This week’s gambling news focuses on the growth of sports betting growth in America ahead of the March Madness basketball tournaments. We look at the states that have regulated betting on sports, the most likely states to legalize the activity next, and which states are the absolute worst for sports betting.

Hello friends, and welcome to another edition of This Week in Gambling. And with March Madness almost upon us, I figured what better time than now to go over the sports betting growth in America! And what the hell, we’ll even make that this week’s big story! First of all, sports betting is legal and regulated and 36 American states! It might not be up and running in all 36, but it is legal. If you’re living in one of these 36 states then you probably already understand your situation pretty well. But if you’re not living in one of these 36 states, well… you could always drive to a state that will accept your NCAA bets.

But let’s just say that for whatever reason you don’t feel like driving two… three… four hours across a state line just to place a bet on a March Madness Tournament game, well… I suppose then you could always wait for legalized, regulated sports betting to come to you. And if you live in one of these states, where there has been active sports betting legislation over the past couple of years, well you might not have to wait too long. Lawmakers in Missouri, Kentucky, and these other states have been pushing bills forward that would regulate betting on sports for the past couple of years now. In fact, state representatives have already filed legislation this year to get sports betting regulated in Georgia and Texas.

Of course, there are some states that have absolutely zero chance of sports betting growth: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, and Utah. If you’re a poor bastard that lives in one of these states you’re probably just shit out of luck when it comes to gambling… or any form of fun. In their defense, however, these states do have valid reasons for not regulating sports betting. At least not yet. Alabama is busy working on that whole indoor plumbing thing. Then you got Alaska… but you got to cut them a break, though. They’re just waking up from six months of darkness over the winter. Then of course there’s Idaho, who would regulate sports betting except they’ve prioritized all “potato” related emergencies. And then of course there’s Utah. Those guys have been eating their own special puddin’ cups for quite a while now, so… you know.

Now, if you do live where it’s legal to bet on March Madness, our friends at Casino City have just published their guide to the Top 10 Women’s Teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament… and their list of the Top 10 Men’s teams will be published next week. Simply follow the link to visit the article. Plus, we have two new game reviews to share with you, starting with the Piggy Bank Megaways from iSoftBet. With six cascading reels and winning symbols that explode, allowing more symbols to drop and setting off cascading wins! Plus, the Max Megaways Modifier can give you over 117,000 paylines! Next up, it’s God of Wild Sea, a five reel, three row, 25 payline game from Playson, set in an underwater temple with beautiful deep blue colors, this slot has above average volatility, scatters, bonus spins, and Wilds that spread across the reels! Both of these reviews are live right now on our YouTube channel.

And finally this week, three states that are just too screwed up to have any sports betting growth… at least right now. First in Florida, where sports betting legislation was passed, and sports betting was regulated, and people were betting on sporting events only to have the whole damn thing shut down over political infighting. So now we have to wait for that scenario to play out, and I’ll probably have to do an entire show just devoted to that mess. Then you have California, which is basically the poster child for political infighting. What with the tribes and the card rooms and the operators all fighting over the same sports betting market. And the sad thing is there’s enough for everyone to eat and be full, but no one wants to share their piece of pie with anyone else! So, no sports betting for California.

And then we have what could be one of the worst states ever for gambling in Hawaii. Did you know that they are trying to pass legislation right now that would ban Las Vegas casinos from advertising anywhere in the state? Yeah! Not only that, but they are actually considering imposing a 30% tax  on their own citizens who buy vacation packages to gambling destinations! Basically, fining them for visiting Las Vegas! I’d be curious to see how that plays out in a courtroom, if they end up making it a law. In the meantime, I’m left wondering: Did Hawaii actually get a copy of that whole Bill of Rights thing when they signed up to be a part of America? Or is that on us? Did we forget to give it to them?