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How to tell a licensed sportsbook from an illegal offshore site

A slick app and a big bonus do not prove a sportsbook is legal where you live. Your state regulator's licensed list does.

Last verified: 2026-10-17. Education only, not betting, legal or tax advice.

Step 1: use your state regulator's list

Sports betting is licensed state by state. Find your state's gaming regulator, open its list of licensed sports wagering operators, and confirm the operator is on it. For example, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board posts a link to its list of regulated sites on its home page and, in a September 2025 release, warned bettors to be cautious about sites not licensed or regulated in Pennsylvania. See our state pages for official links where we have them.

Step 2: know what licensed operators must provide

In the same release, the PGCB says legal, regulated online sportsbooks must offer ways to limit time on the site, deposits and wagers, plus cool-off periods and access to a self-exclusion program, and that it investigates complaints and disputes against licensed operators but cannot offer that service when a bettor has a problem with an illegal offshore platform. Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection likewise says sports wagering is only allowed through licensed establishments and online platforms.

Step 3: watch for location and age checks

Several state laws require legal online sportsbooks to confirm you are physically inside the state when you wager (for example Rhode Island, Vermont and Ohio) and to verify age and identity (for example Vermont). A site that never checks where you are or who you are is not following those rules.

Warning signs

• The operator is not on your regulator's licensed list.
• No age, identity or location checks.
• It asks you to pay by gift card, crypto transfer to a person, or other unusual methods.
• Promises that you cannot lose, or pressure to deposit right now.
• No clear way to reach the regulator, no self-exclusion, no deposit limits.

If something went wrong

With a licensed operator, you can complain to the state regulator. With an offshore site, regulators say they cannot help. Contact your state attorney general's consumer protection office and consider reporting a scam to the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov).