Despite being an entire continent away from its closest American neighbor, Alaska still operates under American Federal law and has its own set of state laws as well.
This includes laws about gambling, but being so far away from other states means that it is more likely that Alaska will have its own take and now be swayed by what is happening around them.
Here is a review of the current state of gambling in Alaska and where it may go in the future.
Top Alaska Betting Sites for 2023
Sports Betting in Alaska
Alaska falls under the same jurisdiction as the other states when it comes to sports betting. There are no locally regulated sports betting to be found in the state currently, but the repeal of PASPA by the Supreme Court in May 2018 changed the entire landscape in the U.S., and this includes up north.
To date, there has been no discussion of updating the laws to state regulate sports betting, but keep an eye on this page for any updates.
Online Sports Betting
Being so far away from the rest of the country, you can imagine that there is an emotional attachment to American sports regardless of team.
This love of pro and college sports creates an appetite for sports betting, and when you start to include the fact that there is an entire country of sports teams (Canada) in between Alaska and the other states, this appetite is even larger.
Alaskans are able to access to place their wagers on any and all sports at one of these sportsbooks:
Daily Fantasy in Alaska
Although sports gambling is not regulated in the state, Daily Fantasy Sports and other such contests are allowed! Users are welcome to play DFS games for real cash winnings.
Horse Betting in Alaska
Well, this will come as no real surprise to many of you, but there are no horse tracks in Alaska. In fact, there is no local betting of any kind in the state, which is probably pretty disappointing to residents.
While we can understand that the weather would not be conducive to hosting live races, having off-track betting facilities would allow Alaskans to bet on horse races simulcast from around North America. That doesn’t seem appealing enough to the state government to add any legislation, so, for now, it doesn’t look like the status of this topic will change.
Best Alaska Racebooks
Online Horse Betting
So, if you want to bet on a horse race and you live in Alaska, what are you to do? There are many people who live in Alaska that are from other areas of the continent so they may have a predisposition to bet on the ponies. In this case, Alaskans are relegated to using one of the many offshore racebooks that offer racing options.
These sites allow players to register for accounts, make deposits and bets, and then watch races live via streaming. This is good enough for most people, and if you don’t have a credit card to make a deposit, then you can always go buy a prepaid card or use one of the alternative funding methods.
Casino Gambling in Alaska
The clampdown on gambling extends into the casino industry in Alaska. Even though you would think that there would be an appetite for slots and table games in such a remote area, the state has decided to only award Class II licenses to tribal communities.
These licenses allow for Bingo and Lottery style games, but not card games or the traditional slot machines you would see in a casino in the Lower 48.
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