Early History and Federal Bans

In the early 20th century, sports betting in the United States largely existed in the shadows. The 1919 "Black Sox" scandal – in which Chicago White Sox players conspired with gamblers to fix the World Series – exemplified the fears about gambling’s threat to sports integrity. In response, virtually all states outlawed bookmakers, and the federal government took steps to curb betting. The Interstate Wire Act of 1961, for example, made it illegal to use wire communications for sports wagering across state lines. By the mid-20th century, Nevada stood alone as a haven for legal sports betting, having legalized it in 1949 as part of the state’s broader embrace of regulated gambling. Nowhere else could fans legally wager on games, so an underground betting economy thrived nationwide, often run by organized crime or offshore operations.

Efforts to clamp down continued through the decades. In 1978, Delaware briefly introduced a state-run NFL parlay game, and Oregon later ran a sports lottery, but these were exceptions in a landscape dominated by prohibition. Sports leagues remained openly hostile to gambling, worried that betting scandals could erode public trust in their games. This set the stage for a sweeping federal ban: the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

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PASPA: The 1992 Ban and Its Impact

In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) – also known as the "Bradley Act," after its sponsor, Senator Bill Bradley. PASPA aimed to halt the spread of state-sanctioned sports betting. It prohibited any state from licensing or authorizing wagering on the outcome of amateur or professional sports contests. The law took effect on January 1, 1993, essentially freezing the status quo: only states that had already approved sports betting or sports lotteries were grandfathered in. This exemption was narrow. Nevada was permitted to continue full sports wagering, while Delaware, Oregon, and Montana were allowed to keep limited sports lottery games. A special carve-out gave New Jersey one year to legalize betting in Atlantic City casinos, but the state failed to act in time, thereby falling under the ban. 

Under PASPA, legal sports betting became virtually synonymous with Las Vegas. For the next quarter century, if an American wanted to place a legal bet on the Super Bowl or March Madness, Nevada was essentially the only game in town. In other states, millions of fans still bet on sports – but they did so illegally through local bookies or offshore online sportsbooks, a booming black market estimated at $150 billion in annual wagers. The major professional leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) and the NCAA staunchly defended PASPA, arguing that expanding gambling would endanger the integrity of sports. PASPA also had odd consequences: for example, when Delaware tried to broaden its sports lottery in 2009, courts blocked the move, ruling that PASPA only allowed the parlay-style NFL bets Delaware had offered in the 1970s. By the 2010s, however, attitudes toward sports betting were slowly shifting – even within the leagues – and New Jersey would soon ignite a legal challenge that changed everything.

Murphy v. NCAA: The Supreme Court Decision

The first cracks in PASPA’s façade appeared in New Jersey. Facing declining casino revenues in the late 2000s, New Jersey voters approved a referendum in 2011 to legalize sports betting at casinos and racetracks. The state’s legislature enacted a law to allow wagers, directly defying PASPA. The NCAA and major sports leagues promptly sued to stop the law, leading to a high-profile court battle. After years of legal wrangling – the case was initially titled NCAA v. Christieafter then-Governor Chris Christie – it arrived at the U.S. Supreme Court under Governor Phil Murphy’s name as Murphy v. NCAA.

On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court struck down PASPA as unconstitutional, in a 6-3 decision. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, held that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment’s “anti-commandeering” principle, which prevents Congress from controlling state policy choices. In essence, the Court said, if Congress wanted to ban sports gambling, it could do so directly – but it could not simply order states not to legalize it. This landmark ruling repealed the federal ban, freeing each state to decide if it wants to legalize sports betting. The reaction was swift. Within hours, sportsbooks in Nevada were joined by celebratory statements from companies like FanDuel and DraftKings – fantasy sports platforms that announced plans to enter the new legal betting market – and by officials in states like New Jersey who had legislation ready to go. 

The sports world also underwent a remarkable about-face. Leagues that once fought tooth-and-nail against gambling shifted toward engagement and monetization. The NBA and MLB, for instance, began securing “integrity fees” (or data-sharing agreements) from new sportsbooks, and the NFL eventually partnered with betting operators for official league sponsorships. What had been a legal question was now a marketplace opportunity.

State-by-State Legalization Boom

With PASPA gone, a wave of legalization swept the nation. New Jersey moved first – mere weeks after the Supreme Court decision, Governor Murphy placed New Jersey’s inaugural legal bet in mid-June 2018. Delaware, which already had limited sports gaming, actually beat New Jersey to the punch by launching full-scale sports betting on June 5, 2018. By the end of 2018, a handful of states had operational sportsbooks: Mississippi and West Virginia opened sportsbooks at casinos that summer, New Mexico saw its tribal casinos start offering sports bets under existing gaming compacts, and Pennsylvania and Rhode Island went live by year’s end.

The floodgates truly opened in 2019 and 2020 as more state legislatures embraced the new revenue source. Nevada was no longer the lone outpost; states across the Midwest, Northeast, and beyond joined the fold:

• 2019: Arkansas, New York (limited to upstate casinos), Iowa, Indiana, and others legalized and launched sports betting. Notably, New Jersey’s robust launch began outpacing Nevada in monthly betting handle, proving there was pent-up demand.

