The Road to Legal Idaho Sports Betting is Getting Progressively Rockier

As we navigate the early portions of 2025, the Idaho sports betting outlook remains stuck in stasis. This is to say: It is nonexistent.

Interest in the legalization of sports betting in Idaho is largely founded around the very absence of intrigue. The state has shown little inclination to join the growing ranks of states with legal wagering. And to be sure, this puts them in the mega minority. Thirty-nine states, as well as the District of Columbia, now offer some form of legal sports betting. At least a handful of others are expected to follow suit in the near future. Chief among them: California, Minnesota, Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama.

Idaho, meanwhile, is routinely mentioned among the states that may never do anything, right alongside Utah and Alaska.

Most subscribe to the “never say never” policy when it comes to sports betting in the United States. The industry is on the rise. And it is not yet showing signs of slowing. Many believe even the staunchest holdouts will eventually cave. 

This may be true as it pertains to Idaho sports betting. But officials have repeatedly expressed concern about the potential downside. Lack of interest has often topped that list. After all, Idaho is not home to any pro sports franchises. It also ranks outside the top 35 in total population, according to StatsAmerica.org.

On top of that, legislators will often cite the upticks in gambling addiction that accompany legalized sports betting. They also glom on to recent findings about predatory advertising and marketing practices. And now, a host of other issues are being added to the table: online sportsbooks in the United States failing to err on the side of compliance.

New Jersey Sports Betting Fines Catch Attention of Idaho Officials

One of the latest dilemmas to take center stage has to do with sports betting in New Jersey. Recently, sportsbooks in The Garden State received fines for accepting wagers on events that had already concluded. Wayne Parry breaks it all down for the Idaho State Journal:

“New Jersey gambling regulators have handed out $40,000 in fines to two sportsbooks and a tech company for violations that included taking bets on unauthorized events, and on games that had already ended. In information made public Monday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fined DraftKings $20,000. It also levied $10,000 fines on Rush Street Interactive NJ and the sports betting technology company Kambi. According to documents released by the state, Rush Street accepted 16 bets worth $1,523 on a college basketball game between the University of North Carolina-Asheville and Tennessee Tech University after the game had already concluded with a UNC victory. 

“Kambi told the enforcement division that a trader had failed to manually remove that game from its betting markets, saying it had stopped receiving messages from its own sports data provider due to a network connectivity error. Kambi said it has updated its guidelines and retrained its traders to prevent a recurrence.A month earlier Rush Street took 13 wagers worth $8,150 with pre-match odds on a Professional Golf Association match after the event had already begun. In this case, Kambi told the division a newly hired trader failed to enter the correct closing time for bets on the event. The trader and a supervisor underwent retraining.”

As the story alludes to, Idaho officials are no doubt paying attention to these issues. And others, too.

Issues in Other States May Be Having an Adverse Impact on Idaho Sports Betting Impressions

The Gem State takes regulation of the illegal Idaho sports betting market very seriously. Remember, they pounced on daily fantasy sports sites for how they conducted business. Beyond that, they routinely point to recurring problems in other states with sports betting as proof of the hassle and downside. 

While this New Jersey case is not necessarily unique, it is the latest in a growing line of regulatory concerns. And to that end, it is prompting Idaho sports betting opponents to assume a different type of devil’s advocate stance.

The thinking here: If online sports betting in Idaho becomes legal, will the state be able to effectively regulate it? Legalized wagering is considered safer than offshore transactions. Neither state nor federal governments have any jurisdiction over those sportsbooks. Dealing with domestic operations is easier, more effective and, the thinking goes, safer.

However, the sports betting in New Jersey fines spotlight additional challenges. Most notably, not all online sports betting operators in the United States are actually located inside the USA. Sure, companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel, among many others, are localized. But in this case, Kambi is based in Malta. This led to regulatory complications as New Jersey sought to address the issue. 

Those are not logistics even Idaho sports betting supporters in the government want to face. So any time a story like this comes out, and is subsequently covered by the media in Idaho, it sets back the push for sports wagering.

Idaho’s Outlook on Sports Wagering is Ultimately About More Than Existing Downsides 

In the end, though, problems like this won’t exclusively slow down the push (or lack thereof) for Idaho sports betting. For this issue specifically, there is a clear workaround. The Gem State can limit their operations to sports betting operators located in the United States.

This is not to say the concern isn’t real—or fair. Once more, opponents of legal sports betting in the United States make good points. 

Ultimately, however, the future of Idaho sports betting will be determined by its risk-reward profile. If officials ever believe there is a clear demand as well as an effective way to regulate the market, you better believe legalized sports betting will become a hotter topic. Until then, updates on the future will look and sound and feel eerily similar to this one.

Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can find one that works for all of your sports betting needs: