Is online gambling legal in United States?
There is no federal gambling licence. Since the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in May 2018, each state decides which verticals to allow, who may hold a licence and at what tax rate, under federal statutes such as the Wire Act and UIGEA. Sports betting is legal in 39 states plus D.C.; online casino games are legal only in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, with Maine legalized but not yet live. Licences are tied to locally licensed casinos, tribes, lotteries or sports franchises, and suppliers must be licensed in each state. In 2025 and 2026 nine states enacted statutes against sweepstakes casinos.
| Vertical | Status in United States |
|---|---|
| Online casino | Restricted |
| Sports betting | Regulated |
| Online poker | Restricted |
| Lottery | Monopoly |
| Social casino (free to play) | Permitted |
Partially regulated: Some verticals are licensed (usually betting); others are prohibited or unaddressed.
Who regulates gambling in United States?
- New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJ DGE) — Licenses and supervises casinos, internet gaming and sports wagering in New Jersey, the reference US iGaming market
- Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) — Licenses interactive gaming, sports wagering and suppliers in the largest US online casino state
- Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) — Licenses internet gaming and sports betting and leads enforcement against unlicensed and sweepstakes-model sites
United States gambling licence: how it works
Licensing is state by state. In each legal state the online licence is held by, or tethered to, a locally licensed casino, tribe, racetrack, lottery or, for sports betting in some states, a professional franchise, with a limited number of online brands per licence holder. Entry usually means a market-access agreement with a licence holder plus the operator's own suitability review. Platform, game, geolocation and payment vendors need a supplier licence in each state, and every game and RNG needs certification by a laboratory the state recognizes.
What an applicant needs
- State operator licence or a market-access agreement with a licensed casino, tribe, racetrack or lottery
- Suitability investigation of the company, owners and key employees, with audited financial statements
- Supplier licensing for the platform, game content, geolocation and payment providers in each state
- Laboratory certification of the platform, RNG and each game before launch
- Identity and age verification (21 in most states), continuous geolocation, state self-exclusion integration and Bank Secrecy Act AML reporting
Gambling taxes in United States
- Operators: State taxes on gross gaming revenue vary widely: online sports betting rates run from 6.75% (Nevada, Iowa) to 51% (New York), and online casino rates range from about 15% to about 54% on Pennsylvania online slots. In 2025 New Jersey moved online casino and sports betting to 19.75%, Maryland raised mobile sports betting to 20%, Louisiana to 21.5%, and Illinois added a per-wager charge of USD 0.25 (USD 0.50 after 20 million bets a year). Federal law adds a 0.25% excise tax on legal sports betting handle plus corporate income tax.
- Players: Winnings are taxable ordinary income federally and in most states. Operators issue Form W-2G; for 2026 the slot and bingo reporting threshold rose to USD 2,000. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed 4 July 2025, limits the deduction of gambling losses to 90% from tax year 2026; repeal bills had not left committee as of mid-2026.
- Also: Many states cap the deduction of promotional credits. Tribal operators pay compact revenue shares instead of state gaming tax. Commercial operators paid USD 17.86 billion in gaming taxes in 2025 (AGA).
Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments
Advertising
Regulated by each state and by the AGA Responsible Marketing Code: no targeting of people under the legal age, no college campus partnerships, mandatory responsible-gaming messaging and helpline numbers, and bans on 'risk-free' language in states such as Ohio, Massachusetts and New York. Advertising a sweepstakes casino is unlawful in the states that banned the model.
Responsible gaming
Statewide self-exclusion lists, player-set deposit, wager, time and loss limits, cooling-off periods, 1-800-GAMBLER display and problem-gambling funding from tax revenue. Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and, from 2026, Maine prohibit credit card deposits.
Identity and age verification
Identity verification at registration (name, date of birth, address and Social Security number check), age 21 in most online states, continuous geolocation, self-exclusion screening, and Bank Secrecy Act AML programs with reporting to FinCEN.
Payments
Debit cards, ACH and online banking, PayPal, prepaid gaming cards, Apple Pay and cash at partner casino cages are the main rails. Credit cards are prohibited in a growing list of states and no state-regulated operator accepts cryptocurrency. UIGEA prohibits processors from knowingly accepting payments for unlawful internet gambling.
Notable restrictions
- Online casino is unlawful outside the seven live states (and Maine once live); operating without a state licence is a criminal offense
- Sweepstakes casinos with cash redemption are banned by statute in nine states (Oklahoma's ban applies from 1 November 2026) and blocked by enforcement in Michigan, Washington, Idaho, Nevada and Louisiana
- Players must be inside the licensing state for every wager; cross-state play exists only for poker under the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement
- Prediction-market sports contracts are contested: the Third Circuit sided with Kalshi in April 2026, the Ninth Circuit sided with Nevada in August 2026, and the question is before the Supreme Court
United States iGaming market: size, players and payments
The American Gaming Association reported record commercial gaming revenue of USD 78.62 billion in 2025 (up 9.1%), including USD 16.89 billion from sports betting and USD 10.73 billion from online casino in seven states (up 27.6%); about USD 125 billion including tribal gaming (State of the States 2026).
