Where Is Gambling Legal?

Legal and regulated gambling is one of the world’s most popular pastimes and is enjoyed in multiple countries around the globe. However, each country has its own gambling laws, and not every gambling activity is legal in every country. Some countries may permit all forms of gambling while others may outlaw everything but lotteries and bingo.

To make this page easier to navigate, we have categorized each country based on the region they are located in. These categories include:

• The US
• The UK
• Canada
• Europe
• Latin America

Is Gambling Legal in the US?

One would imagine that the United States has the widest selection of gambling options anywhere in the world, after all, Las Vegas, a place synonymous with gambling, is located in the US. But that is not the case.

In the US, each state is responsible for its own gambling activities, and therefore some activities legal in one state may not be legal in another. You’ll find a variety of legal online gambling options ranging from local bingo halls to online casino and poker, depending on where you live.

Here is an overview of the legal gambling options in different US states:

State	Sports Betting	Casino	Bingo	Lottery
Alabama	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	No
Alaska	No – horse race betting only	No	Yes	No
Arizona	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Arkansas	Yes – Land-based only	Yes – Racetrack Casinos	Yes – Charitable only	Yes
California	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes- Charitable only	Yes
Colorado	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Connecticut	Yes – Online and land-based – Tribal Only	Yes – Online and land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Delaware	Yes – Land-based only	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes	Yes
Florida	Yes – Online and land-based – Tribal Only (coming soon)	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Georgia	No	No	Yes	Yes
Hawaii	No	No	No	No
Idaho	No	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Illinois	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Indiana	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Iowa	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based only	Yes	Yes
Kansas	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Kentucky	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Louisiana	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Maine	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Maryland	Yes – Online and land-based – Coming soon	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Massachusetts	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Michigan	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes	Yes
Minnesota	No – horse race betting only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Mississippi	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	No
Missouri	No	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Montana	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based – Tribal Only	Yes	Yes
Nebraska	No	No	Yes	Yes
Nevada	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based		Yes
New Hampshire	Yes – Online and land-based	No – Poker rooms only	Yes	Yes
New Jersey	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes	Yes
New Mexico	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
New York	Yes – land-based	Yes – land-based	Yes	Yes
North Carolina	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
North Dakota	No	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
Ohio	No	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Oklahoma	No	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
Oregon	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only		Yes
Pennsylvania	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes	Yes
Rhode Island	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
South Carolina	No	No	Yes	Yes
South Dakota	Yes – land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Tennessee	Yes – Online only	No	Yes	Yes
Texas	No	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
Utah	No	No	No	No
Vermont	No	No	Yes	Yes
Virginia	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes	Yes	Yes
Washington	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
West Virginia	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes	Yes
Wisconsin	No	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes
Wyoming	Yes – Online only	Yes – Land-based – Tribal only	Yes	Yes

Is Gambling Legal in the UK?

The United Kingdom is one of the most open gambling markets in the world and allows citizens to legally partake in several types of gambling including online casino, sports betting, and bingo. 

Here is an overview of the legal gambling options available in the countries that make up the UK.

Country	Sports betting	Casino	Bingo	Lottery
England	Yes – Online and retail	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based
Northern Ireland	Yes – Online and retail	No	Yes	Yes
Scotland	Yes – Online and retail	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based	Yes – Online and land-based
Wales	Yes – Online and retail	Yes – Online and retail	Yes – Online and retail	Yes – Online and retail

Is Gambling Legal in Canada?

Each Canadian province is free to regulate gambling activities at the provincial level. Most of the legal gambling options are run by provincial lottery operators and tribal groups. In 2021, Canada legalized single-event sports wagering and the market is currently in the process of opening up to online commercial operators. 

Below is a list of legal gambling options in Canada.

Province	Sports betting	Casino	Bingo	Lottery
Alberta	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
British Columbia	Yes	Yes – Land-based and state-run online site	Yes	Yes
Manitoba	Yes	Yes – Land-based and state-run online site	Yes	Yes
New Brunswick	Yes	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Northwest Territories	Yes	No laws explicitly prohibiting, but there are no casinos in the region	Yes	Yes
Nova Scotia	Yes	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Nunavut	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ontario	Yes	Yes – Land-based – Online coming soon	Yes	Yes
Prince Edward Island	Yes	No – However, there is one operational racino	Yes	Yes
Quebec	Yes	Yes – Land-based – Online coming soon	Yes	Yes
Saskatchewan	Tes	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Yukon	Yes	Partly – Law permits “temporary gaming establishments”	Yes	Yes

Is Gambling Legal in Europe?

Every European country has its own rules when it comes to what forms of gambling are legal. Some countries outlaw all forms of gambling, while others are completely open with fully regulated online and land-based industries. 

Here is a breakdown of the legal gambling options in Europe:

Country	Sports betting	Casino	Bingo	Lottery
Albania	No	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Andorra	Yes – Land-based only	Yes – Online and Land-based. But there are no land-based casinos	Yes	Yes
Armenia	Yes – Online	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Austria	Yes – Online	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Azerbaijan	Yes – Online	No	Yes	Yes
Belarus	Yes – Online	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Belgium	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bulgaria	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Croatia	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Cyprus	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Czech Republic	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Denmark	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Estonia	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Finland	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
France	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Germany	Yes – Online	No	Yes	Yes
Greece	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Hungary	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Iceland	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ireland	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Italy	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Kazakhstan	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Kosovo	No	No	No	No
Latvia	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Liechtenstein	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Malta	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Moldova	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Monaco	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Montenegro	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Netherlands	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
North Macedonia	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Norway	Yes – State-run operation	Yes – State-run operation	Yes	Yes
Poland	Yes	No	No	Yes
Portugal	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Romania	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Russia	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Slovakia	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Slovenia	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Spain	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Sweden	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Switzerland	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Turkey	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ukraine	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes

Is Gambling Legal in Latin America?

In recent years Latin American countries have moved to expand their gambling operations across online and land-based verticals. While some countries still outlaw all gambling activities, some countries in Latin America boast fully-fledged legal online gambling markets. Check out what is available in Latin America below.

Province	Sports betting	Casino	Bingo	Lottery
Argentina	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Bolivia	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Brazil	No – Sports betting legislation coming soon	No	No	Yes
Chile	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	No	Yes
Colombia	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Costa Rica	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Cuba	No	No	No	No
The Dominican Republic	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Ecuador	No	No	No	No
El Salvador	Yes	Yes – Land-based	No	No
Guatemala	No	No	Yes	Yes
Honduras	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Mexico	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Nicaragua	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Panama	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Paraguay	Yes – Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Peru	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Puerto Rico	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Land-based	Yes	Yes
Uruguay	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes
Venezuela	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes – Online and Land-based	Yes	Yes