Is online horse racing betting legal in my state? A state-by-state guide

Ahead of the 2024 Kentucky Derby, many sports bettors won’t find horse racing right in their sportsbook apps. But in most states, it is available through a separate platform.

Online horse racing is legal in far more states than sports betting. We’ve compiled a full list below of where it’s legal, and outlined which platform to use depending on which state you’re in.For example, you can sign up at TwinSpires with offer code PIRACING to get up to $400 in bonus bets for Kentucky Derby weekend, and throughout this month.

About 80% of U.S. states/jurisdictions have legalized betting on online horse racing, though the rules and operators in each state can be a little different. For example, New Jersey has its own horse racing platform powered by TVG called 4NJBets. So if you try to sign up at FanDuel Racing or TVG, you’ll be directed to a different site. Arizona previously restricted online horse wagering, but now offers online betting.

Below is a list of the 41` states where residents can wager on the Kentucky Derby and other forms of online horse racing in alphabetical order. Some of these states have certain restrictions on what types of wagers you can place, but it’s legal to place these wagers nonetheless.

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

In addition to Washington D.C, nine states haven’t legalized online horse racing betting.

These states in alphabetical order are: Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.

While online sports betting is illegal in many of these states, betting on horse racing is allowed.

The reason for this is the same reason why betting on daily fantasy sports is legal in states where online sports betting isn’t. Bookmakers aren’t setting the odds on horse racing, meaning you’re not going up against the house.

Instead, the odds of each horse race are determined by what other bettors are wagering on.

There are many betting platforms where players can wager on online horse racing. But of all the options out there, we like TwinSpires, FanDuel Racing, and TVG the most.

You can redeem their respective welcome offers by clicking on their offer module atop this page. The reason FanDuel Racing has two offer modules is because the upper most module is for players in a state where online sports betting is legal. If you’re in a state where online sports betting isn’t legal, you’ll click on the bottom offer module.

All the sign-up bonuses above will give you bonus bets instead of withdrawable cash if you end up receiving any. Bonus bets cannot be withdrawn as cash but are able to be used to pay for wagers in the future.

Of the two welcome offers above, TwinSpires’ is the one that may cause the most uncertainty for new players. This welcome offer rewards you for wagering on their platform. Every $400 wagered credits you with $100 worth of bonus bets. You max out on bonus bets at $400, meaning $1,600 is the maximum amount you’d need to wager.

Your wagers will be tallied over the course of the first 30 days your account is active.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.