Key takeaways

• Ballot: Nebraska is the only state voting on sports betting this year. Initiatives 440 and 441, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, would allow online betting through the state's racetrack casinos, and both have to pass.

• New law: Wisconsin's 2025 Act 247, signed April 9, 2026, clears the way for statewide tribal betting apps. None has launched, because each tribe's compact has to be amended and approved by the Interior Department, and a lawsuit filed in August challenges the law.

• Bills that died: Georgia, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Dakota, Hawaii, Alaska and Alabama all saw 2026 bills fail or stall before adjournment.

• No session: Texas, North Dakota and Montana held no regular session in 2026. Texas lawmakers return in January 2027.

• California: No sports betting measure is on the 2026 ballot, and the state's tribes are aiming for 2028.

Where every state without online betting stands

19 states don't have legal statewide online sportsbooks as of October 22, 2026. Eleven have no legal sportsbook at all, and eight allow betting only in person or on casino grounds. The other 31 states and D.C. already have mobile betting, and the state guides index lists their current status. The table below covers this year's bills and ballot measures in the other 19.

Nebraska votes on online betting November 3

Nebraska voters approved casino gambling at racetracks in 2020, and sports betting there is in person only. The Racing and Gaming Commission's own page says "online and mobile sports wagering are not currently authorized in Nebraska." Initiative 440, a constitutional amendment on the ballot, would allow online sports wagers through licensed racetrack-casino operators, and Initiative 441 is the statute that sets the rules: two online platforms per racetrack casino, a 20% tax, and 70% of that tax for property tax relief. The Secretary of State certified both on August 21, 2026.

The committee behind the petitions, Tax Relief Nebraska, has been funded mostly by DraftKings and FanDuel. State Auditor Mike Foley and Treasurer Joey Spellerberg are part of Save Nebraska Sports, the coalition opposing them. If both pass, regulators still have to write rules and license the apps, so online betting wouldn't start on Election Day.

Wisconsin legalized tribal apps, but they aren't live

Gov. Tony Evers signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 247 on April 9, 2026. It takes phone bets placed anywhere in Wisconsin out of the state's definition of illegal betting when the server sits on tribal land and the wager runs under a tribal compact, and it deems those bets to take place on that tribal land. Florida's Seminole compact uses the same idea. Each of the 11 tribes needs an amended compact approved by the Interior Department before it can launch, and Evers began talks with tribal leaders in June. A suit filed August 5 by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty argues the law violates the state constitution's 1993 gambling amendment. Oneida Nation's app works only on Oneida land.

The 2026 bills that died

Georgia's HR 450, a constitutional amendment that needed 120 votes in the House, got 63 on March 6, and Georgia's two-year session ended in April with every gambling bill dead. Oklahoma's HB 1047, which would have let the tribes add sports betting to their compacts, fell 21 to 27 in the Senate on April 22.

Mississippi's House passed statewide mobile betting twice. HB 1581 cleared the chamber 85 to 31 on February 4, and HB 4074, with a 22% tax on online revenue that would mostly go to the state pension system, passed 100 to 11 on February 25. Senate Gaming Chairman David Blount let both die in committee in March. He pointed to HB 4074's cut to the casino tax and the revenue the state would lose.

South Dakota's SJR 504 would have asked voters this November to allow mobile betting through Deadwood casinos. It passed the Senate 23 to 10 on February 11 and died in House State Affairs on February 25. In Minnesota, the full Senate voted 22 to 44 on March 23 against adopting a committee report on SF 4139, and the bill went no further.

Hawaii's HB 2570 passed a House committee 4 to 3 on February 11 and never got another hearing. Alaska's HB 145, a mobile betting bill filed in March 2025, stayed in the House Labor and Commerce Committee, and Alabama's SB 257 never left the Senate Tourism committee before the session ended on April 9.

States with no bill moving

Texas legislators meet in odd years, so there was no regular session in 2026. Two 2025 resolutions to put sports betting on the ballot died without floor votes. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's interim charges in March 2026 asked the Senate State Affairs Committee to study prediction markets under the heading "Closing Gambling Loopholes." The 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027.

California's November 2026 ballot has 14 measures and none of them is about sports betting. Tribal leaders have said they're aiming for 2028, after voters rejected Propositions 26 and 27 in 2022. South Carolina's two bills, S. 444 and H. 3625, sat in committee through the two-year session. Idaho's constitution bars most gambling and no bill moved. Utah tightened its ban instead. HB 243, in effect since May 6, adds "proposition bet" to the state's definition of gambling.

North Dakota and Montana are biennial and return in January 2027. North Dakota's last attempt, a 2025 resolution to put the question on the 2026 ballot, failed in the House 24 to 70. In New Mexico, where tribal casinos run the only books, a legislator urged tribes at a June interim committee meeting to reopen their compacts for mobile betting, but no bill followed. Washington's 2026 change, SB 6137, allows bets on in-state college teams at tribal sportsbooks and leaves mobile betting limited to casino grounds.

When states can try again

Most of these legislatures open their 2027 sessions in January. Alabama starts later, in March, and Oklahoma in February. Georgia, South Carolina and Minnesota start fresh bill cycles in 2027, so any 2026 bill has to be refiled. Texas opens bill prefiling in November 2026, and any sports betting amendment there needs two-thirds of both chambers and then a statewide vote.

Until a state acts, residents of the 11 states with no sportsbook use paid daily fantasy apps where they operate, licensed books across the state line, or CFTC-regulated prediction markets such as Kalshi, Polymarket and Novig, which list sports contracts in most of them. Novig requires users to be 21 and lists every state except Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The guide to states without legal sports betting covers each option, and the crackdowns tracker covers state action against prediction markets.

FAQ

Which state is most likely to legalize online sports betting next?

Nebraska, if voters approve both Initiatives 440 and 441 on November 3, 2026. Wisconsin has already passed a law allowing statewide tribal apps, but they can't launch until the Interior Department approves amended compacts.

Will Texas legalize sports betting in 2027?

It would take a constitutional amendment passed by two-thirds of both chambers and then approved by voters. The 2025 resolutions didn't reach a floor vote, and the Senate's 2026 interim work is a study of prediction markets aimed at closing gambling loopholes.

Is California voting on sports betting in 2026?

No. None of the 14 measures on California's November 3, 2026 ballot covers sports betting. Tribes have said they're aiming for 2028.

Why does Mississippi keep failing to pass mobile betting?

The House keeps passing it, and the Senate hasn't let it out of committee. In 2026 the Senate Gaming chairman cited the bill's cut to the casino tax and the revenue the state would lose.

Can I bet online in Nebraska now?

No. It's legal only in person at licensed racetrack casinos, and online betting depends on the November ballot.

You must be 21 or older to bet in most states. Gamble responsibly. If gambling stops being fun, call or text the national helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (ncpgambling.org).