The question and confusion regarding the legality of gambling in the United States isn’t the easiest topic to comprehend.

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Before you get started with clean-cut laws, you’ve first got to investigate and classify the different forms of gambling. Is the subject of the legality question sports betting, brick-and-mortar casino games or online wagering?

While the Indiana Gaming Commission hoped mobile sports betting would begin Sept. 1, it never ruled out a two-tiered approach to launching sports gambling in the state focusing first on retail.
Indiana also is one of the few states to bother to mention the internet in regards to gambling within its legislation. Again, as is the case with federal law, ‘Professional Gambling’ (the act of facilitating bets for profit) is strictly prohibited and Indiana gambling laws make certain to include the internet for such unlawful activities.

They’re not all the same and different rules apply to each form.

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If that’s not enough to get your mind ticking, you’ve then got to concern yourself with the states of interest. The US is unique in its law system in that each state is able to choose and change the laws. So depending on where you are in the country, what is or is not legal can be totally different.

So what exactly is the story on gambling in the US? What forms are illegal and where are they prohibited?

The state-based problem

Perhaps the biggest problem when it comes to looking at the legality of gambling is the specifics related to the restrictions on a state-by-state basis.

Gambling is legal according to U.S. federal law, but there are a series of significant restrictions when it comes to in-state and online gambling. It’s not simple to give a yes or no answer to the question of whether or not gambling is illegal, but rather a follow-up question regarding the state of residence is necessary.

Since each state is free to regulate and prohibit gambling in any way that it may choose, a full check towards both the type of gambling and the geographical location must be checked to avoid breaking state law.

Last updated: Oct 27, 2020 Online gambling in Indiana is frowned upon by the state, yet they do not state in their gambling laws that it is illegal. Indiana residents who wish to gamble online can view our list of online gambling sites that allow Indiana players.

There are only two states in which all forms of gambling (including the state-run lottery) are completely prohibited: Hawaii and Utah. However, when it comes to casino-based gambling, not all states are particularly lenient.

Federal law does, however, permit Native American Trust Land to be used for games of chance with the caveat of an agreement made between the State and the Tribal Government according to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.

States permitting statewide gambling

There are only two states that permit statewide gambling: Nevada and Louisiana. Both state and local governments impose licensing and zoning restrictions, though, so it’s not as easy as you might think to start up a casino of your own.

Each of the other states allowing any form of casino-based gambling restricts the areas to small geographic areas that often form casino hotspots, ripe for parties and high roller lifestyles. Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Tunica, Mississippi are all great examples of this, but there are always ways and means to find loopholes in laws. That is exactly what we see with riverboat-based casinos.

It is for this reason that we see floating casinos throughout some states that, more often than not, are permanently moored within a body of water and open to the public to play.

Different rules for different games

Another layer of confusion is added when we start considering the legality of different forms of gambling in each state, just in case you weren’t already scratching your head enough.

Depending on the type of gambling, in any of the following categories:

Charitable – Gambling with proceeds going towards a charitable cause
Parimutuel – Gambling in which bets of a particular type are placed together within a pool with the house-take deducted.
Lotteries – Often state-run games of chance that are often used to feed back into the community.
Commercial – The form of gambling in which the provider makes a profit.
Tribal – The form of gambling encompassing all operations taking place on tribal land in the US.
Racetrack – Any form of gambling involving a racetrack e.g. greyhound and horse racing
Online – Any form of gambling that is based online.
Sports betting – Any form of gambling in which the outcome of a sporting event is the focus.

A full table showing the legality of each form of betting can be seen in the table below:

State	Chari-table	Pari-mutuel	Lot-teries	Commercial	Tribal	Racetrack	Online	Sports betting
Alabama	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
Alaska	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No
American Samoa	Yes	No	No	No	N/A	No	No	No
Arizona	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Arkansas	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A	Yes	No	No
California	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Colorado	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Connecticut	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No
Delaware	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes
Washington, D.C.	Yes	No	Yes	No	N/A	No	No	No
Florida	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Georgia	Yes	No	Yes	No	N/A	No	No	No
Guam	Yes