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Which States Offer Legal Sports Betting on NFL Draft Markets?

Dave Bonderoff

Last Updated: April 25, 2023 3:35 PM EDT • 2 min 63 sec read.

The next big sports betting event on North American soil comes this week with the 2023 NFL Draft taking place, starting Thursday at Union Station in Kansas City, MO. More U.S. states and betting sites than ever before are offering legal sports betting options on a wide variety of markets tied to the NFL draft odds.

While legal sports betting has exploded across America since the 2018 decision to overturn the Supreme Court’s blanket ban on sports betting, wagering on the NFL draft via the best sportsbooks is still not as widespread as betting on the games themselves.

As it stands, not all of the states that currently support a legal sports betting platform currently allow for bets on the NFL draft. Some of the biggest and most successful U.S. legal sports betting states currently prohibit wagers on the annual spectacle. Many of those—including New York and Pennsylvania—cite the fact that the draft is not an actual sporting event.

All of the biggest and best sports betting sites in the states that allow for NFL draft betting have healthy menus of wagering opportunities for their users. Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM are all-in on participating states with a host of ways to have a stake in the NFL's spring event.

History of how NFL draft betting evolved

Comprehensive legal sports betting in the U.S. market has been around for only five years, since 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individual states could decide on whether such a platform was a fit for them.

It was the grandfather of all betting states, Nevada that unsurprisingly paved the way for others to allow for wagers on the NFL's marquee spring wagering event. The Nevada Gaming Control Board OK'd NFL draft betting in 2017 with just a handful of prop bets. The list of bet types has swelled over the years and the draft is now the biggest and most comprehensive betting opportunity for American sports betting sites in April.

Since 2017, NFL draft betting has grown exponentially and new record handles are being set every year at our best NFL betting sites.

Check out our NFL draft fan survey

Where can you bet on the NFL draft?

The list of states that allow for NFL draft bets doesn’t include all current jurisdictions but involves the majority of legal sports betting states. As it stands, more than 20 states allow for NFL draft betting and offer users a host of different bet types to consider. Those states are:

Where can't you bet on the NFL draft?

New York and Pennsylvania are the two standout states on the exclusion list. New York is the unquestioned No. 1 sports betting state in America, and Pennsylvania is a mainstay inside the top five.

But with the evolution of the U.S. legal sports betting industry, there is a chance that all of the participating states will allow for NFL draft betting by 2024. During what is considered the "offseason" for American sportsbooks, NFL draft betting would certainly provide a boost for sports betting sites and the industries in the states that have so far ruled out NFL draft wagering opportunities.

NFL draft bet types

As mentioned, NFL draft betting started in 2017 with just a few prop bets. Sports betting sites have since dramatically expanded that list to include:

  • Pick number props including first-overall pick, second, third, fourth, fifth-overall pick, all the way up to No. 10
  • Every team’s first player drafted
  • Position of team’s first pick
  • Draft order - generally the first two selections only
  • First player drafted for marquee positions including quarterback, running back, wide receiver, cornerback, offensive lineman, etc.
  • Draft prop bets including player head-to-head props, school props, and conference props
  • Over/Under bets - including how many players from each position will be drafted in the first round, and how many players from a given conference will be drafted

So?

Who will it be that goes No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft? Will it be Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Will Levis, or Will Anderson? There is certainly no shortage of analysis and NFL mock drafts from NFL pundits floating around.

The best sports betting sites in participating legal NFL draft betting states are primed to give you an opportunity to place a springtime wager on the most bet-on sport on North American soil … without a single whistle, tackle, or touchdown scored. Most will even have generous promos in the leadup to the draft.

Teams are about to build for the future, near and distant, and most Americans can not only tune in, but they can also have a stake in what goes down on stage in KC on Thursday night.

Do some research and join the millions taking part in NFL draft betting today!

Written By:
Dave Bonderoff
Dave Bonderoff and betting go hand-in-hand. Both are characterized by "odds". Dave fancies himself as one of the most dedicated sports and pop-culture junkies around, to the chagrin of his family and friends. Following sports for 50 years and writing about it for 20, Dave hasn't found a sport yet that can't contribute to 2-3 straight hours of couch time. That search remains ongoing. As a good old Canadian boy, hockey is in Dave’s heart, as is curling sadly. But evolution is a real thing and that’s why football, baseball, and just about every sport on the planet has become a passion. Dave isn’t afraid to kill some time obsessing over politics or the far-too-frequent awards shows the consume the airwaves.