• 2020: Despite the pandemic, several states moved forward. Colorado’s first sportsbooks went live in May 2020 with an open, competitive online market. Illinois and Michigan opened sportsbooks (Illinois initially required in-person registration for mobile apps, a rule later softened). That same year, Washington, D.C. debuted a lottery-run sports betting app, and Montana did likewise via its lottery.

• 2021-2022: The momentum continued. Virginia and Arizona both launched online-heavy markets in 2021, Tennessee introduced an online-only model (with no physical casinos at all), and Wyoming also went mobile-only. Connecticut brought sports wagering to its tribal casinos and online in 2021, while New York’s much-anticipated online betting launch in January 2022 shattered records (after limited retail betting in 2019). By the end of 2022, states like Louisiana, Maryland, and Kansas had come online, and even Puerto Rico passed legislation to allow sports books.

Each state forged its own path, leading to a patchwork of regulatory approaches. In some states, casinos and racetracks serve as the only licensed operators, while others allow numerous online sportsbooks to compete for customers. New Jersey and Colorado, for example, adopted an open model with many competing apps (FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, and smaller brands like PointsBet and Barstool Sportsbook among others). In contrast, a few jurisdictions opted for a single operator model: New Hampshire and Oregon chose one exclusive sportsbook (DraftKings) via their state lotteries, and Rhode Island went with a lottery-run system (initially powered by William Hill/Caesars). Some states only permit in-person betting (for instance, Mississippi allows mobile betting only when physically on a casino property), whereas states like New Jersey and Illinois (after 2022) allow fully remote sign-ups and wagering via mobile apps statewide. Tax rates also vary widely – from Nevada’s 6.75% of revenue to states like New York taking a steep 51% cut of online betting revenue. Despite these differences, the trend toward legalization was unmistakable. By the start of 2023, more than 30 states had legalized sports betting in some form, creating a nationwide marketplace that simply did not exist a few years prior.

The Sports Betting Landscape in 2025

As of 2025, legal sports betting has become a mainstream feature of American sports culture. In total, the majority of U.S. states – over two-thirds – have authorized sports wagering, whether through commercial sportsbooks, tribal casinos, or state lotteries. More than 35 states now boast operational betting markets, and a few others have passed laws and are preparing to launch. The map stretches from coast to coast: from New York to California (though California itself remains a notable holdout after a failed 2022 ballot measure), from the casinos of New Jersey to the tribal sportsbooks of Washington State.

The industry’s growth is reflected in staggering numbers. Americans have legally wagered hundreds of billions of dollars on sports since 2018, generating billions in revenue for sportsbooks and tens of millions in tax receipts for states. Big-name operators have emerged as market leaders. FanDuel and DraftKings, once known just for daily fantasy sports, now run ubiquitous sportsbook apps and together command a substantial share of the market. Traditional casino companies have firmly planted their flags via BetMGM (MGM Resorts’ venture) and Caesars Sportsbook, while newcomer brands continue to appear. Smaller and newer entrants like BetRivers (operated by Rush Street Interactive), Fanatics Sportsbook (launched by the sports merchandise giant), and international imports like Bet365 have joined an increasingly crowded field, seeking a slice of the booming market.

Television and media coverage now openly discuss betting odds and point spreads, which were once taboo. Major networks have struck partnerships with sportsbook companies, and in some cities, fans can place a bet at a stadium sportsbook while attending a game. The NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB all have official betting partners, and even the NCAA has eased its stance slightly, permitting events in Las Vegas and allowing athlete name/image/licensing deals with sportsbooks under certain conditions. 

Regulators and lawmakers remain vigilant about responsible gambling and integrity issues. All legal sportsbooks must use identity verification and geolocation to ensure bettors are of age and within state lines (the federal Wire Act of 1961 still forbids interstate wagers). State gaming boards and lottery commissions oversee compliance, and initiatives to address problem gambling have expanded alongside legalization. So far, match-fixing scandals have been rare in the legal era, and in fact, monitoring by legal operators has helped detect suspicious betting patterns – an outcome leagues now cite as a benefit of regulation. 

The journey from PASPA to proliferation marks one of the fastest sea-changes in U.S. gambling history. In the span of a decade, sports betting went from a black-market activity in most of the country to a regulated industry advertised on prime-time TV. States that once feared the wrath of sports leagues for even considering a sportsbook now host Super Bowl betting parties and March Madness wagering pools out in the open. While a few states still oppose gambling on moral or religious grounds (Utah, for instance, maintains an outright ban by state law), the overall trend is clear: sports betting is here to stay, with legal markets bringing an activity once done in the shadows into the light of day.

As the United States heads into 2025 and beyond, the legacy of the PASPA repeal is evident every Sunday when NFL odds flash on screen and every time a fan taps a phone to place a bet. What was once prohibited is now proliferating – state by state, bet by bet – in a transformed American sports landscape.

No question the best sports betting picks are from Joe Duffy of OffshoreInsiders.com