Eric Uribe

Wyoming is set to join the throng of states that have legalized sports betting in some form. The move, while not entirely unexpected, comes after an initial rejection. That leaves some skeptical it will get past the governor, who, in this scenario, ultimately has the final say. But we don't believe there's any cause for concern.

Lots of things went wrong in 2020 and at the start of 2021. If one thing went right, though, it was the United States' push toward more widespread legal sports betting. The coronavirus pandemic incentivized local governments to green light sports betting at a faster pace, and the results speak for themselves. Ten new states have passed a bill to legalize sports wagering in the last year alone, with more expected to follow. Some states, however, remain holdouts.

The Kentucky Derby is still one of the hallmark sporting events — not just in the Bluegrass State but across the United States. Horse racing might not have the mainstream allure it once did (when it was arguably the second- or third-most popular sport in the country), but the prestige of the "Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports" remains. 

The 2022 event will happen on Saturday, May 7. It will draw a huge volume of sports bets — but legally speaking, none from the state it's actually happening in. That's because sports betting remains banned inside Kentucky. That has cascading effects across the state, as we'll explain.

Sports fans in Texas have been waiting on pins and needles for years to see if the state will ever legalize sports betting. That wait lives on, and it will continue until at least November 2022, when the next major elections are held and the matter is expected to be voted on. But Beto O'Rourke, a former presidential candidate now running for governor in Texas, has just recently thrown an interesting wrinkle into the equation. 

Alabama has long been notorious for its opposition to any form of gambling and is the only state east of the Mississippi River to now offer any sort of lottery. That commitment to puritanism remained intact earlier this spring as the 2022 Alabama state legislative session drew to a close without a vote on two proposed bills that would clear the way for an increase in legal gambling.

As legal online sports betting has become more common in the United States, the overarching discussion around gambling has expanded to include how this shift impacts collegiate sports. Many regions with legal sports betting preclude residents from wagering on college teams within their state or collegiate sports in general. The state of Michigan, however, appears to be going in the complete opposite direction—a decision that will no doubt have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the country.

Unlike more than half of the United States, Texas has yet to legalize online sports betting for its residents. Though many have hoped that would change, there has been a healthy amount of skepticism surrounding the stance of the government, tribes who operate casinos, and lobbyists pushing for current restrictions to remain in place. But for the first time in quite a while, it's starting to feel like legal sports betting will be coming to Texas—not immediately, but at least in the near future.

All eyes remain on California as the future of sports betting continues to play out in combative fashion. Though residents cannot vote on the next measure to legalize sports gambling until November 2022, there has been no shortage of talk about which proposal, if any, will gain the most support. With months to go before the official vote, however, details have emerged on which options residents will be able to choose from.

The six biggest professional sports teams in Missouri have joined forces with local casinos in a push to bring legal, regulated sports betting to the Show Me State. In early April, representatives of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, NHL’s St. Louis Blues, MLS’ St. Louis SC, NWSL’s Kansas City Current, and MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals publicly voiced their support for legislation that would pave the way for both land-based and mobile-only sports betting.

At the onset of 2022, it looked like Oklahoma would legalize sports betting before the year was out. The House Appropriations and Budgetary Committee approved a bill that would give online gambling the stamp of approval—known as HB3008—and the House of Representatives seemed open to green lighting it as well. However, with a crucial May deadline looming for HB3008 to pass, the legislation has hit a snag that it's not expected to overcome.

To this point, the absence of legal sports betting in California looms as a major outlier. Thirty-three states and Washington D.C. have already made the leap, which amounts to more than half of the United States. California, however, has so far resisted making the same transition. That may change this November, on their election ballot. Or it may stand. Either way, though, the stakes are incredibly high—not just for California alone, but for the rest of the country.

Though California remains among the states that have yet to legalize sports betting, many believe this will ultimately change, even if it doesn't happen for another year or so. And while there are many factors that will determine whether The Golden State changes their stance, it absolute matters how voters feel on the subject. Legalization becomes tougher if they're predominantly against it. As it turns out, though, they may not be.

Texas continues to remain among the holdouts in the United States when it comes to legalizing sports betting. This insistence on not addressing the issue with any sort of urgency has many citizens and political figures annoyed—particularly when the state has passed on so many ostensibly intriguing proposals. What's next for the future of sports betting in Texas, if anything? We're not quite sure. But it begins with lobbyists spending truckloads of money to try inflicting change.

The race to bring legal sports betting to Missouri before the local legislature adjourns on May 13 is heating up. So much so, in fact, that professional sports franchises throughout the state have joined the push to bring about change. With so many in favor of legalizing sports gambling, and with so much money on the line, should we expect Missouri to take the plunge 33 other states have already made? Let's break it all down.

Entering 2022, over 30 states in the U.S. have made the decision to legalize sports betting in some form. Others, meanwhile, have proposed or even approved legislation that would do the same in the next year or so. And yet, to the surprise of many, California has isn't a member of either group. They haven't legalized any form of sports betting and won't rehash the issue again until their November 2022 ballot. What, pray to tell, does this mean for the future of sports betting in the state? We're here to have a look.

