Montana isn’t a booming sports state. They have no professional sports teams, only a few notable collegiate teams for Montana residents to root for. All sports fans in Montana follow their Minor League Baseball teams or teams from out of state.

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A Brief Timeline of the Legality of Montana Sports Betting

  • February 13, 2024 – Montana Lottery reported an $5.9 million (18% decrease) in sports betting for January 2024, with American football leading at $3.1 million (52% of bets), basketball at $2.2 million (37%), and ice hockey at $281,579 (5%), resulting in a 13% decline in total sports betting gross win in the state.
  • January 11, 2024 – Montana’s sports handle decreased by 15% to $6.2 million in December, marking the fourth consecutive month with wagers surpassing $6 million.
  • January 9, 2024 – Despite the Grizzlies’ loss to the Jackrabbits in the FCS championship game, some found a silver lining as the largest-ever Sports Bet Montana handle for a Griz game was wagered during the Sunday match.
  • December 17, 2024 – Sports gambling creeps forward, though no clear signs of legislative changes on the horizon.
  • November 11, 2023 – Montana announces the handle from the previous year. In total, Montanans wagered $46 million.

Montana Sports Betting Timeline

Montana has long contested the sports betting laws in the state, but in recent years have made more progress.

1992 and the PASPA Ban

The 1992 PASPA ban actually gave four states immunity, with Montana being one of them. The state was eligible to allow sports betting all this time. They allowed pool betting, a non-banking game, which is essentially a form of social gambling.

With just over one million residents in the state of Montana, there is no way they would bring in enough revenue to host a professional sports team. With no teams in the state to be influenced by sports betting, they are poised to be a great, non-controversial state for sports betting.

At last changes arrive in 2020

Finally, in 2020legal sports betting arrived in Montana. Sports betting bill H275 was passed by Governor Steve Bullock, making them the ninth state to legalize sports betting. The bill will now allow online sports betting, betting on sports at kiosks in bars, restaurants, and taverns.

Sports betting kiosks are maintained by INTRALOT, the global lottery company, and have kiosks at over 142 locations in the state. Sports bettors can bet up to $250 at kiosks and $1000 on the Sports Bet Montana app. The app can only be used inside a sports betting venue, so bettors won’t be able to bet on sports from home.

What sets Montana apart from other states is that their sports betting offering is technically a lottery model, which works quite well for the state in terms of revenue building and protecting the taxpayer from risk.

Despite being fairly proactive with legalizing sports betting, Daily Fantasy Sports are actually banned in Montana. It doesn’t make much sense to have sports betting and many expected DFS to be legalized when sports betting was introduced. Many hope that once sports betting is off the ground, that lawmakers will change their minds about Daily Fantasy Sports.

Can I bet on sports in Montana?

Yes, you can bet on sports in Montana at any of the state-run and licensed betting venues, and there are plenty to choose from. The Sports Bet Montana app is geofenced, so you can visit any location in a sports bar, tavern or pub and place wagers from your phone if you prefer that over the kiosk.

SportsbookAvailable In Montana
FanDuel
DraftKings
Caesars
FoxBet
BetRivers
BetMGM
PointsBet
UniBet

Offshore sportsbooks are also another great option for sports bettors who don’t want to go visit a physical venue. Betting on online sportsbooks will allow you to get the full sportsbook effect, without leaving your home. The convenience is the biggest appeal, as you don’t have to leave your home and aren’t limited to betting only in public venues.

Online sportsbooks are safe and there are so many to choose from, we have chosen our favorites and given in-depth reviews of each to ensure you have all the facts before signing up.

montana sportsbooks

Montana Casinos

There are ten casinos in Montana and all are owned by several Native American tribes. There are also four smaller Indian gaming businesses on tribal lands, and over 100 licensed electronic gaming casinos.

None of the casinos in the state have sports betting kiosks, but that’s not to say that there could be regulations in the future that could change.

It’s estimated by the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022, there could be over 2,000 sports betting locations in bars and taverns in the state of Montana. The interesting thing about Montana is that you only have to be 18 to gamble in the state.

montana gambling

Popular Sports Teams to Bet on in Montana

While Montana doesn’t have any professional sports teams or really many sports teams at all, sports fans still get their fix by rooting for the small collegiate programs in the state.

The University of Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats are popular in Montana, and when it comes to rooting for out of state professional teams, many tend to lean towards the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, Seattle Mariners of the MLB, the Utah Jazz of the NBA and the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.

Top Online Sportsbooks in Montana

You want to make sure you know all of the facts, so we compiled a list of criteria that we graded each sportsbook on, such as deposit options, bonuses, mobile-friendliness, Montana betting apps, cashout options and the odds offered.

You want to line shop and find a sportsbook that has great odds, a hefty bonus, and the deposit option of your choosing. There’s nothing worse than signing up at a sportsbook and then finding out they won’t take your desired payment method.

The top sportsbooks we’ve reviewed are in our sportsbook review section, where you can educate yourself on all of their important features.

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