Gambling law and policy, explainedAn independent publication from California
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Where betting on games is legal in the United States, the court case behind it and the grey areas around it.
A plain guide to which states allow sports betting, how online and in-person rules differ, and where to confirm your own state's status.
Photograph by Baishampayan Ghose via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
How a New Jersey challenge to a 1992 federal law reached the Supreme Court and handed sports betting decisions back to the states.
Sept. 19, 2026
What California's Attorney General concluded about paid fantasy contests, how pick'em and draft games differ, and what the opinion leaves unresolved.
Sept. 19, 2026
A plain guide to sports event contracts, the federal agency that oversees them, and the state and tribal challenges that keep their status unsettled.
Sept. 19, 2026
Why unlicensed overseas betting sites fall outside state protection, what federal law says about them, and how to confirm an operator is licensed.
Sept. 19, 2026
Six states run licensed real-money poker sites, three have legalized it without launching, and California has neither passed a law nor opened a market.
