Here in Texas, I have been seeing television ads for gambling apps like DraftKings. The ads say that the app is now available in all fifty states. In the past, such gambling was only available to those physically present in states where such gambling was legal. What has changed? I have not heard of Congress passing a law related to gambling (or much of anything else). The Texas Legislature is not in session in 2026, so no new laws have been passed here. (Our Lt. Governor, who is really the most powerful politician in Texas, would never allow a sin like gambling to even be debated, much less passed.)
Did SCOTUS hand down a ruling saying that online gambling was legal in all states? What happened?
DraftKings has some non sports betting options that aren’t governed by gambling restrictions, so the app is available, but you might not be able to use all it’s functions.
I’m not being obtuse. I DL’d DraftKings when they gave new Missouri customers so much in bonus bets, and I used some math and some strategery to walk away with about $300, and haven’t opened it since.
I guess maybe one of their attorneys figured out that there’s some legal fiction that can be employed, or something? Just like how in Missouri whippits are illegal but if I go to the head shop and pretend I’m really into pastry-making this weekend, they’ll sell me a bunch of nitruous oxide canisters. Or how drug paraphernalia is illegal but I insist I’m buying a water pipe for eucalyptus or whatever.+
+OK, so it seems that the head shops I frequent in Missouri (where cannabis is legal) now allow, or at least, tolerate it if you say one of the Forbidden Words (bong, shooter, one-hit, etc.). Last time I was at a head shop in Illinois (where cannabis is also legal) there was a sign that said “We Do Not Sell Drug Paraphernalia” (on top of their cabinet of drug paraphernalia) and it warns that if you ask for a bong, shooter, one-hitter, etc., you’ll be shown the door.
Prediction markets, like Kalshi, are in this interesting legal gray space: they seem to position it, from a legal standpoint, as akin to buying futures on a stock exchange. But, it’s very clear that it’s being treated by its users as gambling. I imagine that it’s possible that, at some point, the laws will catch up to this.
In some places they have. Some state courts have ruled that prediction markets are gambling, and are subject to state laws concerning gambling (often prohibiting them).
Good to know. That probably explains the handful of light-green states on the map in the second link, which are noted as “DraftKings Free-to-Play Sports Contests Available.”
Daily Fantasy games ( Daily fantasy sports - Wikipedia ) aren’t legally considered gambling though they certainly smell like it. That’ what Draft Kings et.al. now offer to Texas residents (and other states where you can’t do traditional sports betting). They have been legally declared a “game of skill” an thus not forbidden by Texas anti-sports betting laws.