Vermont Online Sportsbooks

Yes, but only in a very particular shape. Vermont did not simply “legalize sports betting” the way a casino state might; it created a narrow, state-run mobile program in which the government itself picks the operators through a bidding contest and takes a large cut of what they earn. Anyone of age and located in Vermont may bet through one of the three winning apps, and no one may bet any other way, because there is no other way. The authority comes from Act H.127, which Governor Phil Scott signed on June 14, 2023, and the Department of Liquor and Lottery runs the whole thing through its Office of Sports Wagering. The clock on legal betting started at 12:01 a.m. on January 11, 2024.

What makes Vermont distinct is that legality begins and ends online. Vermont is one of the few states in the nation with no commercial casinos, no tribal gaming compacts, and no operating racetracks, which means there was never a physical venue to bolt a sportsbook onto. Lawmakers skipped retail entirely and wrote a mobile-first statute. If you want to place a legal wager in Vermont, you do it on an app — there is no counter, kiosk, or teller window anywhere in the state.

The other defining feature is scarcity of operators. The law did not throw the doors open to every national brand. Instead it authorized the Department to license between two and six platforms and directed it to pick them through a competitive bidding process. That structure keeps Vermont’s market small, concentrated, and lucrative for the state treasury. Wondering how this bid-for-a-license setup fits into the country’s patchwork of online gambling law? Our rundown of online gambling legality by state places Vermont next to every other state.

It is worth pausing on how unusual Vermont’s path was. Neighboring New Hampshire runs its mobile market through a single exclusive operator. New York opened with nine apps and a punishing 51% tax. New Jersey licenses more than a dozen. Vermont threaded a middle course: enough operators to give bettors a real choice and keep pricing honest, but few enough that the state could demand a premium revenue share from each. The result is a market that feels national in quality — the apps are the same ones powering multi-billion-dollar states — while remaining boutique in scale. For Vermonters, that means you get top-tier technology without wading through a dozen lookalike brands.

Most states that legalize mobile betting invite an open field — any operator that meets the standards and pays the fee gets a license. Vermont went the opposite direction. H.127 empowered the Department of Liquor and Lottery to solicit competitive proposals and select a small number of platforms, weighing not just qualifications but how large a cut of revenue each company would hand back to the state.

The Department issued a request for proposals in 2023 and evaluated bids on financial terms, responsible-gaming commitments, technology, and marketing plans. In December 2023 it announced the three winners: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook. All three went live together on January 11, 2024, so no single brand enjoyed a first-mover monopoly.

The trade-off is fewer choices for bettors: three apps instead of the eight or nine you would find in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Vermont decided a smaller, higher-yield market suited a state of about 650,000 residents better than a crowded one.

Because the field is capped at these three, you will not find ESPN BET, BetMGM, Caesars, or bet365 operating legally in Vermont, even though they run in many other states. Any site claiming to offer legal Vermont betting outside DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics is either an unlicensed offshore book or a mistake. Stick to the three approved apps, all of which carry the state’s consumer protections, verified payouts, and responsible-gaming tools. That certainty is one of the underrated benefits of a limited-operator market — there is no guesswork about which brands are legitimate.

Because Vermont’s field is fixed at three licensed apps, our evaluation focuses on the details that actually separate them rather than on availability. We weigh the following:

• Pricing and market depth. How competitive the odds are on the leagues Vermonters bet most — NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB — and how many prop and parlay options each app offers.
• App stability and speed. Whether the platform holds up during peak windows and how quickly live odds update for in-game wagering.
• Banking that fits Vermont law. Since credit cards are prohibited, we prioritize apps with smooth debit, PayPal, online-banking, and e-wallet options and fast payouts.
• Bonus quality. The real value of welcome offers and ongoing promotions, read past the headline dollar figure.
• Responsible-gaming tools. Deposit, wager, and time limits, plus easy access to self-exclusion.
• Customer support. Response times and whether issues get resolved without escalation.

We test each app the way a resident would — depositing, placing live and pregame bets, and cashing out — rather than relying on marketing copy. The same standards drive our national state-by-state sportsbook guides.

With three quality apps to pick from, the decision comes down to what you value. A few practical pointers:

• If you want the deepest markets, DraftKings and FanDuel offer the widest prop and parlay menus, especially for hockey and basketball.
• If you chase boosts and promos, FanDuel typically runs the most odds boosts, though all three post regular offers.
• If you already shop Fanatics gear, the FanCash rewards on Fanatics Sportsbook turn your betting volume into merchandise value.
• If speed of payout matters, link a PayPal account — all three process e-wallet withdrawals faster than bank transfers.

