Sports Betting Idaho: No Legal ID Bookies

Online Sports Betting Idaho

Unfortunately, Idaho residents cannot yet wager on sporting events in their state. If you find any online sports betting Idaho sites, know that they are not legal and beware of them. We will tell you more about the current situation in the following paragraphs, so keep reading.

Legal Forms of Gambling for Idaho Residents

Residents of Idaho do not have legal offline or online sports betting options, but they can still partake in other types of gambling. The only legal Idaho sports betting is pari-mutuel betting on horse races. Idahoans can also participate in charitable gaming, buy a ticket for the state lottery, or visit a tribal casino.

Land-Based Casinos in Idaho

For such a small state, Idaho has seven land-based casinos. They are all on tribal lands and they opened following the historic Federal Indian Regulatory Act of 1988. You can find various games like slot machines, video poker, electronic tables and such. Some of them are equipped with state-of-the-art golf courses and have gorgeous accommodations.

Daily Fantasy Sports in Idaho

In Daily Fantasy Sports, the participants create a fantasy team that includes real athletes from different sports and leagues. The players use sports statistics to pick athletes and they are rewarded based on how these athletes perform in real life.

Unfortunately, Daily Fantasy Sports are not legal in Idaho. The Attorney General of Idaho declared them to be illegal in 2016 and operators soon left the state. This decision was yet another blow to sports betting in Idaho.

Horse Racing in Idaho

Horse racing betting is legal in Idaho. In terms of venues, horse racing enthusiasts can bet at the seven racetracks that Idaho offers. There are also three off-track betting establishments. Alternatively, Idahoans can bet online or through mobile apps, provided the sites only allow them to bet on horse races.

Offshore Bookies in Idaho

It’s unfortunate that online sports betting Idaho is non-existent, but you shouldn’t use an offshore website as a viable alternative. Remember, offshore betting sites are illegal as per the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA). Although offshore websites are common, federal law prohibits them and thus, they are unregulated and possibly dangerous.

Pending Legislation: Could There be Legal Idaho Sports Betting

The sports betting Idaho situation appears to be stale at the moment. There is no pending legislation waiting to be voted on. This is understandably frustrating to sports betting buffs, but we have to be patient and hopeful that something might appear in the future, perhaps in the next session of 2022.

The most recent type of sports betting legislation occurred in 2018 with Idaho Proposition 1. Voters were allowed to choose whether to preserve historical horse racing in Idaho by adding historical racing gaming terminals to a few racetracks. 53.80% of the voters voted against it, so the proposition did not pass.

Prior Legalization Attempts

The last attempt to legitimize a type of sports gaming, more specifically Daily Fantasy Sports, failed in 2016. The legal situation regarding Daily Fantasy Sports was murky, so Attorney General Lawrence Wasden stepped in to clear it. Unfortunately, he declared that the services that Daily Fantasy Sports operators provide constitute gambling, which is forbidden by Idaho law.

He officially declared Daily Fantasy Sports to be illegal, which was bad news for legal Idaho sports betting. Consequently, the biggest online bookmakers offering Daily Fantasy Sports restricted access to Idahoans. Overall, it seems like online sports betting Idaho legislation is not on the table.

Current Legislation

Although many states have legalized sports betting in the last few years, while many others are trying to do that right now, Idaho is not one of them. There have been no updates concerning legalization, so there have also been zero legislation proposals. The moment something comes up though, you can expect us to report on it here.

What Legal Online Sports Betting Would Look Like in Idaho

We believe that the legalization of online sports betting Idaho is inevitable; it’s bound to happen sooner or later, so let us talk about the near or distant future when that occurs. Other states have shown us that they can roll out plans and begin operation within a year or so after legalization.

Online bookies are always on the look for states on the brink of legalization, so they are prepared to start working with state authorities immediately after legalization is announced. Since Idaho prohibits most forms of gambling, the state would need to establish a new regulatory body overseeing offline and online sports betting.

What Online Bookmaker s Look Like in the Legal States

The reason why so many states were eager to legalize sports betting is simple – taxes. For example, Indiana generated $9 million in tax revenue within a year of introducing legal sports betting. We expect that Idaho would tax gambling at its income tax rate that ranges between 1 and 6.5% (perhaps the higher end would be used).

