Nevada

Last verified September 27, 2026

By the Legal Sportsbooks US editorial team

Nevada

Online and retail

Legal since

1949 (retail); 2010 (mobile)

Minimum age

Regulator

Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission

Licensed apps

Casino-linked mobile apps

State law

NRS ch. 463 (463.0193 sports pool)

Is sports betting legal in Nevada?

Yes. Nevada has licensed sports betting since 1949, and it was the one state where casino sportsbooks stayed legal under the 1992 federal ban (PASPA). You can bet at casino sportsbooks or on apps tied to them, and phone betting has been approved since 2010. The rules are in NRS Chapter 463 and Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation 22, and you've got to be 21.

Where you can bet

The Nevada Gaming Control Board counted 184 licensed sports pool locations statewide in June 2026. Sportsbooks won $612.5 million from bettors in the 12 months to June 2026, and $432.9 million of that (about 71%) came from phones, computers and tablets.

Every app is run by a licensed casino sports pool, and you have to be physically in Nevada to bet. Opening an account still means showing photo ID to a sportsbook employee in person. Regulation 5.225 lets casinos confirm identity remotely for other wagering accounts, but it carves out sports accounts, which Regulation 22.140 handles: ID is checked at the book, or at an outside location the Board chair has approved. Since July 28, 2026, the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas has been powered by Caesars Sportsbook, and new Caesars mobile accounts can be opened there.

College games are on the board, including UNLV and Nevada. Election betting isn't allowed. Regulation 22.1205 bars wagers on any election for public office.

How Nevada legalized sports betting

1931 to 1974: turf clubs and the federal tax

The Legislature legalized wide-open gambling on March 19, 1931, in the Depression. Sports betting came in 1949, when Nevada began allowing wagers on horse racing and professional sports at turf clubs, which were independent of the casinos. In 1951 Congress put a 10% federal excise tax on sports wagers, and 21 of the state's 24 race and sports books closed.

1974 to 2018: casino sportsbooks and PASPA

Congress cut the excise tax to 2% in 1974 and to 0.25% in 1983, which is still the rate in 26 U.S.C. § 4401 for state-authorized bets. In 1975 the Legislature authorized race and sports wagering in casinos. The Union Plaza in downtown Las Vegas opened the first casino sports book that year, and the Stardust followed in 1976.

When Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 1992, a grandfather clause let Nevada's casino sportsbooks keep operating. For the next 26 years Nevada was the only state with legal sports betting in casinos. The Supreme Court struck PASPA down in Murphy v. NCAA on May 14, 2018.

Mobile betting and account rules

Regulators approved Cantor Gaming's eDeck betting tablet in November 2008, and by late 2009 bettors at the M Resort in Henderson were using handheld devices inside the sportsbook. On August 31, 2010, American Wagering announced the Leroy's app for BlackBerry, which it called the first mobile phone betting app approved in Nevada. William Hill bought American Wagering in 2011 and relaunched the apps statewide.

Proposals to let bettors open sports accounts without a casino visit came up in 2016 and 2018 and didn't pass, and the Board canceled a 2020 workshop on the idea. William Hill and Station Casinos had opposed remote sign-up in earlier rounds. In January 2022 the Commission approved remote registration for cashless casino accounts, and the Nevada Independent reported that the change didn't reach sports accounts.

College, Olympic and election rules

From the 1950s, Nevada books couldn't take bets on UNLV, the University of Nevada, Reno or other college teams playing in the state. The Gaming Commission lifted that ban unanimously on January 25, 2001 (effective February 7), and at the same time barred athletes and coaches from betting on their own games. The vote came while Senator John McCain was pushing Congress for a national ban on college betting. The same 2001 changes outlawed bets on amateur non-collegiate events, the Olympics included. The Commission put the Olympics back on February 26, 2015, subject to limits set by the Board chair, and at that meeting it also approved betting on virtual events.

Sports betting court cases in Nevada

Every case below is about federal preemption: whether sports event contracts sold on exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are wagers that need a Nevada license. The Board's position, in Notice 2025-77 (October 15, 2025), is that they are wagers under NRS 463.0193 and 463.01962 wherever they're listed. Statuses are as of September 27, 2026.

KalshiEX v. Hendrick, later KalshiEX v. Assad (federal)

The Board sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter in March 2025, saying its sports and election contracts made it an unlicensed sports pool under NRS 463.160 and 463.245. Kalshi sued on March 28, 2025 (D. Nev. No. 2:25-cv-00575), and Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon granted a preliminary injunction on April 9, 2025. The Nevada Resort Association intervened on the state's side. On November 24, 2025, Gordon dissolved the injunction, holding that Kalshi's sports contracts probably aren't "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act.

On August 28, 2026, a Ninth Circuit panel (Judges R. Nelson, Bade and Lee) affirmed in a published opinion, No. 25-7516. It held that the contracts likely aren't swaps because they're sports bets, rejected Kalshi's conflict and field preemption arguments, and sent the election contracts back to the district court. Kalshi petitioned for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc on September 9, 2026. We found no ruling on that petition as of September 27. The Third Circuit had ruled for Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026, and New Jersey's Supreme Court petition in that case (No. 26-299) was docketed September 8.

