PointsBet States: Where Is PointsBet Legal in the US?

✅Fact Checked by: Michael Savio

Hailing from Australia, PointsBet officially landed on the United States shores in January 2019, launching in New Jersey. The plans for a PointsBet launch date back to July 2018, just months after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned.

Today, PointsBet is in the midst of a change of ownership. Fanatics, the leading manufacturer and online retailer of licensed sports merchandise, purchased the United States-based operations for $225 million.

PointsBet branches are slowly changing to “PointsBet, A Fanatics Experience.”

Below, USA Legal Betting will cover this change in more detail and provide information about where its betting apps are legal, how they became legal, and go over each state it’s available.

• Where Is PointsBet Sportsbook Legal?
• Where Is PointsBet Casino Legal?
• PointsBet Legal States
• PointsBet: Background on the Brand
• PointsBet Sports Betting Legal Timeline Retrospective
• Open an Account
• States Where PointsBet Is Legal
• FAQs About PointsBet Legal States

As of September 2023, PointsBet Sportsbook is now available in just 3 of the states where sports betting is legal, thanks to their acquisition by Fanatics.

Fanatics acquired PointsBet USA in July 2023 for $225 million. Since then, Fanatics has taken over a dozen PointsBet states, but now just three remain. The new brand name for those three is still PointsBet, but there’s an addition to it—it’s now known as PointsBet, A Fanatics Experience.

PointsBet not only has an online sportsbook but an online casino, too. The online gambling platform is available in four of the currently seven legal casino gambling states, including New Jersey, Michigan, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

In the Fanatics acquisition, they also acquired the online casino. These sites are also rebranded to “PointsBet, A Fanatics Experience.”

The first state to become legal for  PointsBet’s online casino was New Jersey, launching on May 12, 2021, partnering with Bally’s Atlantic City.

PointsBet offers many forms of online gaming. Below, we’ll show you a chart of where sports betting, gambling, and daily fantasy sports are available.

As mentioned, PointsBet came to the United States from Australia shortly after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned. Today, it has online sports betting in 14 states and an online casino available in four of them.

PointsBet USA was acquired by Fanatics, the leading sports memorabilia and merchandise retailer, in July 2023 for $225 million. PointsBet USA was hemorrhaging money, set to lose well over $100 million in the second half of 2023, which made the transaction easier. Now, the sites are rebranding from PointsBet to PointsBet, A Fanatics Experience.

With those rebrands, new players who sign up for an account and wager $50 will get an official sports jersey straight from Fanatics.

PointsBet has always been an excellent sportsbook, and their PointsBetting feature makes for a sports betting experience unlike any other.

PointsBetting is a market where you’re awarded based on how correct your predictions for an outcome are. The user interface design is simple and easy to navigate as well. One downfall of PointsBet over the years has been a lack of promotions for existing players, but this could change with Fanatics coming in.

How PointsBet Sportsbook Became Legal

PointsBet was first launched in the United States in New Jersey. The initial announcement came in 2018 before officially launching in January 2019. This was a big deal at the time as PointsBet isn’t a US-native outlet; it’s from Australia. It partnered with Meadowlands Racetrack. With it came its unique betting market, PointsBetting. PointsBet also landed in Iowa in 2019.

From here, PointsBets added three states in 2020, three in 2021, four in 2022, and one more in 2023.

Then, in mid-2023, PointsBet USA agreed to sell its operations in the country to Fanatics due to financial losses. According to the Australian Financial Review, PointsBet was scheduled to lose between $115-$123 million in the second half of 2023.

How PointsBet Casino Became Legal

As mentioned earlier, PointsBet first launched in the United States as an online sportsbook in New Jersey in 2019, and two years later, its first online casino launched in the same state in May 2021. A couple of months later, it launched in Michigan, partnering with Northern Waters Casino on July 23, 2021.

Then, in 2022, it launched in West Virginia and Pennsylvania in January and April, respectively, partnering with Hollywood Casinos in both states.

