Vermont

Last verified September 25, 2026

By the Legal Sportsbooks US editorial team

Vermont

Online only

Legal since

January 11, 2024 (online)

Minimum age

21 (18 for daily fantasy)

Regulator

Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery

Licensed apps

3 (DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics Sportsbook)

State law

31 V.S.A. ch. 25 (1301 et seq.)

Is sports betting legal in Vermont?

Yes, online only. Act 63 of 2023 (H.127), which Gov. Phil Scott signed on June 14, 2023, lets the Department of Liquor and Lottery contract with two to six mobile sportsbooks. Three apps went live at midnight on January 11, 2024: DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook. You must be 21 and physically in Vermont to bet, and the state has no retail sportsbooks or casinos.

Where you can bet

The market runs on state contracts. Each of the three operators paid a $550,000 operator fee, $1,650,000 in all, collected in fiscal 2024. The statute says the fee can't be charged more than once in any three-year period, and the department's FY2025 annual report says the next round is due in fiscal 2027. Each operator also hands the state a share of adjusted gross revenue set in its bid. The law's floor is 20%, and Commissioner Wendy Knight told Vermont Public in December 2023 that DraftKings and Fanatics would each pay 31% and FanDuel 33%.

Some events are off the board under 31 V.S.A. § 1301. You can't bet on a college team based in Vermont, on any high school or college event played in Vermont, or on events where most participants are under 18. Games in a college tournament that a Vermont team plays in are allowed. The department also bars player props on NCAA athletes, and says it was one of the first states to do so.

In fiscal 2025, the first full year, Vermonters and visitors wagered $212.5 million. Operators kept $19.6 million in adjusted gross revenue and paid the state $6.2 million. About 23,100 people bet in an average month, and 31% of the handle came from out-of-state users.

How Vermont legalized sports betting

Gambling law before 2018

We found no gambling or lottery clause in the Vermont Constitution, so gambling policy is set by statute. Title 13, chapter 51 fines anyone who wins or loses money by gambling $10 to $200 (§ 2141). Bookmaking and pool selling have been banned since a 1961 act (§ 2151). A first offense carries up to $250 or six months in jail, and a repeat offense up to $2,000 or five years (§ 2152). Section 2153 now bars holding or simulcasting pari-mutuel horse or dog races.

The Legislature created the state lottery in 1977 (Act 82, effective April 27, 1977). Its enabling law forbids any lottery game that depends on the outcome of an athletic contest (31 V.S.A. § 651). Vermont joined Maine and New Hampshire in the Tri-State Lotto Compact in 1985 and in 2003 let the lottery join up to four multistate games (31 V.S.A. § 652). Vermont's four tribes are recognized by the state, and we found no tribal gaming compact.

Fantasy contests got a statute six years before sportsbooks did. Act 70 of 2017 added 9 V.S.A. chapter 116, effective January 1, 2018, and fantasy operators registered with the Secretary of State under it.

Bills and studies, 2019 to 2022

The Supreme Court's May 14, 2018 ruling in Murphy v. NCAA struck down the federal ban on state-authorized sports betting. In Vermont, Sen. Michael Sirotkin's S.59, filed January 29, 2019, would have created a Sports Betting Study Committee. It passed the Senate on June 17, 2020, went to the House General, Housing and Military Affairs committee the next day, and died there. S.213, a mobile-only bill from Sens. Richard Sears and Sirotkin filed January 7, 2020, never left Senate committee, and neither did Sears's S.77 of February 11, 2021.

H.313, an alcohol-law bill that Scott signed on June 8, 2021 as Act 70 of 2021, directed the Office of Legislative Counsel and the Joint Fiscal Office in Sec. 6(a) to report on sports betting regulation by October 15, 2021. Their 2021-2022 report covered 25 states and D.C. and set out the choice between a state-controlled market run through contracts and a license-and-tax model.

H.127 and Act 63 (2023)

Rep. Matthew Birong of Vergennes introduced H.127, and it was referred to the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee on January 31, 2023. The House passed it on March 24. The Senate passed an amended version on May 4, the House agreed to the Senate changes on May 9, and Scott signed it on June 14, 2023. The act took effect on passage.

Under Act 63, the department negotiates with operators through competitive bidding, with the bids judged on revenue to the state, conversion of illegal bettors and problem-gambling protections (31 V.S.A. § 1320). An unauthorized company that takes sports bets faces fines of up to $50,000 for a first violation, $150,000 for a second and $300,000 after that, plus possible jail terms (§ 1325). The act moved fantasy contests into the same chapter under the department, with an 18+ age limit and a $5,000 annual registration. It also set up a Problem Gambling Program in the Department of Mental Health and appropriated $250,000 to it for fiscal 2024.

