Eight States Left without Legalized Sports Betting

Since the Supreme Court lifted the ban on sports betting in May of last year, many states have made great strides towards legalizing sports betting. Slightly more than a year after the decision was made, 42 of the rules are either in a position where betting has already legal or legal and waiting for it to launch or in a state of waiting for legislation to be approved. Only eight states haven’t made any move yet towards making it legal. These eight states are Florida, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

The Operating States and Those Awaiting Launch Dates

Some states are currently at different phases of the process to get legal gambling and sports betting activities approved and the necessary infrastructure in place to launch. In 11 states, gambling has been legalized. These states are already operating and earning revenue, including New Jersey and New York. Another seven states have already passed the new legislation but is still awaiting their launch dates. The state determines launch dates and depends on the different casinos being geared with the necessary infrastructure to deliver the service according to requirements set in legislation.

24 States are on the list of those who have proposed new legislation, but it is still pending approval. Quite a number of these states have already presented their proposed bills, but the legislatures were adjourned before any voting on the matter took place. Next in line to have a public voting process regarding the approval of a proposed bill in Colorado. Their proposed legislation is already approved by the governor and legislatures and is now only awaiting the public’s vote.

The 1961 Wire Act

The Wire Act was brought into place before the internet was ever accessible. The purpose of the Wire Act was to prevent mainly organized crime. During the Obama administration in 2011, it was decided that the Wire Act doesn’t apply to online gambling. That ruling was revised recently during the Trump administration in 2018. The new decision declared that all online gaming is illegal. This ruling was again challenged in a New Hampshire court, and it was stated that the Wire Act is only applicable to cases where sports betting crosses over state lines. The final ruling on this is however still due.

An instance where the Wire Act impacted the industry recently occurred in West Virginia. Legal sports betting was already approved in West Virginia during August of 2018, and online sports betting was authorized in December the same year. DraftKings was set to launch in the state during June, but then this got delayed due to implications of the Wire Act. The process of legalizing sports and online betting is slow and painful. Considering that it was merely a bit more than a year ago that the Supreme Court lifted the ban, it is clear that giants’ strides were already made.