• PointsBet Announces US Entry (July 2018): PointsBet announces it’s coming to the United States after an agreement with Meadowlands Racetrack. The goal is to launch in the fourth quarter of 2018. They also announced a deal with Tioga Downs in New York for online betting, but it wouldn’t become legal for almost four more years. 
• PointsBet Launches (January 2019): PointsBet officially launches in the United States with New Jersey.
• PointsBet Launches In Second State (November 2019): Partnering with Cashfish Bend, PointsBet launches in Iowa.
• PointsBet Launches In Three More States (2020): In 2020, PointsBet added three more states to their portfolio, launching in Indiana, Illinois, and Colorado. This brought the number of states they live in to five.
• PointsBet Launches Sportsbook in Three States, Unveils Online Casino (2021): Throughout 2021, PointsBet launched its online sportsbook in three more states—Michigan, West Virginia, and Virginia. It also brought its online casino to the market, launching in New Jersey (May 12, 2021) and Michigan (July 23, 2021).
• PointsBet Makes $43 Million Acquisition (March 2021): In March 2021, PointsBet acquired Banach Technology, a company many called the “Robinhood of sports betting.” To buy it, PointsBet paid 55% in cash, 1.75 million shares, and $4 million to convert the two firms. Banach was a B2B software company that created sports betting platforms and algorithms, including live betting markets.
• PointsBet Brings on Drew Brees (July 2021): PointsBet brought in Drew Brees, a former Super Bowl champion, as the brand ambassador.
• PointsBet Adds Four Online Sportsbook States; Two Casino (2022): The online casino launched in West Virginia (January 26) and Pennsylvania (April 13). The online sportsbook launched in Kansas, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania.
• PointsBet Launched in Ohio (January 2023): The last state PointsBet launched in was Ohio. Ohio sports betting went live on January 1, 2023, and PointsBet was prepared.
  Fanatics Acquires PointsBet USA (July 2023): Fanatics acquires PointsBet USA for $225 million. Since then, they’ve slowly rebranded PointsBet to PointsBet A Fanatics Experience. As of September 2023, 11 of the 14 states have rebranded.

Creating an account at PointsBet Sportsbook is simple and takes just a few minutes to complete. Below, we’ll go over how to do it step-by-step. 

1. Go to the desktop site or download the mobile app.
2. Click “Sign Up” in the upper right. 
3. Choose the state you want to play in.
4. Complete the two-step registration process, which includes personal information such as your name, date of birth, address, and more. 
5. After you complete this process, geolocation software will track your location to ensure you’re actively in a legal PointsBet state.
6. Once all is confirmed, choose your preferred sportsbook payment method for deposit, make a deposit and start betting!

New Jersey

Launching in January 2019, PointsBet announced their plans to launch in New Jersey in mid-2018. The initial plan was a fourth-quarter 2018 release. They entered a multi-year partnership with Meadowlands Racetrack. 
Is PointsBet legal in New Jersey?: Yes
Launch Date: January 2019
Land-Based Partner: Meadowlands

Illinois

Later in 2020, in September, PointsBet came to Illinois. It partnered with Hawthorne Race Course, which the Carey Family owns. At the time of the launch, PointsBet was just one of six in the state. 
Is PointsBet legal in Illinois?: Yes
Launch Date: September 2020
Land-Based Partner: Hawthorne Race Course

Kansas

On September 1, 2022, PointsBet launched in Kansas. It partnered p with Kansas Crossing Casino. This came after it secured market access in January 2020, where the partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino began. 
Is PointsBet legal in Kansas?: Yes
Launch Date: September 2022
Land-Based Partner: Kansas Crossing Casino

While online sports betting is available in the United States, there are still some unique differences from state to state. Below, we’ll go through each state PointsBet is available in and highlight the unique laws each has, where applicable. All states don’t allow for betting on high school sports. 

• Illinois: No betting on in-state college teams.
• New Jersey: You cannot wager on college athlete props, in-state teams, or events.
• Kansas: No restrictions on college sports