Launch and changes since

Bidding opened in July 2023. On December 12, 2023, Scott's office named DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics. Knight told Vermont Public that Penn Sports Interactive's application was missing documents and that BetMGM proposed a revenue share that changed with the number of operators, which Knight called "not acceptable." The January 11 launch date was picked to line up with the NFL playoffs. Sports wagering brought in $3,529,341 in fiscal 2024, from the January launch through the end of the fiscal year.

Chapter 25 hasn't been amended since 2023; every section still carries only its 2023 enactment note. H.133, filed February 4, 2025 by Rep. Thomas Stevens and two co-sponsors, would have repealed the statutes authorizing both the lottery and sports wagering. It never left committee, and neither did Stevens's 2026 prediction-market bill, H.913, covered below.

Sports betting court cases in Vermont

We found no case in Vermont's state or federal courts over sports wagering, Act 63 or prediction markets, searching the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont and Vermont Supreme Court records on CourtListener on September 25, 2026. We also found no cease-and-desist letter from Vermont to any prediction market and no lawsuit by or against the state over one. With no tribal compact, there's no compact litigation either.

The Second Circuit appeals

Rulings of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which also covers New York and Connecticut, bind the federal court in Vermont. Three prediction-market appeals are pending there.

KalshiEX LLC v. Williams, No. 26-1835: Kalshi sued New York gaming regulators in the Southern District of New York on October 26, 2025 (No. 1:25-cv-08846). On July 7, 2026, Judge Analisa Torres denied a preliminary injunction, holding that New York's gambling laws, as applied to Kalshi's sports-event contracts, aren't preempted by the Commodity Exchange Act. Kalshi appealed the same day.
KalshiEX LLC v. Cafferelli, No. 26-2239: Kalshi sued Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection in the District of Connecticut on December 3, 2025 (No. 3:25-cv-02016). Judge Vernon D. Oliver denied a preliminary injunction on August 7, 2026, finding that Kalshi's sports-event contracts aren't swaps within the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction and that Connecticut's gambling laws don't conflict with federal law.
Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc. v. Tong, No. 26-2297: a parallel appeal against Connecticut, docketed August 17, 2026.

A single judge refused Kalshi temporary injunctions on July 29 (New York) and August 19 (Connecticut) and sent the motions to a three-judge panel. On September 3, the court ordered the three appeals heard in tandem. Kalshi filed its New York brief on August 31, and the CFTC filed an amicus brief on September 8. New York's brief is due October 30, and Kalshi's Connecticut brief is due September 30. The dockets showed no panel ruling as of September 25, 2026.

Rulings from other circuits

The other circuits have split, and neither ruling binds Vermont. The Third Circuit held for Kalshi against New Jersey on April 6, 2026 in KalshiEX, LLC v. Flaherty (No. 25-1922), finding it likely that federal law preempts the state's gambling law. New Jersey's officials have asked the Supreme Court to review that ruling (Flaherty v. KalshiEX, No. 26-299). The Ninth Circuit went the other way for Nevada in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad (No. 25-7516) on August 28, 2026.

Vermont's attorney general, Charity Clark, signed the April 2026 amicus brief of Nevada, Ohio, 35 other states and D.C. backing Massachusetts in Commonwealth v. KalshiEX (SJC-13906). Vermont isn't among the signers of the March 10, 2026 brief from Ohio, New Jersey, 37 other states and D.C. in the Ninth Circuit Nevada appeals.

Prediction markets and daily fantasy

No Vermont statute names prediction markets. Chapter 25 defines sports wagering to include "exchange wagering," and § 1325 penalizes unauthorized sportsbooks, but the state hasn't used either provision against a prediction market. H.913, filed February 25, 2026 by Rep. Stevens and 12 co-sponsors, would have made it a crime under 13 V.S.A. chapter 51 to offer prediction contracts on sports, politics, disasters, war or death. It would also have voided those contracts and added a $0.50 fee to every sportsbook wager. It was referred to the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee and didn't move after that. WCAX reported on April 24, 2026 that the department called it "an unserious action," that Clark voiced support for states' authority to regulate prediction markets, and that Vermont hadn't joined any of the state suits. Novig (Ludlow Exchange, LLC, designated a contract market by the CFTC on June 16, 2026) is available here, since its eligibility page excludes only Nevada, Arizona and Michigan and which requires users to be 21 with ID; it charges no fee on pregame straight trades, while takers pay on live trades, futures and parlays and makers pay nothing.

Daily fantasy is legal for players 18 and older. Operators register with the Department of Liquor and Lottery on or before October 15 each year and pay $5,000 (31 V.S.A. § 1333). The attorney general enforces the fantasy rules under the Consumer Protection Act.

Help with a gambling problem

Call 1-800-GAMBLER or text 800-GAM, open 24/7. VTGamblingHelp.org, managed by the Institute for Consumer Health and funded by the Vermont Department of Mental Health, has live chat and resources for Vermonters. The Department of Liquor and Lottery keeps a statewide self-exclusion list that covers all three sportsbooks and fantasy operators.

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.