Which States Are The Most Likely to Legalize Online Gambling in 2022?

Online gambling has become regulated in many US states, especially for sports betting, which is officially legal in 30+ states. However, several states also legalized online casinos and online poker. At the moment, you can legally play online casino games in Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. There are also limited operations in Delaware and Connecticut.

This article will discuss the future of online gambling legalization and try to answer this — which states are the most likely to legalize online gambling next? Read on to find out.

Check out our in-depth guide on the legal casino situation in all US states

Illinois

Illinois already has a well-established gambling industry, and sports betting is legal on the web. There are definitely enough people interested in participating in this type of gambling. The only issue is that Illinois has a couple of ongoing projects related to land-based gambling, as several brick and mortar casinos are under construction.

In other words, even though there aren’t any big obstacles to legalizing online casinos, it probably won’t happen 2022. Still, you can always place bets on your favorite sports on one of the available sportsbooks. 

Indiana

Indiana is home to more than a dozen land-based casinos, and there are ongoing efforts to legalize online casino gambling. Several bills were suggested in January 2022, and one of them was HB1337, which aimed at legalized iGaming operations in the state.

In other words, people are interested in seeing online casinos come to life in Indiana, but it’s also not certain whether that would happen in 2022. It all depends on the governing bodies to decide whether the suggested bill is a good fit. Until then, Indianans can legally place bets on sports both in retail sportsbooks or on the web.

Maryland

Maryland legalized sports betting in December 2021, so its legislators will likely look for a way to legalize online casinos as well. There are definitely enough people interested, but the legal process is long, and many steps need to be taken before it becomes a reality. Therefore, it’s safe to say that it won’t happen in 2022 but that it will definitely happen soon if no obstacles come in the way.  

Final Thoughts

There is no doubt that legalizing online gambling is easier said than done. It may seem as though someone just needs to suggest a bill, and it will be approved, but in fact, it gets very complicated because a great deal of paperwork needs to be reviewed and approved by many different officials.

Even when gambling becomes legalized, the state needs to build a proper regulatory framework to ensure everything is in order and to start letting online operators in the state. This can sometimes take more than a year, so there’s no exact way to tell whether any states will legalize online gambling, let alone online casinos. But this doesn’t deny that there’s an overall tendency towards legalizing the popular type of entertainment and that most states will join the online gambling family sooner or later.

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