Legal sports betting first arrived in New York at the start of January 2022. However, given how delayed the rollout proved to be at the beginning of a new year, February marked the first full month in which sports betting was fully legal. And not surprisingly, it was a banner pay period for the state. New York accepted more than $1.5 billion in sports bets for February, which amounts to nearly $100 million in total revenue for the state itself. And believe it or not, the best has probably yet to come.

In what many considered a surprising move, Churchill Downs, Inc., has decided to remove online and mobile sports betting options from their portfolio. The company, which is based in Kentucky and synonymous with the Kentucky Derby that takes place at the Churchill Downs racetrack, believes it no longer makes sense for their customers to use such services offered by them. But are they correct? And will this decision have any impact on legal sports betting in the larger state of Kentucky? Let's take a look.

As soon as legal sports gambling arrived in Iowa towards the latter half of 2021, the revenue started streaming down in droves. Not only did they clear nine figures in their first month, but they nearly toppled a quarter-billion dollars in total sports bets during their inaugural go-round. And if you thought that was something, you haven't seen anything yet. Iowa has continued to reset their sports-betting benchmark ahead of the 2022 March Madness tournament, and they don't appear as if they'll ever look back. 

Sports betting is officially legal in more than half of the United States as of February 2022. Chief among the holdouts, though, is the state of Minnesota, which has thus far resisted green lighting sports gambling practices despite so many of their neighboring regions having already made the plunge. And yet, many expect this to change over the next year. Are they correct? Or will it still be a while before Minnesota joins the ranks of those that have legalized sports betting?

The start of 2022 has brought with it big changes to the state of Wisconsin. Residents can now place legal sports bets...sort of. Only one casino currently owns the right to operate as a legal sportsbook, and you need to show up in person to place your wager. Will other casinos have the chance to join them? And will Wisconsin ever pivot to online sports betting? Let's take a look.

Here's some good news for people if The Buckeye State: Legal online sports betting is set to hit Ohio no later than 2023. The decision comes as many places in the United States have officially greenlit sports betting or have legislation in place that intends to do so in the near future. As is the case with every legalization, though, Ohio still has a few steps left before residents can start placing wagers without issue.

Another state has taken the plunge and rolled out legal online sports betting. After a long waiting period following an intense round of debates on the subject, Louisiana had six online sportsbooks go live throughout the state on Friday, January 28. This is obviously a huge step for the entire state for so many reasons. But there are some stipulations and long-term ramifications worth analyzing. And it just so happens that's why we're here.

As more and more places are legalizing sports betting in all of its forms, the state of Washington is now under scrutiny for its own gaming laws. Currently, they only allow tribal casinos to offer sports-betting options and continue to reject legislation that would allow other operations to obtain sports-gambling licenses. This, naturally, has angered card rooms, which are other gambling establishments that have been legalized and located throughout the state.

There has been a battle over the future of sports betting in Florida for quite some time now. The jist of the issue: The Seminole Tribe currently has a monopoly on all sports betting rights and wants to keep it that way, but sports venues, online sportsbooks and pari-mutuel establishments want to accept wagers, as well. The fight culminated in the Seminole Tribe halting their online sports-betting operation at the start of the December after a surprise ruling from a judge. So...what's next?

Sports betting continues to receive the green light from plenty of places in the United States. It has already hit Illinois this year, among other locales, and is about to reach New York. And yet, along with California, Texas appears to be behind the times. Not only is sports betting yet to be legalized, but it has no chance of getting the official okay until 2023...and that's if residents are lucky.

With New York set to legalize online sports betting in 2022, California is now the state that looms as the biggest outlier among those who have yet to give sports gambling the green light. While the issue is scheduled to be voted on sometime in 2022, it is just one step in a long, not-even-close-to-being finished process. Some are convinced the vote will even be pushed back. Recently, though, optimists think the tide will change. But why?

Sports betting in New York is already operational at certain retail locations and will be available online at the start of 2022. However, recent news has stipulated that there will be restrictions on which teams bettors can invest in. Will the impact of the limitations of professional sports? College sports? What does this mean for the future of sports betting in New York, if anything? We've got all the answers.

As many other places in the United States continue their push toward legalized sports betting, North Carolina remains among the places where the future of its approval is in doubt. There has been legislation proposed to greenlight some forms of sports betting, but current loopholes, economic inequalities, and skepticism surrounding projections could prevent the state from introducing legal gambling anytime soon—or maybe at all.

Online sports betting is no longer up and running in Florida—for now, at least. A federal judge has overturned a piece of legislation that was signed into law this past May by the state's governor, Ron DeSantis, that green lit online sports betting through the Seminole Tribe. Their operation, which launched on November 1, has officially been shut down, suddenly jeopardizing the long-term future of online sports betting in Florida.

Maryland is following in the footsteps of neighboring states and getting ready to roll out legalized sports betting. It has been a long, drawn-out process, but with the region's gaming commission approving sports betting licenses for five casinos, it finally seems like the wait is almost over. The remaining question, though: When will Maryland officially allow their residents to start placing legal sports wagers?

It has been a long wait for residents of New York, but the state has officially announced that it approved multiple licenses for mobile sports betting. The move finally puts them in line with neighboring states who have been ahead of the legal sports betting curve. However, the decision does not mean New Yorkers can start whipping out their phones and immediately place bets at this second. Read on to find out why.