Is sports betting legal in Alaska?
No. No Alaska law authorizes sports wagering, and the state has no commercial casinos or sportsbooks. Outside a social game in a home, the legal options are charitable gaming licensed by the Department of Revenue, the permanent fund dividend raffle, and tribal gaming halls that run electronic machines under federal law. The two sports betting bills of the 34th Legislature, HB 145 and SB 194, never reached a floor vote and died when the Legislature ended in May 2026.
Why it isn't legal yet
A sports bet fits Alaska's criminal definition of gambling. AS 11.66.280 defines gambling as staking something of value on "a contest of chance or a future contingent event not under the person's control or influence," and it calls conduct unlawful when it's "not specifically authorized by law." Placing a bet is a violation, with a fine of up to $1,000 from the second offense on (AS 11.66.200). Taking bets is promoting gambling: a class A misdemeanor, or a class C felony when the operation is a "gambling enterprise," meaning five or more people running it for more than 30 days or grossing $2,000 or more in a single day (AS 11.66.210 and 11.66.220).
The only sports wager state law sanctions is the Calcutta pool. Under AS 05.15.180 and 05.15.690, a municipality or a qualified nonprofit organization with a permit may run one, and bettors bid at auction for the right to wager on a contestant in an amateur or professional sporting event held in the state, horse racing excluded. The same chapter allows dog mushers' contests on race times and the Nenana and Chena ice pools, which it limits to the way they "were conducted in 1959 and previous years."
Alaska's constitution doesn't mention gambling or lotteries, so the Legislature could authorize sportsbooks with an ordinary statute. The 35th Legislature convenes on the third Tuesday in January (AS 24.05.090), which is January 19, 2027, and any new bill would start over there.
The history of sports betting law in Alaska
Lottery, card room and pull-tab bills (2019 to 2026)
Every Legislature since 2019 has seen gambling expansion bills, and none has passed. Rep. Colleen Sullivan-Leonard's HB 103 (March 20, 2019) would have created a State Gaming Commission and licensed card rooms; both of its scheduled hearings were canceled or skipped. Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked for an Alaska Lottery Corporation in HB 246 and SB 188, introduced February 12, 2020, and both stopped in State Affairs.
Electronic pull-tabs have gone furthest. The governor's HB 200 cleared House Labor and Commerce on March 27, 2024 and stalled in Finance. Sen. Jesse Bjorkman's SB 170 passed the Senate 14 to 6 on May 11, 2026, then 17 to 3 on reconsideration the next day. A House committee substitute left Labor and Commerce on May 14, and the bill's last recorded action was a House Finance meeting on May 19, 2026 where it was scheduled but not heard.
Sports betting bills
Rep. Adam Wool filed the first one, HB 385, on February 22, 2022. It would have licensed up to 10 mobile operators for a $5,000 fee and taxed both mobile sports gaming and fantasy sports at 12% of adjusted gross revenue. It went to Labor and Commerce and was never heard.
Rep. David Nelson's HB 145, introduced March 21, 2025, kept the 10-license cap and raised the price: a $100,000 license fee, a 20% tax on adjusted gross revenue, a minimum age of 21, and a rule that each applicant already hold a mobile sports wagering license in at least three other states. College games were included, and the commissioner of revenue would have run the program. The Department of Revenue's fiscal note estimated $1 million to $18 million a year starting in fiscal 2027. House Labor and Commerce heard the bill on May 16, 2025 and February 27, 2026 and held it both times. GeoComply data filed with the committee in February 2026 showed it had processed about 56,000 geolocation checks from Alaska between September 1, 2025 and February 9, 2026 and that it blocked attempts to bet on sportsbooks licensed in other states.
Sen. Mike Cronk's SB 194, introduced May 14, 2025, carried the same title and terms. Senate Labor and Commerce heard it once, on May 8, 2026, and held it.
Tribal gaming
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 lets tribes run gaming only on "Indian lands," and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 left most Alaska tribes with little land that qualifies. Before Eklutna, only Metlakatla and Klawock could run gaming halls, and because of state law both offer electronic machines instead of table games. The Native Village of Eklutna's Chin'an Gaming Hall in Birchwood, at the northern end of the Municipality of Anchorage, opened on a limited basis on January 20, 2025 and to the public on February 3, 2025. None of these halls takes sports bets.
Sports betting court cases in Alaska
None of the Alaska gaming cases we found involves a sportsbook or a sports bet. They're about where tribes may run gaming halls.
Native Village of Eklutna v. Department of the Interior (D.D.C., 2019 to 2022)
Eklutna asked Interior in June 2016 to treat the Ondola Allotment, an 8.05-acre parcel granted to Olga Ondola in 1963 and still owned by her heirs, as Indian lands eligible for gaming. Acting Assistant Secretary John Tahsuda said no on June 18, 2018, applying a 1993 Solicitor's opinion (M-36975). The tribe sued on August 8, 2019 (No. 19-cv-2388), and the State of Alaska intervened on Interior's side. Judge Dabney Friedrich granted summary judgment to Interior and the state on September 22, 2021, holding that the 1993 opinion was valid and correctly applied, and judgment entered January 10, 2022.