Nothing stops you from registering at all three. Many Vermont bettors keep accounts on multiple apps to line-shop, compare boosts, and grab each welcome bonus. Because there is no cost to holding an account, spreading your action lets you always take the best available number on a given game.

Signing up is quick, and you can be betting within a few minutes. Here is how:

1. Confirm you are eligible. Two things have to be true at once: you have turned 21, and your feet are inside Vermont at the moment you sign up and place a bet. You do not have to live here — out-of-state visitors are fine so long as they are within the state’s borders.
2. Download an approved app. Get DraftKings, FanDuel, or Fanatics from the iOS or Android app store, or sign up on the operator’s website. Only these three are legal in Vermont.
3. Create your account. Before you can wager, the app has to prove you are who you say and that you have cleared 21, so it collects a short set of identifiers: your legal name, your birth date, your residential address, and several digits of your Social Security number. Vermont’s licensed books run those details against verification databases during registration.
4. Enable location services. The app uses geolocation to confirm you are in Vermont. Say yes to the request, or the app refuses to let you wager.
5. Make a deposit. Use a debit card, PayPal, online banking, or another e-wallet. Remember that credit cards are barred by state law.
6. Claim your welcome offer and bet. Opt into the sign-up promotion, place your first wager, and set your deposit or time limits while you are at it.

New to the whole process? Our real-money betting rundown breaks down the key points, from bankroll management to odds formats, before you put money down.

All three Vermont operators lead with a welcome offer, and the format has shifted industry-wide toward bonus bets rather than deposit matches. Typically you will see a “bet and get” structure: place a qualifying first wager and receive bonus bets in return, sometimes tied to the wager winning and sometimes paid regardless. Fanatics has favored a multi-day match on early losses, while DraftKings and FanDuel rotate between bonus-bet grants and profit boosts.

The headline number is never the whole story. Before opting in, check the qualifying bet size, whether bonus bets expire (often within seven days), the minimum odds required, and whether winnings from bonus bets include the stake. A “bet $5, get $200” offer with reasonable terms can be worth more than a flashier figure loaded with restrictions. Ongoing promotions matter too — profit boosts, parlay insurance, and no-sweat bets show up weekly and often deliver more long-term value than the one-time welcome deal. For a deeper breakdown of how to read these offers, read our full guide to sportsbook bonuses and promotions.

Banking in Vermont carries one rule that surprises people: credit card deposits are illegal. H.127 explicitly bars funding a betting account with a credit card, a consumer-protection measure aimed at keeping bettors from wagering on borrowed money. That leaves plenty of alternatives:

• Play+ prepaid cards — each book brands its own reloadable card that keeps your wagering balance walled off from your everyday checking account.
• PayPal and other e-wallets — the fastest lane in both directions, and typically how paid-out money reaches you soonest.
• Debit cards — the workhorse option: instant to load and accepted everywhere.
• Online banking and ACH transfers — dependable for larger sums, though a cash-out can sit for a few business days before it settles.

Withdrawal speed depends on the method. PayPal payouts often clear within hours, while bank transfers may take two to five business days. Your first withdrawal from any app may take longer because operators run identity checks the first time money leaves the account. Make sure your payment method carries the same name as your betting account to avoid holds.

Want to see how these three measure up against operators in bigger markets? We break down speed, live-betting tools, and features operator by operator in our guide to the best mobile sportsbook apps.

Live betting is where Vermont’s apps shine, and it fits the state’s fan base well. Because so many Vermonters follow Boston and Montreal hockey, the ability to bet the next goal, the period result, or an updated puck line while the game is on adds a layer recreational bettors love. All three operators run deep in-play boards across the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB, with prices that redraw themselves by the second.

The keys to live betting are a fast connection and a stable app, since a lagging feed can cost you a good number. DraftKings and FanDuel handle the load best during marquee windows, and both offer cash-out so you can lock in a profit or cut a loss before the final whistle. Same-game live parlays let you combine in-play outcomes for bigger payouts, though the vig on those tickets is steep — treat them as entertainment, not a strategy.

The governing statute is Act H.127 of 2023, codified in Title 31 of the Vermont Statutes. Its core provisions:

For the age rules that apply across all forms of Vermont gambling, see our reference on the minimum betting ages state by state.

