to be allowed at the state's two racetracks - Martinsville and Richmond Raceway.
Is sports betting legal in the United States?
What does betting against the spread mean?
How Does Baseball Betting Work??
What does over/under mean?
What does a point spread mean?
What does it mean to cover the spread?
What does betting against the spread mean?
What do odds mean in betting?
What are good betting odds?
Yes, but there’s always a catch. In 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was passed, which prohibited states from offering regulated sports betting if they hadn’t already done so. In May 2018, the Supreme Court struck down PASPA, which opened the door for states to offer legal sports betting. So there are no federal guidelines when it comes to sports wagering in the United States, it’s up to the individual states to set their regulations.
The point spread is the great equalizer. Who would want to bet on a football game between the best team in the league and the worst? The outcome gets a lot more interesting when you give the bad team a two-touchdown head start. Betting on the favorite with the point spread requires that team to win the contest by a certain amount of points. Betting on the underdog with the point spread will allow that team to lose the contest, as long as it's not by more than the posted number.
A parlay is a multi-wager bet that requires all of the legs to win in order for you to cash your ticket. The more teams you include, the more money you can potentially win. But if any of your selections fail to win or cover the point spread, your ticket is toast. Each oddsmaker has their own individual rules for what events can and cannot be parlayed, so make sure that you are familiar with your book's house rules.
Betting on baseball is different from basketball and football because the majority of baseball betting is done on the moneyline, and not with a point spread. Generally speaking, baseball betting is all about picking the winning team. When good teams play bad teams, it’s not uncommon to see the better team as a -300 favorite, or even into the -400’s. The average bettor is afraid to lay a price like that, but for some professionals, there’s value in laying those big numbers in the right situation. But don’t forget: Even the worst teams in the league will still win 55+ times during the course of the season.
Betting on the moneyline means that your team just needs
to win the game. There are no point spreads involved.
Moneyline bets are displayed on a $100 scale, with the
favorite having a minus displayed in front of their
number, and the underdog having a plus in front.
If you are looking to play the favorite on the moneyline,
that's the number that you need to lay in order to win
$100. If you are betting on a -200 favorite, you need to
lay $200 to profit $100, and you would collect $300. If
you are betting on the underdog, the number that you see
is the amount that you would win off a $100 bet. If you
are looking to play a +175 underdog on the moneyline,
you would lay $100 to profit $175 and collect $275.
Again, there are no point spreads involved, you are
simply picking the winner of the game.
You are wagering on how many total points both teams will
score in the contest. Pro baseball totals are typically
around 9 runs in a game. Pro basketball totals are
usually around 210 points. Pro hockey games usually have
a total around 6 goals. Pro football totals are
typically in the mid-to-upper 40's. You are placing a
wager on whether or not the total points scored between
both teams in the contest will go over or under that
number.
Every football and basketball game will have a point
spread associated with it. Betting on the favorite with
the point spread requires that team to win the contest
by a certain amount of points. Betting on the underdog
with the point spread will allow that team to lose the
contest, as long as it's not by more than the posted
number. Hockey and baseball also have point spreads, but
they work a little different. In hockey (the puckline)
and baseball (the runline), the favorite is always -1.5
on the spread with the underdog at +1.5. Betting on the
favorite requires your hockey or baseball team to win
its game by two or more runs. Conversely, betting on the
underdog at +1.5 means that your team can lose by either
one run or one goal, and your ticket will still
cash.
Your team has beaten the mark set by the oddsmaker. If
you bet on a -7 favorite to cover the spread in a
football game, your team needs to win the game by eight
points or more. If they don't, then you failed to cover
the spread. If you bet on a +10 underdog in a basketball
game, your team can either a) Win the game in an upset;
or b) Lose the game by nine points or fewer. If they
accomplish either of those things, then you covered the
spread.
Betting against the spread goes beyond the simple wins
and losses of a sporting event. Betting on the favorite
requires your team to win the game by a certain point
margin. Betting on an underdog allows your team to lose
the game, as long as it's not by more than the given
number of points.
Odds determine your potential payout on a winning bet. If
you're looking to make a single wager against the spread
in a football or basketball game, the odds for an
individual bet at most sports books are -110. That means
that you have to lay $110 to profit $100, and collect
$210. You need to lay $11 to win $10, and collect $21.
Etc.
But betting odds go well beyond individual wagers. It's
important to know what your odds are when making a
futures bet on a team to win their championship. It's
also important to analyze the odds on parlay bets to
make sure that you are getting the best bang for your
buck. From parlay calculators to odds conversion charts,
there are plenty of tools available for bettors to
analyze their odds.
When looking to bet an individual basketball or football
game against the spread, you will traditionally have
odds of -110. That is the industry standard. In some
circumstances, oddsmakers will shade the vig (i.e. the
"juice") toward one team to attract some bets toward a
certain side and help them balance their books. For
example, 3 is a very important number in football
because more games finish with a winning margin of 3
points than any other potential outcome. Oddsmakers are
very careful with creating point spreads around the
number 3 because of how often games end with a 3-point
margin. So instead of moving the point spread from -3 to
-2.5 or -3.5, oddsmakers will keep the spread at -3 and
shift the odds from -110 on each side to -105/-115 or
+100/-120.
The reason oddsmakers are so careful with moving the
"juice" and not moving the actual point spread is
because they don't want to get middled. Middling occurs
when groups who bet on the favorite AND the underdog at
different point spreads both win. If Group A bets on the
favorite at -2.5 and two days later the spread is up to
3.5, Group B swoops in to take the underdog at +3.5. If
the game ends 17-14, both groups have just won.
If you are serious about taking sports betting beyond a
fun, recreational hobby, it's important to have access
to multiple sports books, if possible. Making sure that
you are getting the best numbers at the best odds will
help you become a profitable long-term bettor.
Where Online Sports Betting in USA is Legal: