Online gambling continues to expand across America with casino games, sports betting, and poker! However, each state takes its own unique approach when it comes to gambling. This week we’re updating you on 20 states as they look to regulate internet casino games… or make them illegal!
Online casinos in New Jersey are now making more money than the actual real casinos in Atlantic City. And as more and more states jump on the internet betting a bandwagon, others are starting to pump the brakes a bit. Or even throw things in reverse. This week we’re updating you on 20 states currently dealing with online gambling legislation, starting alphabetically with Alabama. Efforts to legalize sports betting there have failed. Again, a bill to regulate the activity was shelved without a vote, killing any hope of legalized gambling for the next several years.
Lawmakers in Arkansas wanted online casinos, but they didn’t have enough support. This year, so a study on the issue has been commissioned and regulation talks will resume in the future. Sports betting hopes in Georgia have been sent packing despite support from the governor as the state legislature decided to adjourn for the year without even considering the matter. And in Hawaii, a huge surprise! Even though casino legislation failed again and online sports betting, bill passed both the House and the Senate, and the governor said he would support a bill if it reached his desk. However, that bill got stuck in committee. And the legislative session ended. So Hawaiian sports betting is not happening this year, but this is still a huge step forward for a state that has never allowed gambling.
And that brings us to the I’s and our next stop: Illinois! Lawmakers there have introduced bills to regulate online gambling. But state casinos and labor groups have pushed back fearing a loss of business and jobs. Both bills currently sit in committees. Next, a potential setback in Kansas, as lawmakers have blocked the renewal of all sports betting licenses for operators. And if nothing is done to change this by August 31st, 2027, then sports betting won’t be in Kansas anymore. It’s a different story up in Maine, however, where tribal gaming wants to expand online, lawmakers are now considering a bill to allow web-based casino games, and a vote is expected within weeks. But moving to Maryland, it’s more bad news. A state senator there wants to end online sports betting regulation by 2026, and while his bill is unlikely to advance, it is worth keeping an eye on.
Meanwhile, sports betting in Minnesota took a hit recently as a Senate committee deadlocked on a bill that would have allowed sports betting on tribal land and mobile devices. Plus, its ugly down in Mississippi where a mobile sports betting bill was passed by the House and the Senate, but died in a six person committee that could not reach a compromise. Rounding out the M’s we come to Missouri where legal sports betting was supposed to go live this summer. However, issues with the rule making process have pushed that back, but don’t worry, it’s still happening. Once they get those rules in place, regulated sports betting will move forward. But instead of it being in June, it will probably happen closer to September.
And as we cross the halfway point on our online gambling list, we come to the N’s… as in Nebraska… where a Senate resolution for online sports betting passed an initial floor vote, and if approved the issue would go before voters during their 2026 election. The governor has already indicated he will sign a sports betting bill if it makes it to his desk. And speaking of 2026, New Hampshire has an online casino bill under committee review if passed, it would bring internet betting to the state for everyone 18 years and older by January 1st. Also, New York State wants to regulate online casino games after watching New Jersey rake in $2.4 billion from it last year. But the governor has not included web-based casinos in her 2025 budget plans, so any hopes for regulation this year are falling fast.
Things are also messy in Oklahoma where a sports betting bill passed the Senate but was pulled before a vote from a house subcommittee As problems between the governor and the state’s tribal gaming interest persists. The governor wants an open market, but the tribes say that they have the exclusive rights to gambling in the state. Good luck working that out. And then there’s Pennsylvania, where online poker has been live for some time and they just joined the Multi-State Online Poker Network. That means that players there will soon be able to play at the same virtual tables as those in New Jersey, Michigan, Nevada, Delaware, and West Virginia. Hopefully before the beginning of the World Series of Poker this summer.
And finally this week with only four states left to discuss, we’re up to the S’s, and that means South Carolina where a pair of online gambling bills to regulate are circulating in the House and Senate, and one would amend state laws to allow the activity. However, the governor is not a fan of gambling and will probably veto any legislation. Now we come to Texas where the governor is in favor of online sports betting, but many legislators are not. A proposed constitutional amendment would allow residents to vote on the issue if passed. Texans could decide whether to have sports betting or not for themselves on November 4th of this year.
That brings us to Vermont, where online sports betting is legal, but a state representative wants to put an end to that. His proposed legislation would repeal sports betting laws and criminalize the activity along with the lottery. That bill is currently in committee. And in Wyoming where legislation to allow online casinos met with fierce opposition from tribal gaming who say legal sports betting in the state has already cut into their revenue. That bill was discussed in committee for over an hour before a motion to move forward, failed to receive a second, and that’s where it died.