Vermont has no federally recognized tribes operating gaming compacts and no tribal casinos. Unlike states such as Connecticut, Florida, or much of the West and Great Plains, tribal gaming plays no role in Vermont’s betting landscape. This absence is part of why the state built an entirely state-run, mobile-only model — there was no tribal or commercial casino industry pushing for retail access or exclusive rights. The Department of Liquor and Lottery is the sole gaming authority, and every legal sports wager in Vermont flows through the three licensed apps it oversees.

Vermont permits wagering on professional and college sports but layers on several limits that catch newcomers off guard:

• In-state college teams are off-limits. You cannot bet on Vermont-based college programs such as the University of Vermont Catamounts, with one exception: wagering is allowed when an in-state team participates in a multi-team out-of-state tournament, such as the NCAA basketball tournament.
• No college player props. As clarified in March 2024, bets on the individual performance of any college athlete are prohibited statewide, regardless of the school’s location.
• No politics or entertainment betting. Wagers on elections, award shows, and similar non-sport events are not offered.
• Esports may be offered only when sanctioned by an approved governing body.
• DFS age raised. When it legalized betting, Vermont also lifted the minimum age for daily fantasy sports from 18 to 21, aligning it with sportsbook rules.

These rules mirror a common pattern nationally — protecting amateur athletes from the pressure that individual-prop betting can create — but the outright ban on all in-state college wagering outside tournaments is stricter than many states impose.

Beyond the age floor, Vermont excludes several groups to keep the games clean and the program credible:

• Athletes, coaches, referees, and other participants betting on events in their own sport.
• Employees of the licensed sportsbook operators and their affiliates.
• Officials and employees of the Department of Liquor and Lottery involved in regulating sports wagering.
• Anyone who has placed themselves on the state’s self-exclusion list.
• People whose identity or age cannot be verified.

Operators enforce these exclusions through registration checks and ongoing account monitoring. Attempting to bet through someone else’s account or from outside the state violates the terms of service and can void winnings.

Because federal law insists that every piece of a legal online bet happen within an authorized state, Vermont’s apps depend on geolocation to prove you are inside its borders. Reading your device through GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular data, the software runs that check the whole time you stay logged in, not merely when you sign on.

There are two tax questions here — what operators pay and what you owe on winnings.

Operator side. Vermont deliberately avoided the flat tax on gross gaming revenue that most states charge. Instead it runs a revenue-share arrangement set by competitive bidding: the statute fixes a 20% floor, but the auction pushed every winner past it, with DraftKings and Fanatics each surrendering 31% of adjusted gross revenue and FanDuel 33%, for a blended cut of roughly 31.7%. That figure ranks among the steepest effective takes anywhere and is precisely what makes a three-operator market pay off for a small state.

Where the state’s share goes. Operator payments and license fees flow into the Sports Wagering Enterprise Fund. That fund first covers the Department of Liquor and Lottery’s cost of running the program; a dedicated slice — $250,000 a year seeded at launch, with total problem-gambling spending running around $500,000 annually — is carved out for responsible-gaming work through the Department of Mental Health’s Responsible Gaming Special Fund, and a separate startup appropriation stood up the state self-exclusion system. Whatever remains after those obligations sweeps into Vermont’s General Fund, where it helps underwrite ordinary state services rather than a single earmarked program. In its first six months the program handed the state about $3.5 million, and annual state revenue has since climbed past $7 million.

Bettor side. A win is income, and Vermont treats it that way. Your net gambling winnings are reportable on your federal return, and a sportsbook will issue a Form W-2G on the larger scores (the classic trigger is a payout of at least $600 at odds of 300-to-1 or better, among other IRS thresholds). Vermont then taxes that same money under its graduated personal income tax, which tops out at 8.75%, so a good year at the book raises your state bill as well as your federal one. On the federal side you can write off losses only by itemizing and only up to your winnings; Vermont’s own loss-deduction treatment is narrower, which is one more reason to keep your own records. Treat this as background, not a legal opinion, and check with a Vermont tax professional about your circumstances.

A practical habit for Vermont bettors: track your activity as you go rather than scrambling at tax time. The apps make this easy — each keeps a transaction history you can export, showing deposits, wagers, wins, and withdrawals. Note that you owe tax on your gross winnings even if your net result for the year is a loss, which is why itemized loss records matter so much. Recreational bettors who never come close to a W-2G threshold still technically owe on net winnings, so honest recordkeeping protects you. If betting is a small hobby for you, the tax impact will usually be minor, but it is real, and Vermont’s Department of Taxes treats it the same as any other income.

