The Legality Of College Football Betting Across The US

• There are a total of 13 states with active legal sportsbooks in the US.
• Each state with legal sports wagering has its own laws when it comes to betting on college sports.

Tallahassee, Fla. – With the 2019 college football season well in its groove, many fans across the country are getting to legally bet on college sports for the first time. However, the teams you can bet on and the types of wagers you can place depend on the state you are in.

Since the repeal of PASPA in May of 2018, there have been 17 states that have legalized sports betting. Of that number, 13 states have launched either online sportsbooks or retail sports betting of some type.

While the NCAA doesn’t support betting of any kind on their events, every state that has signed sports gambling into law has allowed its residents to bet on college football. But, in order to protect the integrity of the game and the players, certain provisions have been put in place.

States With College Football Betting Restrictions

New Jersey was the state that famously challenged the NCAA in the US Supreme Court which overturned the federal ban on sports betting known as PASPA.

After the path was cleared for them to offer this gambling activity, they implemented a specific rule for collegiate sports betting in the state. In New Jersey, sports bettors can not put money down on a team that is based in the state and they can not bet on collegiate events that are held in the state.

Rhode Island followed this specific restriction when implementing their sportsbooks and so did Delaware. New York which launched its first sportsbooks in August follows the same format. New Hampshire lawmakers also wrote this restriction into the bill that was signed into law in June.

Your ability to bet on college sports in Oregon will depend on which platform you use to put action on games. If you plan on visiting a tribal casino like Chinook Winds Casino Resort then you will be able to bet on the Oregon Ducks. The upcoming lottery app, however, will not have any odds for college football.

Tennessee, which has yet to launch any online sports betting operations, will allow you to bet on in-state teams but will restrict all live betting on college football. Iowa has similar provisions but only restricts in-game prop bets on Iowa’s college athletes.

The remaining states with legal sports betting allow complete freedom when it comes to which college teams you can bet on and how you can bet on them. Those states include Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico, Nevada, Indiana, Illinois, and Montana.

Notable College Football Games To Bet On This Week

There are several games this Saturday that will likely draw in a high amount of action from local fans. Those games include the Iowa Hawkeyes against the Iowa State Cyclones, the Indiana Hoosiers against the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

The closest game of all of these in terms of odds is Iowa against Iowa State. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, which operates in Iowa, the Hawkeyes are favored to beat the Cyclones with a point spread of just 2.5 points. About 66% of all bets have been put on the Hawkeyes to cover the spread, but you never know what can happen in a rivalry game.

Sportsbooks in Indiana and across the country are not giving the Hoosiers much of a chance against the Buckeyes. Both teams are going into the game 2-0, but bookmakers are expecting Ohio State Quarterback Justin Fields and the Buckeye offense to put on a show. The spread has been as high as 18 points in Ohio State’s favor.

Odds for Penn State vs. Pitt look very similar. In the 100th edition of these two schools facing each other, the Nittany Lions are favored by 17.5 points to defeat the Pittsburgh Panthers according to online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania. Penn State is 3-2 in its last five meetings against Pitt.

News tags: Delaware | Indiana Hoosiers | Iowa | Iowa Hawkeyes | Iowa State Cyclones | NCAA | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York | Ohio State Buckeyes | Oregon | Penn State Nittany Lions | Pittsburgh Panthers | Rhode Island | Tennessee