Nevada v. KalshiEX (Carson City)

The Board filed its own enforcement suit in the First Judicial District Court on February 17, 2026. Kalshi removed it to federal court, and Judge Miranda Du sent it back to Carson City on March 2. Judge Jason D. Woodbury issued a temporary restraining order on March 20 and a preliminary injunction on April 28. His amended injunction of May 18 (No. 26 OC 00050 1B) bars Kalshi's sports, election and entertainment contracts in Nevada.

The Board moved for contempt on June 12, 2026, after its investigators kept buying banned contracts. In an agreement filed July 23, Kalshi admitted those trades and agreed to finish geofencing through a third-party provider by August 12 or pay $120,000 a day. In a filing on August 14, the Board said investigators placed nine prohibited trades on iPhones after that deadline, and it asked the court to impose the daily penalty. Kalshi says it complied and that the investigators misrepresented their location. We found no ruling on that motion as of September 27.

North American Derivatives Exchange (Crypto.com) v. Nevada

Crypto.com's exchange arm sued the Board in June 2025 (D. Nev. No. 2:25-cv-00978). Judge Gordon denied a preliminary injunction on October 14, 2025, holding that contracts on the outcome of live events aren't swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in an unpublished memorandum on August 28, 2026 (No. 25-7187). Crypto.com filed a Supreme Court petition on September 11, 2026 (No. 26-344). The Court extended Nevada's response deadline from October 15 to November 16.

Robinhood Derivatives v. Dreitzer

Judge Gordon denied Robinhood's request for a temporary restraining order on November 25, 2025, three months after the company sued (D. Nev. No. 2:25-cv-01541). The Ninth Circuit affirmed by memorandum on August 28, 2026 (No. 25-7831). Robinhood petitioned the Supreme Court on September 10, 2026 (No. 26-338), and the Court extended Nevada's response deadline from October 14 to November 13.

Nevada v. Blockratize (Polymarket)

The Board sued the Polymarket companies in Carson City on January 16, 2026, and a restraining order followed on January 29. Polymarket removed the case (D. Nev. No. 3:26-cv-00089), and Judge Du remanded it on March 2, 2026, rejecting both of Polymarket's grounds for federal jurisdiction. Judge Woodbury granted a preliminary injunction against Polymarket US on May 29, 2026. The Ninth Circuit put Polymarket's appeal of the remand (No. 26-1343) on hold pending the Kalshi appeals, and we couldn't confirm whether it has moved since those were decided on August 28.

Coinbase Financial Markets v. Ford

Coinbase sued in federal court on February 4, 2026 (No. 2:26-cv-00256), a day before a Carson City judge issued an ex parte restraining order in the Board's case against it. On February 7, Judge Cristina D. Silva dismissed the federal suit without prejudice under Younger abstention and, as a second ground, the Anti-Injunction Act. Judge Kristin Luis granted the state a preliminary injunction on March 26, 2026 (No. 26 OC 00030 1B), barring Coinbase's sports, election and entertainment contracts in Nevada and giving Coinbase 60 days to comply.

Prediction markets and daily fantasy

Sports contracts on prediction markets are blocked in Nevada. Court orders cover Kalshi, Polymarket and Coinbase, and the Ninth Circuit has refused injunctions to Kalshi, Crypto.com and Robinhood. The Board has also acted against its own licensees. On November 12, 2025, it accepted Flutter's surrender of its Nevada registration and the FanDuel Sportsbooks licenses and let DraftKings withdraw its pending applications, saying both companies planned to "engage in unlawful activities related to sports event contracts." Novig, which runs a CFTC-regulated market through Ludlow Exchange, LLC (designated a contract market June 16, 2026), lists Nevada as ineligible along with Arizona and Michigan.

Paid daily fantasy has needed a Nevada sports pool license since October 2015. The Board ruled on October 15 that daily fantasy is gambling and ordered DraftKings, FanDuel and other unlicensed sites to stop operating in the state immediately. On October 16 it posted the Attorney General's memo, which concluded that daily fantasy contests "constitute sports pools and gambling games."

Help with a gambling problem

Nevada Council on Problem Gambling 24-hour helpline: 1-800-GAMBLER.

Sources

Common questions

How we track and verify state laws

What does Legal Sportsbooks US track?

Every state's legal status, the date betting became legal, the minimum age, the regulator and the licensed apps, plus the legal history and court cases behind them, for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Our page on how we track and verify state laws explains the details.

What do the statuses mean?

Online and retail means licensed mobile apps and in-person sportsbooks both operate. Online only means betting happens through licensed apps, with no retail sportsbooks. Retail only means you can bet in person at licensed venues, but there's no statewide app. Not legal means no licensed sportsbooks operate. Legislation pending means a bill or ballot measure is moving, but betting hasn't launched. Not yet verified means we haven't confirmed the state's current status.

Can I bet on sports where I live?

The rules follow where you are when you place the bet. Licensed apps use geolocation to confirm you're inside a state where they can operate, and some states limit betting to certain premises. Find your state in the state index, or read our guide to location rules.

How old do you have to be to bet on sports?

It's 21 in 33 of the 40 jurisdictions with legal sports betting and 18 in five: Washington, D.C., Montana, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Wyoming. In North Dakota and Washington, the tribal casino sets the age.

How current is the tracker?

State laws and licenses change, so every state entry records the date it was last verified. If a status looks out of date, the state regulator's website has the official answer.

Is this legal advice?

No. We summarize public information about state sports betting laws. Confirm the rules with your state regulator before you bet, and don't wager more than you can afford to lose.