For a state of roughly 650,000 people with no professional teams, Vermont’s numbers have been steady and, in year two, clearly upward. In its first year of operation in 2024, the market took in a total handle of about $198.75 million and delivered $6.35 million in revenue to the state.

Year two brought growth. In 2025 the handle climbed to roughly $235.09 million, and the state’s share rose to about $7.25 million. The state’s director of sports wagering described the trend as a maturing market performing largely as expected. Monthly handle has topped $16 million during peak sports windows, with the winter overlap of NFL, NBA, and NHL driving the busiest stretches. The trajectory suggests a small but stable market that grows modestly each year rather than one prone to boom-and-bust swings — fitting for a state that deliberately capped its operator count. To see how Vermont’s growth compares with markets nationwide, browse our state gambling guides hub.

Context matters when reading these figures. Vermont’s total handle would barely register as a rounding error next to New York or New Jersey, where monthly handle alone can exceed $1 billion. But on a per-capita basis the state performs respectably, and its high revenue share means Vermont converts a larger slice of every dollar wagered into public money than most states do. Early skeptics worried the numbers would fall short of projections, and some legislative estimates did prove optimistic. Even so, the money supports state programs, and the second-year growth quieted much of the initial doubt. A 2025 bill to repeal sports betting and the lottery gained little traction, a sign the market has settled into Vermont’s fiscal landscape rather than remaining a political flashpoint.

Outside the three licensed apps, Vermonters can still open accounts on event-contract platforms such as Kalshi, which let users trade yes-or-no contracts on future outcomes, including a growing menu of sports results. As of mid-2026 those platforms remain reachable from Vermont: the Department of Liquor and Lottery, which polices the three sportsbooks, has issued no public cease-and-desist order against Kalshi or any similar operator, and Vermont has no bill on the books to ban event contracts outright. The reason for that hands-off posture is jurisdictional. Kalshi’s contracts are listed on a federally designated market overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the platform argues that federal commodities law preempts state gambling regulators entirely.

Vermont has not been a bystander in that fight, though. Attorney General Charity Clark signed onto the bipartisan amicus brief — joined by roughly three dozen states in the spring of 2026 — backing Massachusetts in its lawsuit against Kalshi and arguing that sports event contracts are gambling that states have every right to regulate. That coalition ran into a headwind in April 2026, when the Third Circuit affirmed an injunction shielding Kalshi from New Jersey’s enforcement on preemption grounds; because the appellate courts have split, the question is widely expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, possibly by 2027. Until it does, Vermont sits in an awkward middle: its top law-enforcement officer is on record calling these markets illegal sports betting, yet its gaming regulator has not moved to shut residents out of them.

The practical takeaway for a Vermont bettor is that a Kalshi account is not the same product as a DraftKings or FanDuel account. Event contracts are not licensed by the Department of Liquor and Lottery, do not carry Vermont’s 21-and-up sports-wagering safeguards, and fall outside the consumer protections and self-exclusion tools the state built into its three apps — and their legal footing could shift the moment a court rules. Our explainer on prediction markets walks through how these contracts work and where the national fight stands.

Vermont has no major professional franchise in any of the big American leagues, so betting loyalties split between Boston and Montreal. Here is the league-by-league picture Vermont bettors actually follow:

Remember the restriction before you get excited: you cannot bet on Vermont college teams except when they play in an out-of-state tournament, and college player props are banned outright. That said, the Catamounts are worth knowing.

The University of Vermont Catamounts, based in Burlington, field 18 Division I varsity teams and compete in the America East Conference, with hockey in Hockey East and skiing in the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association. Men’s basketball is the flagship program — a regular America East contender and frequent NCAA tournament participant, which is the one window when Vermont bettors can legally back the Catamounts, since March Madness is a multi-team out-of-state event. The Catamounts have pulled memorable tournament upsets over the years, and a deep America East run each March turns Burlington into a genuine basketball town. UVM men’s and women’s ice hockey draw strong local followings in Hockey East, and the ski program is a national power that has produced Olympians and World Cup racers.