Online sports betting was 96.5% of sports betting revenue in 2025, and online casino revenue exceeds land-based revenue in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan (AGA).
FanDuel and DraftKings lead sports betting, followed by BetMGM, Caesars, Fanatics and bet365; dozens of casino brands compete in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Timeline: how United States got here
- 1961Wire Act prohibits interstate transmission of sports wagers
- 2006-10UIGEA bars payment processing for unlawful internet gambling
- 2013-11New Jersey launches regulated online casino and poker; Delaware and Nevada launch the same year
- 2018-05Supreme Court strikes down PASPA in Murphy v. NCAA, letting every state legalize sports betting
- 2025-07One Big Beautiful Bill Act caps gambling loss deductions at 90% from 2026; New Jersey, Maryland and Louisiana raise online tax rates
- 2025-10Montana and Connecticut sweepstakes bans take effect and California signs AB 831; New Jersey banned the model in August and New York in December
- 2025-12Missouri launches online sports betting, the newest state market
- 2026-04Maine legalizes tribal-exclusive online casino and bans sweepstakes casinos; Indiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma also enact bans in 2026
- 2026-08Ninth Circuit lets Nevada enforce gaming law against Kalshi's sports contracts, splitting with the Third Circuit
Outlook
Expect further state tax increases in 2026–2027 budgets, more sweepstakes prohibitions (Oklahoma's takes effect on 1 November 2026), and Maine's online casino launch in late 2026 or early 2027. The Supreme Court's handling of the Kalshi cases and the CFTC's proposed replacement of Rule 40.11 will decide whether sports event contracts stay outside state licensing. Online casino bills in New York, Maryland, Indiana and Illinois have stalled, and federal repeal of the 90% loss-deduction cap was pending but not enacted as of September 2026.
Launching in United States with GameBridge
Model decided with counsel. US real-money markets require the operator to hold a state licence and suppliers to be licensed in each state; GameBridge does not hold US state supplier licences and does not claim market access. The social and sweepstakes route depends on a state list that changed repeatedly in 2025–2026, so the model is decided with counsel per state and vertical.
A US brand on GameBridge starts from a state-level geo list: real-money casino and sportsbook features are enabled only where the operator's licence and supplier approvals exist, and prize-redemption sweepstakes mechanics are disabled by default in every state that has banned or is enforcing against the model. English and Spanish (Latin America) site languages ship with a USD wallet and debit, ACH, instant bank transfer and prepaid rails through the operator's licensed processors. Responsible-gaming settings map to state rules, geolocation is enforced on every session, and GameBridge Studios and Originals ship with the certification package a US-recognized laboratory needs. None of this substitutes for the operator's own state licences.
- State-by-state geo lists with vertical switches for casino, sportsbook, poker and social play
- Sweepstakes redemption disabled by default in banned and enforcement states
- English and Spanish (Latin America) site languages with a USD wallet
- Self-exclusion integration, deposit and time limits and 21+ identity gates
- Certification package for every GameBridge Studios and Originals release
Slots and live dealer tables drive US online casino revenue and parlays drive sportsbook margin; the aggregated catalog brings studios approved in each live state on request, and GameBridge Studios builds exclusive sports-themed slots to the operator's brief.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling legal in the United States?
Which US states allow online casinos in 2026?
How do I get a US online gambling licence?
What is the gambling tax rate in the United States?
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in the United States?
Which payment methods do US players use for online betting?
How does GameBridge work with US operators?
Sources and review
Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.
- State of the States 2026: The AGA Survey of the Commercial Casino Industry — American Gaming Association, accessed 2026-09-11
- AB-831 Gambling: operation of a contest or sweepstakes (2025–2026) — California Legislative Information, accessed 2026-09-11
- LD 2007, An Act Regarding the Prohibition of Online Sweepstakes Games — text and status — Maine Legislature, accessed 2026-09-11
- H.R.1440 — Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act of 2025 (federal wagering excise tax background) — Congress.gov, accessed 2026-09-11
- Prediction Markets, Sports Contracts, and the Growing Federal-State Divide — Moore & Van Allen, accessed 2026-09-11
- Maryland Governor Signs Sports Betting Tax Hike Into Law — Covers, accessed 2026-09-11
- New York AG Settles With VGW Over Illegal Sweepstakes Casinos — Gaming.net, accessed 2026-09-11
- House Rules Committee Blocks FAIR BET Act, Leaving 2026 Gambling Tax Reform Uncertain — PlayUSA, accessed 2026-09-11
- Indiana Governor Signs Sweepstakes Casino Ban — Covers, accessed 2026-09-11
Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.