Holl v. Avery (D. Alaska No. 3:24-cv-00273)
On February 1, 2024, Solicitor Robert Anderson issued M-37079, which found that Alaska tribes are presumed to have jurisdiction over Native allotments. Interior applied it to the Ondola parcel in June 2024, and National Indian Gaming Commission Acting Chair Sharon Avery approved Eklutna's gaming ordinance on July 18, 2024. Birchwood residents led by Brian Holl sued Avery and the tribe on December 16, 2024, arguing among other things that Eklutna isn't a federally recognized tribe. Judge James L. Robart dismissed the case with prejudice on June 27, 2025. He held that the tribe is federally recognized, keeps its sovereign immunity, and is a required party that can't be joined, so the suit couldn't go forward. The residents moved for reconsideration on July 2, 2025, and the Alaska Beacon reported on September 30, 2025 that the case was on appeal at the Ninth Circuit. We couldn't confirm the appeal's docket number or its status as of September 27, 2026.
State of Alaska v. Department of the Interior (No. 3:25-cv-00148)
The state filed this suit in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2025 (No. 25-cv-0330). It asks the court to set aside the Anderson opinion and the commission's approval under the Administrative Procedure Act, and it argues that the 2021 judgment bars Eklutna from relitigating the Indian-lands question. Judge Paul L. Friedman transferred the case to the District of Alaska on June 23, 2025, where it's assigned to Judge Ralph R. Beistline. The Alaska Beacon reported in September 2025 that the case was on hold for the Holl appeal, and Eklutna moved for Judge Beistline's recusal on April 10, 2026. On September 25, 2025, Deputy Interior Secretary Kate MacGregor revoked the Anderson opinion and told Interior and the commission to reevaluate actions taken under it. Eklutna said the hall remained open. We couldn't confirm whether the recusal motion was decided or whether the case is still on hold.
Prediction market rulings that bind Alaska
We found no Alaska lawsuit or cease-and-desist letter against Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, Underdog or Novig, and no operator suit against the state. Attorney General Stephen Cox signed the amicus brief that Ohio, New Jersey, 37 other states and D.C. filed on March 10, 2026 in Nos. 25-7187, 25-7516 and 25-7831, backing Nevada.
In KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad (No. 25-7516), decided August 28, 2026, a panel upheld the dissolution of Kalshi's preliminary injunction against Nevada regulators. It held that Kalshi's sports event contracts are not "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act, so the Act likely does not preempt Nevada's gaming regulations as applied to them. Kalshi petitioned for rehearing en banc in September, and the petition is pending. In Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, Inc. (No. 25-7504), decided September 16, 2026, the court held that two California tribes are likely to show that Kalshi's sports contracts entered on tribal lands are class III gaming under IGRA. Ninth Circuit precedent binds the federal courts in Alaska.
The Third Circuit went the other way in KalshiEX v. Flaherty (No. 25-1922, April 6, 2026). New Jersey's petition was docketed at the Supreme Court on September 8, 2026 as No. 26-299, and Kalshi's response is due November 9, 2026 under an extension granted September 22.
Prediction markets and daily fantasy
CBS Sports' state tracker listed Alaska as live for Kalshi and Polymarket sports contracts as of September 25, 2026. AS 11.66.280 excludes from "gambling" bona fide contracts for the future purchase or sale of securities or commodities; we found no Alaska court decision applying that exclusion to event contracts. Novig, which operates as Ludlow Exchange, LLC and was designated a contract market by the CFTC on June 16, 2026, excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, so it accepts Alaska traders who are 21 or older and pass ID checks.
No Alaska statute legalizes or bans paid daily fantasy, and the 12% fantasy tax in HB 385 never got a hearing. Action Network's tracker, last updated March 14, 2025, listed both traditional DFS and pick'em contests as operating in Alaska.
Help with a gambling problem
Alaska doesn't run its own helpline that we could find. The National Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), takes calls and texts, and chat is at 1800myreset.org. The National Council on Problem Gambling's Alaska page also lists Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon.
Sources
Alaska Statutes 11.66.200 to 11.66.280, gambling offenses and definitions
Alaska Statutes 05.15.180, limits on authorized charitable gaming
GeoComply Alaska geolocation data, House Labor and Commerce (February 2026)
HB 103 (2019) State Gaming Commission and card rooms bill record
Legal Sports Report: Alaska sports betting bill returns for 2026
Native Village of Eklutna v. Department of the Interior, D.D.C. No. 19-cv-2388 (Sept. 22, 2021)
State of Alaska v. Department of the Interior, D.D.C. No. 25-cv-0330, transfer order (June 23, 2025)
State of Alaska v. Department of the Interior, D. Alaska No. 3:25-cv-00148, docket
Holl v. Avery, D. Alaska No. 3:24-cv-00273, order of dismissal (June 27, 2025)
Alaska Beacon: Interior opinion on tribal jurisdiction over allotments (2024)
Anchorage Daily News: Eklutna opens limited gambling operation in Birchwood (2025)
Anchorage Daily News: judge rules in favor of Birchwood tribal casino (2025)
Alaska Beacon: state sues to stop Eklutna gambling hall (2025)
Alaska Beacon: Interior revokes legal memo behind Eklutna and Juneau gaming halls (2025)
KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, Ninth Circuit No. 25-7516 (Aug. 28, 2026)
Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, Inc., Ninth Circuit No. 25-7504 (Sept. 16, 2026)
CBS Sports: sports prediction market status in all 50 states