Is Esports Betting Legal? US States and Worldwide

General information, not legal advice. Rules change, and this page covers many countries, so always check your own regulator before you place a bet. Where a country's position is unclear or mixed, we say so rather than guess.

Whether you can bet on esports depends on three things, and the game itself is the least important one:

1. Where you are. Gambling law is national in most countries and state or provincial in the US, Canada and Australia.
2. Whether the operator holds a licence valid where you are. A licence from another country usually does not count.
3. Whether the event itself is allowed. Many regulators approve esports leagues one by one, and many bar events with young players.

The United States

Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision that ended the federal sports betting ban, each state sets its own rules, and esports is treated differently from traditional sports.^[1] There is no official federal count. Industry guides put the number of states that allow esports wagering at roughly 16 to 19, with around a dozen more prohibiting it, so treat any exact figure as approximate.

How states decide. Most states do not say "yes" or "no" to esports as a whole. They keep a catalogue of approved leagues and events, or approve events one at a time:

• Catalogue and approval states: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio work this way, and esports is only available once the regulator adds a league. In Illinois, for example, an operator asks the Board to approve an event or league, and once it is approved other operators can offer it too.^[2]
• Written into the law: Arizona's statute defines "e-sport" as an organised multiplayer video game competition and counts an e-sport event as a sports event.^[3]
• Light-touch rules: Nevada treats esports as an "other event" and, under newer rules, lets books offer it with due diligence, such as publisher approval of the event and integrity safeguards.
• Not allowed or not yet added: Pennsylvania's law limits sports betting to professional and collegiate sports and motor racing, so esports is not permitted. Massachusetts' law mentions electronic sports, but the regulator left it out of its first catalogue, so check the current list. Indiana is reported to exclude it.

Age. The betting age is 21 in most states. On top of that, regulators often bar events with young players. New Jersey's rules, for example, exclude events run by a high school or involving a player under 18.^[4] Virginia sets the minimum betting age at 21 and excludes youth events.^[5]

Federal law. Esports betting is not a federal crime in itself. What matters is state law, and federal payment rules (UIGEA) key off it: they target payments to gambling that is unlawful under state law.

Your sportsbook app only shows the esports markets allowed in your state, and geolocation checks enforce it. Licensed options include DraftKings and bet365.

Prediction markets

In many states, federally regulated prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi offer esports event contracts. They face the same state challenges as sports contracts, and in October 2026 Ohio told ten more platforms to stop offering sports contracts. See are prediction markets legal?.

Canada

Ontario has an open, licensed market run under AGCO standards, which treat esports as a sport and apply integrity rules such as bans on athlete and insider betting.^[6] The legal age is 19. Other provinces mostly run betting through provincial lottery sites, and Alberta opened a competitive market in July 2026. What esports markets you can find varies by province, so use the provincial regulator's list.

The UK and Ireland

The UK is one of the clearest cases: operators need a UK Gambling Commission licence, bettors must be 18 or over, and licensed sites offer esports widely. The live debates are about sponsorship and unlicensed sponsors in esports, not about whether betting is allowed. Ireland has a new regulator, and remote betting operators need a licence from 1 July 2026.

Europe, country by country

"Europe" is not one market. National rules differ, and some surprise people.

If your country is not on this list, look for the national gambling authority and its list of licensed operators. In EU countries a licence from another member state is not valid at home.

Australia and New Zealand

Australia bans online in-play betting, so esports betting is mostly pre-match. Bookmakers licensed in the Northern Territory, such as Rivalry, have offered esports markets there since 2022. New Zealand has TAB NZ as the only legal online sports betting provider since June 2025. The new online casino licences from 2026 do not cover sports betting.

Asia

• China: gambling, including esports betting, is illegal on the mainland.
• Japan: effectively prohibited under general gambling law.
• South Korea: Sports Toto is the only legal betting operator and does not include esports. The government plans to add it by 2028.^[9]
• India: the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025 bans online money games and the related payments, while promoting esports as a sport without stakes.^[10] Legal challenges were still pending at the last reports.
• Philippines: the regulator PAGCOR said in June 2026 that it is studying whether to regulate esports. There is no dedicated esports betting licence.
• Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia: online gambling is illegal and enforcement has increased.

Latin America

Brazil is the biggest recent change. Its regulated market opened in 2025 and a rule that April allowed bets on esports events authorised by the game's publisher. Then Provisional Measure 1,394/2026 on 25 September 2026 banned fixed-odds betting nationwide. Platforms had to go offline from 6 October, licences are revoked on 25 October, and the measure lapses on 23 November unless Congress converts it into law.^[11] Our report on how licensed sites reacted is in Brazil's betting ban.

Elsewhere: Mexico works from an old federal games law with permits, and a new gaming law draft was sent to the security cabinet in October 2026. Colombia licenses online betting through Coljuegos. Peru allows bets on events run by official leagues or federations, which can limit esports. Chile's supreme court has confirmed that unlicensed online betting is illegal. Argentina regulates online betting province by province.

Offshore licences: what they do and do not mean

Many "global" esports sites hold licences from Curaçao or Anjouan. A licence from there means the site is registered under that jurisdiction, not that it is legal where you live.

• Curaçao is moving to a new licensing framework, with a transition period ending on 24 December 2026.^[12]
• Anjouan licences are under pressure: the government of the Comoros asked the UK for help against them in October 2026, and the licence holder itself says its licences do not override local law.^[13]

Skins: the grey zone

Betting with skins is generally unlicensed and has drawn regulator action. In 2016 the Washington State Gambling Commission ordered Valve to stop skins being used for gambling through Steam.^[14] In February 2026 the New York Attorney General sued Valve, alleging that loot boxes in games like CS2 amount to illegal gambling. Valve has asked the court to dismiss the case, and it was still pending at the last reports.^[15] Regulators in Denmark and the Netherlands have also acted against unlicensed skin sites. Read skin betting: what it is and why to avoid it.

Why regulators care about integrity

Almost every regulator that allows esports betting worries about two things: players under 18 and match-fixing, especially in smaller events. That is why rules ask for event approval, publisher sign-off and monitoring. The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) works with licensed operators on this, and its bans are covered in ESIC match-fixing bans and match-fixing in tier-2 esports.

How to check before you bet

1. Find your regulator. A state gaming board, a national authority, a provincial regulator.
2. Check the operator is on its list. Look for a licence number you can verify.
3. Check the event. If the market is not in the app, it may not be approved where you are.
4. Expect ID and location checks. Licensed sites must verify age and location. See identity checks explained.
5. Don't use a VPN to get around blocks. It breaches the site's terms and can void winnings.

Compare licensed options in our best esports betting sites.