Notably, Vermont dropped football decades ago, cutting the program in the 1970s, and is one of a small handful of Division I schools that sponsor neither football nor baseball. That absence shapes betting culture: without a college football Saturday tradition, Vermont fans channel autumn energy into the Patriots and winter energy into hockey and hoops. Norwich University in Northfield adds a respected Division III program, particularly strong in hockey and rooted in the school’s status as the birthplace of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Middlebury College and Castleton also field competitive small-college teams. But for wagering purposes, the practical takeaway is simple — the only time you can legally bet a Vermont school is when the Catamounts reach the NCAA basketball tournament, so mark Selection Sunday on your calendar.

Because Vermont has no pro venues and limited college wagering, its signature betting events reflect the state’s geography and mountain culture:

• World Cup ski racing at Killington. The Killington Cup, a stop on the International Ski Federation World Cup circuit held over Thanksgiving weekend, is Vermont’s marquee sporting spectacle, drawing thousands to watch the world’s best women slalom and giant-slalom skiers. Alpine skiing markets appear on the apps during World Cup season.
• College hockey. Hockey East games at UVM’s Gutterson Fieldhouse are among the most-attended sporting events in the state. While you cannot bet UVM directly outside tournaments, the broader Hockey East and NCAA hockey markets are popular, and the Frozen Four draws heavy Vermont interest.
• March Madness. The NCAA basketball tournament is the single biggest betting event of the year for Vermonters — and, thanks to the tournament exception, the rare time backing the Catamounts is legal.
• Boston and Montreal road trips. Vermont fans regularly travel to TD Garden and the Bell Centre, and the biggest bet volume tracks Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox, and Canadiens schedules rather than anything held in-state.
• The Super Bowl. As everywhere, the NFL championship is the single busiest betting day of the year, and with the Patriots the regional team, Vermont sees a surge of props, squares-style entertainment bets, and casual first-time wagers each February.

The pattern reflects a truth about Vermont sports culture: the state exports its passion. Vermonters ski and play hockey at extraordinary rates for a small population, but the biggest professional stages sit an hour or two south in Boston or north across the border in Montreal. That is why the betting calendar peaks with the NFL playoffs and the winter hockey-and-basketball overlap, then leans on the Killington Cup and NCAA hockey for a distinctly local flavor. No other state’s betting rhythm is shaped quite so much by mountains and by loyalty to teams that play elsewhere.

• vtgamblinghelp.org: the Department of Mental Health’s official problem-gambling site, launched in 2024 specifically for Vermont Lottery and mobile sports-wagering players. It carries the warning signs of a developing problem, treatment and referral information, self-help tools, and a live chat staffed by peer support specialists who have been through recovery themselves.
• Department of Mental Health Responsible Gaming Program: the state office, funded from betting revenue, that coordinates prevention, provider training, and treatment access statewide — including a free certification course that trains Vermont clinicians as problem-gambling specialists.
• Howard Center, Burlington — 802-488-7788: the longstanding Vermont mental-health and substance-use provider that has served as a local point of contact for gamblers seeking help and directs callers into Vermont’s treatment resources.
• State self-exclusion: a program stood up by the Agency of Digital Services that lets you bar yourself from the licensed apps; you can also trigger self-exclusion and cooling-off periods from inside each sportsbook’s account settings.
• Helpline — 1-800-522-4700: the confidential gambling helpline, reachable on the same network at 1-800-GAMBLER — confidential, round-the-clock call-or-text support that routes Vermont callers toward in-state services.

Set limits before you start, treat betting as entertainment rather than income, and never chase losses. If you or someone you know needs help, reach out early. Every licensed Vermont app lets you cap deposits, wagers, and time, or take a cooling-off break without closing the account for good. Because Vermont is a small state, its approach leans on tight coordination — a single state website, a state program coordinator, and a handful of regional providers — rather than a sprawling bureaucracy, which in practice means help is easy to find and one call connects you to the right door. The single most effective guardrail is also the simplest: set a deposit limit the day you register, when your head is clear, and treat it as a budget rather than a target to push against.

Vermont built a lean, well-regulated, mobile-only market that trades a long operator list for a high state cut and strong consumer safeguards. Three quality apps — DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics — cover every major league a Vermont fan follows, from Bruins hockey to Celtics basketball to Patriots football, even though none of those teams calls the state home. The rules are stricter than average around college wagering and deposits, but the framework is transparent and the protections are real.

If you are exploring other betting options in the state, our guide to Vermont online casinos covers the current status of online casino play, and you can compare Vermont’s neighbors through our sportsbook guides for New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York. Fans of season-long contests can also read up on daily fantasy sports and horse race wagering, both of which remain available to Vermont players.