Alaska isn’t known for gambling, and that likely won’t change any time soon. On that same note, Alaska also isn’t known for sports, as they have no noteworthy professional teams or collegiate teams, so the AK sports betting scene is relatively quiet in the northern state.

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*The answer is no for those wondering if Alaska offers wagers with US-based bookmakers such as DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM. Offshore bookmakers are the only options for Alaskan players, so you’ll have to continue to wait to work with the likes of Caesars, PointsBet, BetRivers, Fox Bet, and Unibet. 

We aren’t saying that people don’t bet on sports in Alaska, or that they have no sports fans, it’s just not as popular as it is in most other states. If Alaskan residents want to get in on the sports betting action, they will need to sign up at an online sportsbook and bet offshore or travel to another state - likely by air because it’s not a close drive for any of them.

There are no casinos in Alaska, and tribal gaming, horse betting, lottery, and even daily fantasy betting are all illegal according to the Alaskan laws. Online betting is unspecified, and believe it or not, dog mushing is the only form of betting that’s legal.

When it comes to sports betting laws in Alaska, they are as restrictive as they come when it comes to gambling. However, they do have a loophole when it comes to charitable gambling. If you are participating in gambling to benefit a charity – they seem to have no problem with that. 50/50 draws, betting on fishing, etc. can all be wagered on, but it must be licensed, and those are hard to come by.

Daily Fantasy Sports is the only thing remotely close to sports betting available, and even so, that doesn’t even fall under the sports betting umbrella most of the time. There is no law in place in Alaska regarding online gambling. Many of their policies were created in the pre-internet era and have not been rewritten to ban any type of online gambling.

Alaska Betting

A Brief Timeline of the Legality of Alaska Sports Betting

  • February 22, 2022: Rep. Adam Wool introduces HB 385, a bill aiming to legalize and regulate online sports betting in Alaska, including a tax on daily fantasy sports and online sports betting revenue. Although the bill progresses to the Labor and Commerce Committee, it stalls there when the Legislature adjourns in May 2022.
  • February 12, 2020: Gov. Mike Dunleavy makes the initial push to legalize sports betting in the state. Introducing legislation that would have authorized a state lottery and included sports betting, the latter was discreetly added to the list of lottery games outlined in the legislation.

Alaska Sports Betting Timeline

We track the progress of sports betting in Alaska from the point where things got interesting up to the present day.

Major National Changes In 2018

You can’t physically visit a venue or location to bet on sports in Alaska. There was hope when sports betting was legalized in the United States in 2018; hope that all states would participate, but many have held back and to no surprise, Alaska hasn’t budged.

Alaska has established themselves as a successful and wealthier state due to their revenue from the oil industry, so they aren’t hurting like some of the other poorer states for the extra revenue. With no real need for casinos or gambling establishments of any kind, it’s unlikely that Alaska will even push a bill to legalize sports betting anytime soon.

Fast-Forward to 2020 and Hope for Change

There have been a few attempts to bring casinos to the Frontier state, the first being in 1987 and the last in 2008 which was easily written off with a heavy decline by all government officials. For now, we can assume that there’s no effort being made to bring sports betting to Alaska, unless oil tanks (which it has in March 2020 due to COVID-19) and Alaska will be looking for other streams of revenue for the state.

Alaskan residents can visit other states, but it’s not a quick trip across state lines as they’re fairly isolated in the Northern tips of North America. The best option for Alaskan bettors is to sign up at an offshore online sportsbook such as Bovada and place their wagers on the internet.

Online sportsbooks are safe and secure, and you can place real-time wagers from the comfort of your own home – the only option for Alaskan bettors. This option has been available for quite some time but since the legalization of sports betting in June 2018, new bettors have emerged and are flocking to sportsbooks to get in on the action.

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Alaska Casinos

There are no legal casinos in Alaska. That's why we strongly recommend you to use an online sportsbook or online casino. Check out in which states it is legal to gamble on sports and to visit a casino in our dedicated page for US legal sports betting.

What to look for in an online sportsbook

For new Alaskan bettors, our goal is to help you find a sportsbook that suits your needs: an online sportsbook that’s available in your state, that is safe and secure, with great odds and bonuses. We have some excellent sportsbook reviews written by our experts that outline important criteria you should look for when hunting for an online sportsbook.

OnlineSportsBetting will never recommend a sportsbook that isn’t well-known, recognized, and trustworthy. We have thoroughly reviewed these sportsbooks and have used them ourselves to provide the best reviews we can.

We also recommend looking for a sportsbook with the specific sport or game you want to wager on, as not all sportsbooks cover the same games, and some offer better odds than others. Another thing we recommend looking for when sportsbook shopping is the deposit options, as some sportsbooks won’t accept specific payment options which can be frustrating to learn after going through a sign-up process.

Legal Sports Betting States