| Updated: September 26, 2025The United States has one of the most complex legal landscapes for sports betting. This complexity stems from the absence of a federal law standardizing the activity. After the federal ban on sports betting was lifted in 2018, individual states were given the green light to decide if and how they would regulate the industry.
As you know, the United States consists of 50 states, each of which has the authority to regulate the sports betting market as it sees fit. Many states have legalized sports betting because of the social and economic benefits it provides. Some U.S. states allow only in-person betting, while others also permit online wagering. Certain states prohibit betting on specific sporting events. At the time of writing, 36 states offer some form of sports betting.
Best U.S. Sports Betting Sites
Although online sports betting is legal in some states, there are still not many locally regulated sportsbooks. If you live in a state where online sports betting is not allowed, you will need to join one of the many offshore platforms that are usually licensed in Curaçao, Panama, or Costa Rica, or in other jurisdictions. However, when choosing an offshore sportsbook, you should keep in mind that not all of them are safe. That is why our team at BonusInsider has compiled a list of the best U.S.-friendly sportsbooks.
Best US Sports Betting Bonuses
U.S. sports bettors can choose from a wide range of offshore betting sites, each featuring promotions designed to attract new customers and reward loyal ones. Remember, though, that online sportsbooks never hand out bonuses for nothing – you must meet the bonus terms before you can cash out any winnings. Below, we outline the most common types of sports-betting bonuses available to U.S. fans.
Deposit Bonus Free Bets Risk-Free Bets Cashback Bonus Acca InsuranceDeposit Bonus
New customers are often welcomed with deposit-match bonuses that award a percentage of their first deposit up to a stated limit. Before withdrawing any profits, bettors must meet the wagering requirement and comply with any odds restrictions. Some sportsbooks also restrict the types of bets you can place while a bonus is active, and wagers on certain sports may not count toward the rollover. These conditions usually have to be met within a specified period.
At some betting sites, the welcome bonus is released gradually as you place real-money wagers on qualifying events – for example, $1 of the bonus is unlocked for every $20 wagered. Always read the bonus terms and conditions carefully and follow them to the letter.
Free Bets
Many sportsbooks reward new users who verify their accounts with a free-bet bonus. You can usually claim between $5 and $25 and use it to place a wager without risking your own money. In most cases, the free bet cannot be divided among multiple wagers. If the bet wins, you may withdraw the profit, but the value of the free bet itself will be removed from your payout.
Risk-Free Bets
A risk-free bet requires you to stake real money, but if your wager loses, the sportsbook refunds the original stake as free credits that can be used on selected events, or sometimes on any event. The main difference between free bets and risk-free bets is timing: free bets provide bonus funds upfront, while risk-free bets reimburse you only if your first wager is unsuccessful.
Cashback Bonus
Many online sportsbooks offer cashback promotions that let existing customers recoup a percentage of their losses over a specified period. Be aware that the refunded amount is not always wager-free.
Acca Insurance
In an accumulator bet, every selection must win for the wager to pay out; a single losing leg wipes out the entire stake. With acca insurance, however, your stake is returned as free bets, bonus funds, or sometimes cash provided every leg except one wins. Acca insurance usually carries conditions regarding the minimum number of selections and qualifying odds.
Betting Regulation in the US
The legal status of sports betting in the United States is complex because each state decides whether and how to regulate the activity. Consequently, gambling laws differ from one state to the next, and some jurisdictions allow only certain forms of sports wagering. Because of this patchwork, many operators have chosen not to accept U.S. bettors.
Even so, numerous offshore sportsbooks licensed abroad continue to serve American customers. These platforms are not subject to U.S. sports-betting laws because they operate under foreign licenses. As noted above, many states have already legalized online sports betting, enabling operators to obtain state licenses and offer their services without violating local statutes. Keep in mind that state-licensed sportsbooks may accept wagers only from bettors located within the state’s borders.
Several federal laws have shaped the evolution of sports betting in the United States. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the Interstate Wire Act, which criminalized the business of accepting wagers over interstate wires but did not directly prohibit individuals from placing bets.
In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), preventing all but a few states – Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon – from regulating sports betting.
Under PASPA, Delaware bettors were limited to three-team (or more) NFL parlays, Montana allowed only sports pools and fantasy sports leagues, and Oregon permitted parlay bets until dropping them in 2007 to host the NCAA Championship.
In 2006, the federal government enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which barred gambling businesses from “knowingly accepting payments” related to unlawful Internet wagers. The law exempted fantasy sports, skill games, and legal intrastate or tribal gaming, yet it still drove many operators out of the U.S. market.
Offshore sportsbooks nevertheless continued to accept American players. Because banks and financial institutions were prohibited from processing gambling-related transactions, these sites embraced cryptocurrencies to bypass the restriction.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA, opening the door for individual states to regulate sports betting. The ruling stemmed from a challenge by New Jersey, which argued that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution.
In Which US States Online Sports Betting is Legal?In Which US States Online Sports Betting is Legal?
After PASPA was overturned, many states moved quickly to regulate the industry. As noted earlier, some jurisdictions allow only in-person sports betting, while others have authorized online wagering as well. As of January 2023, 26 states and Washington, D.C., offer online sports betting, including:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- Wyoming
- Arkansas
- Montana
- Nevada
- Maine
- Rhode Island
Nevada was the first state to legalize sports betting, doing so in 1949. Gambling in the Silver State is overseen by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and bettors there can place a wide variety of wagers on numerous sporting events.
One month after PASPA was struck down, Delaware legalized sports betting, introducing single-game wagering at the state’s three casinos. New Jersey followed suit later in 2018, when Governor Phil Murphy signed the state’s sports-betting bill into law. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement now regulates the industry in the Garden State.