Where can I play DFS?

Different daily fantasy sports companies are taking different approaches to the U.S. states that sites allow to play DFS for real money.

Below is a table of the states where sites like DraftKings and FanDuel ban and allow play. Due to the fluid nature of DFS’ legal situation, sites may change their policy on a given state with little or no notice. Please contact us with any errors or omissions.

Operators are generally using DraftKings and FanDuel as a firewall/temperature taker. If those two sites are no longer in a given state, other operators generally follow.

State-by-state DFS eligibility by operator

Information is collected via operators directly, or from their terms of use. Sites often change the states they serve with little warning.

Here is a map that gives an overview of which operators are in which states:

All, or almost all, operators are active in the state

Some operators serve the state, others do not

All, or almost all, operators do not take customers in the state

Daily fantasy sports sites by state

FanDuel DraftKings Yahoo Fantasy Draft Alabama Yes Yes No No Alaska Yes Yes Yes Yes Arizona No No No No Arkansas Yes Yes Yes Yes California Yes Yes Yes Yes Colorado Yes Yes Yes Yes Connecticut Yes Yes Yes Yes Delaware Yes Yes Yes No Florida Yes Yes No Yes Georgia Yes Yes Yes Yes Hawaii No No No No Idaho No No No No Illinois Yes Yes Yes Yes Indiana Yes Yes Yes Yes Iowa Yes Yes No No Kansas Yes Yes Yes Yes Kentucky Yes Yes Yes Yes Louisiana No No No No Maine Yes Yes Yes Yes Maryland Yes Yes Yes Yes Massachusetts Yes Yes Yes Yes Michigan Yes Yes Yes Yes Minnesota Yes Yes Yes Yes Mississippi Yes Yes Yes Yes Missouri Yes Yes No Yes Montana No No No No Nebraska Yes Yes Yes Yes Nevada No No No No New Hampshire Yes Yes Yes Yes New Jersey Yes Yes Yes Yes New Mexico Yes Yes Yes Yes New York Yes Yes Yes Yes North Carolina Yes Yes Yes Yes North Dakota Yes Yes Yes Yes Ohio Yes Yes Yes Yes Oklahoma Yes Yes Yes Yes Oregon Yes Yes Yes Yes Pennsylvania Yes Yes Yes Yes Rhode Island Yes Yes Yes Yes South Carolina Yes Yes Yes Yes South Dakota Yes Yes Yes Yes Tennessee Yes Yes Yes Yes Texas Yes Yes Yes Yes Utah Yes Yes Yes Yes Vermont Yes Yes Yes Yes Virginia Yes Yes Yes Yes Washington No No No No West Virginia

Yes Yes Yes Yes Wisconsin Yes Yes Yes Yes Wyoming Yes Yes Yes Yes

It’s worth noting that these are not necessarily states where daily fantasy sports are illegal to play. The legal picture surrounding DFS is complex and ambiguous, as a snapshot of the approach major sites take to blocking states quickly reveals.

Which states made explicitly made daily fantasy sports legal?

In recent years, many state legislatures have tackled the issue of DFS, which had not been explicitly legal or illegal almost anywhere. The legality of DFS was often based on existing gaming laws and skill game laws.

That started to change starting in 2015, as legislation started surfacing to formally clairfy the legal status of paid-entry fantasy sports. Here’s where things stand currently:

Legalized as of 2020

DFS Regulations by state

Snapshot: Policies of major operators

FanDuel restricted states – Visit FanDuel Now

The states where FanDuel blocks players are: Arizona, Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington state.

Again, this is a reflection of company policy regarding banned states and not a legal determination by any arm of government. Inclusion on the list does not necessarily mean it is a state where DFS is illegal, and exclusion from the list also doesn’t guarantee that fantasy sports is legal in the state.

So a state being on the list above isn’t the same as being able to definitively claim that “FanDuel is illegal in that state,” and a state being off of the list isn’t the same as being able to say “FanDuel is legal in that state.”

DraftKings restricted states – Visit DraftKings Now

The states where DraftKings blocks players are: Arizona, Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada and Washington State.

Note that we’re not asserting that these are states where DraftKings is illegal to play. The law regarding operation of a game and the law regarding participation in a game are often separate animals.

These are simply DraftKings banned states where players are not allowed by the site, DraftKings restrictions and not necessarily the specific restriction of the state itself.

Yahoo restricted states

The states where Yahoo! daily fantasy blocks players are: Arizona, Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and Washington state.

In Florida, that may be a reaction to a legal climate that some observers consider unfriendly to DFS. As you can see, from this example, a DFS site may have many reasons for adding a state to their list of prohibited states – it’s not always a matter of a state having explicitly banned or outlawed DFS.

Snapshot: New York

New York was probably the most-watched and most-discussed DFS battleground of 2016.

After state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced action against DFS sites in October 2015, we witnessed a nearly year-long legal and legislative battle that ultimately resolved in favor of DFS when the NY State Legislature passed a last-minute bill to regulate the activity that was signed into law by Governor Cuomo.

The legality of DFS in New York again faces questions as of October 2018 after a state judge ruled that DFS contests — and their enabling legislation — fall under constitutional prohibitions against gambling. As of now, the major DFS sites remain active in New York pending appeal.

DraftKings New York

DraftKings is back in NY after successfully acquiring a license to operate in the state. Barring any issues with the license, DraftKings is legal in New York and is fully operational to players from the Empire State.

FanDuel New York

Is FanDuel legal in NY? Yes.

Likewise, FanDuel NY is back in business after the company successfully acquired the necessary license to offer DFS games to players in New York.

Snapshot: Texas

Texas is one of the more interesting states when it comes to daily fantasy sports. The state Attorney General concluded early in 2016 that DFS constituted gambling. But the story in Texas didn’t play out the way that it did in similar states where such opinions were issued. Instead, DraftKings’ Texas strategy diverges radically from FanDuel’s Texas strategy.

DraftKings Texas

Is DraftKings legal in Texas? That’s a question the courts will likely ultimately decide, unless the state legislature passes a bill first. But in the meantime, DraftKings has continued to offer a full range of DFS contests to players in Texas.

Can you play DraftKings in Texas? Yes – at least for now.

But the situation is highly fluid and could be disrupted at any point. With that said, even if DraftKings were to stop accepting players from Texas, players from Texas wouldn’t have too much cause for worry. In other states where sites like DraftKings have exited the market, players have had no problems accessing their accounts and retrieving their funds.

FanDuel Texas

Can you play FanDuel in Texas? Yes.

As of 2018, FanDuel serves Texas again. FanDuel took the opposite approach to Texas that DraftKings did. After the announcement by the state AG, FanDuel decided to leave the state while the legal battle was waged over the future of DFS in Texas.

Do major sites offer DFS for college sports?

For a few years, the answer was no. The NCAA has been critical of daily fantasy sports contests, and many of the bills that have passed regulating DFS have specifically blocked operators from offering daily fantasy sports contests for college football, college basketball, or any amateur sporting event.

However, things have changed in the post-PASPA world.

DraftKings college sports

DraftKings college football and basketball contests are available to players in any state where it is not specifically banned by law. DraftKings had stopped offering them for a few years voluntarily.

FanDuel college sports

FanDuel restarted college football and basketball contests where allowed by law in 2018. The company cited popular demand, while it’s likely the repeal of PASPA also made it more palatable.