The USA is considered a liberal country, but certain areas are not the case. For example, the gambling legislation in America is more restrictive than most worldwide sports betting laws.
All forms of sports betting were forbidden in much of the country for decades because of a law called The Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act, or simply PASPA. This bill prevented most states from offering sports betting or issuing licenses to third parties to do so.
It was blocking the entire industry up to 2018 when the US Supreme Court decided that enough is enough. The institution’s ruling effectively killed the law and left sports betting in the individual states’ hands.
Some stated reacted quickly and introduced bills on the matter in 2018 and 2019. You can now gamble on sports legally in New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Indiana, and a few other states.
More are bound to follow the same steps in the upcoming year. This post will look at the American states that are most likely to have legal sports betting in 2020.
Some of them already have the law in place but are yet to complete the formalities. Others are on the brink of the required legislation.
Tennessee
2019 saw a lot of discussion on the topic of gambling in Tennessee. Some expected that the state would make it legal last year because the local lawmakers sent a bill to the governor back in April.
The new law would only open the door to online and mobile sports betting, but land-based bookmakers have no option. It didn’t become official in 2019, but that seems bound to happen in 2020.
The local citizens will have the chance to enjoy legal gambling on sports very soon.
Illinois
Next in line is Illinois, and there is no doubt that legal sports betting will happen in the state during 2020. A bill was already introduced and signed in the spring of 2019.
All the paperwork and the preparations are done, and Illinois even released the application form recently. It’s only a matter of time before sportsbooks start to enter the market.
Michigan
One of the latest states to legalize sports betting is Michigan. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill late in December 2019 and that should open the gates for 2020.
The state already has a state lottery, some tribal casinos, and racetracks. After the latest legislation, there will be legal online bookmakers open to Michigan’s people.
New Hampshire
Another state that passed a sports betting bill in 2019 and is ready to go is New Hampshire. The industry was legal since the summer of last year, and there are only some formalities left. The state will open the doors to sports betting in 2020.
According to some reports, the first online and mobile gambling operators could enter the local market as early as January.
Conclusion
If you are an American who loves sports betting, you certainly should be happy with the U-turn since 2018. More and more states have realized that having a legal option to gamble on your favorite teams and players is much better for everyone.
It’s only a matter of time before the whole country has access to legal sports betting.
