Is sports betting legal in Indiana?

The law and the regulator

The Indiana Gaming Commission says it plainly: sports wagering was established by House Enrolled Act 1015 of 2019 and sits in article 4-38 of the Indiana Code, with the commission's own rules in 68 IAC 27. The commission's monthly tax report for September 2019 already carries a sports wagering line, so the books were writing by then.

The licenses go to the places that already had gambling. The commission's list of certificate of authority holders, current as of 27 July 2026, has sixteen of them: thirteen casinos and three off-track betting sites. The online brands each need the commission's sign-off before they go live, and it posts those mobile go-live authorizations by name. I'd check a book against those two pages before I deposited a dollar.

What the books can and can't offer

Indiana is more particular than most about the menu. Its directive on betting catalogues limits college betting to NCAA Division I, and bans player props on college games once the game has started. No book can take a bet on an amateur youth event. Props on injuries, arrests, suspensions or how many flags the officials throw are out too, and in-game bets have to settle at natural breaks, like the end of a quarter or an inning.

I like that list more than most bettors will. The bets it removes are the ones that are easiest to fix and hardest for a book to price, which is exactly where a player gets hurt. The commission also says it will look at new leagues and bet types case by case, so the menu can grow.

Winnings are taxable income; the IRS covers it in Topic 419.

Where the offshore books fit

An offshore book is not licensed by the commission, which means none of those rules bind it, and if it voids a winner or holds a withdrawal there is nobody in Indianapolis who can make it pay. A licensed Indiana book can be fined or lose its certificate. Our offshore sportsbooks page explains how those books work, and the page on betting through a VPN covers why hiding where you are usually costs the player.

If you need to stop, the commission runs an Internet Self-Restriction Program that bars you from licensed mobile sports betting in Indiana, and its Problem Gambling Hotline is 1-800-9-WITH-IT (1-800-994-8448). Our responsible gambling page has more.

*Checked against the Indiana Gaming Commission on 28 October 2026. Laws change; this page is re-checked every quarter. This is not legal advice.*