Is it legal where you live?

Three layers of law

Whether a crypto sports bet is legal depends on three layers, and each one answers a different question.

1. Federal law sets the outer limits. The Wire Act (1961) and UIGEA (2006) target businesses that take bets and process payments for them, not people placing a bet. In 2018 the Supreme Court struck down PASPA, the federal ban on state-authorized sports betting, and each state has decided for itself since then. See what federal law says.
2. State law decides what’s allowed where you are: statewide mobile betting, in-person only at casinos or on tribal land, or nothing at all. It also names the regulator, the minimum age and which operators hold a license.
3. The operator either holds a license from your state or it doesn’t. No US state licenses offshore crypto sportsbooks. Using one means no regulator behind your account, your payout or your ID documents. See are offshore crypto sportsbooks legal.

Reading a state page

Each state page opens with a short answer and a status:

• Licensed online betting: state-licensed sportsbook apps are live, and you must be inside the state’s borders to bet. The apps check your location when you bet.
• In person only: you can bet at a casino, tribal venue or other licensed location, sometimes on a mobile app that only works on the premises.
• No legal sportsbooks: the state doesn’t license sports betting in any form.

Below that, each page covers how betting works in that state, where crypto and offshore sites stand, the state’s position on daily fantasy, horse racing and prediction markets, pending bills, how the state taxes winnings, and who to contact if something goes wrong. Every page lists its sources and the month it was last checked.

Crypto at licensed books

Licensed US sportsbooks generally don’t accept crypto deposits. They pay out in dollars through cards, bank transfers, PayPal or cash at a retail counter, and they verify your identity before you can withdraw. “Crypto sports betting” in the US therefore usually means one of three things:

• An offshore sportsbook. Unlicensed in every state.
• A sweepstakes sportsbook. Picks made with virtual coins, one of which can be redeemed for cash. Several states have ordered them out or passed laws against them. See sweepstakes sportsbooks.
• A prediction market. Event contracts traded on an exchange regulated by the CFTC, a federal agency. Whether states can regulate sports contracts is being fought in the courts. See prediction markets vs sportsbooks.

The law moves

Legislatures change sports betting law every year, and court rulings on prediction markets kept coming through 2025 and 2026. The state pages show the month they were checked. Before you rely on one, confirm with the regulator it links to. These pages explain the law in plain English. They aren’t legal advice, and a lawyer licensed in your state is the right call if you face a real legal question.