Moreover, the federal government would also benefit from future brick-and-mortar and online Idaho sportsbooks. Currently, there’s a federal flat gambling tax of 24%. If a player makes above a certain sum while gambling (it varies based on the wager and the winnings), they must file a W2-G form and pay the federal tax.

Online vs. In-Person Betting

This might put you in an awkward position where you have to wait in a queue and possibly miss your chance and receive worse odds. This can never happen with an online betting site where you can amend your bet immediately and always follow the fluctuating odds. This is perhaps the main difference and the biggest advantage of online sports betting.

Other differences include, again, the atmosphere. Sometimes you can’t beat that, which is why so many land-based sportsbooks are very successful. They have great facilities with dozens of big TV’s showing you each second of the game. They also usually offer food and drinks, so that’s a holistic sports betting experience.

We have noticed, however, that younger generations tend not to engage in this type of experience. They are tech-savvy and they like the ability to bet at all times, wherever they are. It’s only natural for that to happen, so land-based sportsbooks might soon add adjustments to their venues in order to bring in younger customers.

We’ve seen other states legalize sports betting in the past few years, and they have only benefitted. There’s more tax revenue, some of which traditionally goes towards education and prevention of gambling addiction, and much more. Idaho should take a look at them and rethink its attitudes.

Some people would always prefer to hang out with their friends over a beer while watching a sports game on which they can bet on. On the other hand, some bettors like the readily availability of online sports betting.

There isn’t an answer to the continuous debate regarding which type of sports betting is better and/or more enjoyable. Different people like different things, so when Idaho sportsbooks and betting sites come along, we bet you’d get to experience both and decide for yourself. Now all that needs to happen is for sports betting in Idaho to become legal.

The History of Online Sports Gambling in Idaho

It might come as a surprise, but Idaho used to be a gambling hub. There were many establishments catering to Idahoans all over the state, which were regulated by individual towns throughout the 19th century. However, this changed when Idaho officially became a state. The 1889 Idaho Constitution banned most games of chance, albeit vaguely.

The law was relaxed in the next few decades as Idaho legalized horse racing betting (overseen by the Idaho Racing Commission), established a state lottery (overseen by the Idaho Lottery Commission) and allowed for tribal casinos to operate within the state.

The reason why Idaho can easily legalize sports betting is because of the historic 2018 Supreme Court case Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Supreme Court ruled that sports betting should be only regulated by individual states.

To do that, the Justices had to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which banned sports betting on a federal level. The Supreme Court found PASPA to be unconstitutional, because it granted excessive powers to the federal government.

Potential Licensing Requirements

Once online sports betting Idaho becomes a fact, it would be strictly regulated by state authorities. A new regulator would be established to oversee in-person and online sports betting. The first task of this new state commission would be to hand licenses to operators after concluding that they are trustworthy.

This future gaming commission would also ensure that the rules of sports betting are not broken and that state law is abided by both bettors and operators. In case anybody breaks the established regulations, the commission can pursue legal action. If there are any legal disputes between players and operators, the commission would be tasked with resolving them.

Legal Idaho sports betting is the only antidote to black market sites. There are many Idahoans who currently bet at illegal sites, but that can be very dangerous. Also, don’t forget that offshore betting sites are illegal under the UIGEA. Sports betting should be legal and regulated to benefit both the players and the state.

Black Market Bookmakers Operating in Idaho

Conclusion – Idaho Betting Sites are Illegal

This page covered the history of gambling in Idaho by presenting the various twists and turns in legislation. We also gave you an overview of the current gambling laws and the outlook concerning future laws. We also discussed the overall attitude towards gambling in Idaho and what we believed should happen for sports betting to be made legal.

Sports betting Idaho websites remain illegal, and unfortunately, we can’t tell you for how long. We hope that Idaho takes notes of states like Indiana, Michigan, Louisiana and many other which recently legalized sports betting and are now reaping the benefits of it.

We will continue to monitor the situation in Idaho and give you the latest updates if there are any. Visit the page regularly to check out any new information regarding offline and online sports betting Idaho. In the meantime, you can bet on horses, buy a lottery ticket or go to a casino.

FAQs

Thank you for reading our page dedicated to the exploration of legal and illegal Idaho gambling. We try to make our guides as comprehensive as possible, but our readers usually have more specific questions, which we will answer below. If you have any other questions concerning sports betting in Idaho, please contact us.