GambleAdvice Goes to Vermont - Lottery & The New Sports Era

Vermont has always treated gambling like a cautious houseguest, letting it in only after long debate. Even today, the state allows just two forms of real-money play: the Vermont Lottery and online sports betting.

There is no casino Vermont players can drive to, no retail sportsbook, and no legal online casino. Below, we break down the gambling laws VT residents live under, how the 2024 sports betting launch changed the picture, and where things could head next.

• Legal: State lottery and online sports betting; casinos and online casino games are not permitted
• Model: Mobile-only sports wagering, with operators chosen through a state competitive bidding process
• Structure: Three sportsbooks out of a legal cap of six; no retail betting locations
• Key Regulator: Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL)
• Age Requirement: 21+ for sports betting; 18+ for lottery tickets

Vermont was the last New England state to legalize sports wagering when Gov. Phil Scott signed the bill in June 2023. That earned the state a place on the map of legal online gambling across the USA, but with an unusually tight design.

Mobile apps went live on January 11, 2024, and there is no retail option at all. Bets can’t even be placed through lottery retailers.

Rather than handing out open licenses, the DLL ran a competitive bid. Five operators applied, and DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics won contracts, leaving BetMGM and ESPN Bet on the sidelines.

Each operator pays a revenue share set through the bidding process, with a legal floor of 20% of adjusted gross revenue. At launch, DraftKings and Fanatics agreed to around 31%, while FanDuel committed to roughly 33%.

The rules lean conservative too. Credit card deposits are banned, and wagers on Vermont college teams are blocked unless they’re playing in a tournament.

Bets on events where most participants are under 18 are off the table as well. On top of that, $250,000 a year from sports betting revenue goes toward problem gambling programs.

The numbers have still been steady. Handle climbed to roughly $235.1 million in 2025, up from about $198.8 million in the debut year, and the state’s take rose to around $7.25 million.

Out-of-state visitors help a lot. Nearly 30% of 2024 handle came from bettors based outside Vermont.

Vermont has never licensed a commercial casino. It also has no tribal gaming, since none of its Abenaki communities hold the federal recognition that tribal casinos require.

Casino bills have surfaced over the years, but none has come close. During the Shumlin administration, a Republican lawmaker repeatedly filed single-casino bills, and the governor’s office vowed to block casino gaming outright.

The latest attempt is S.318, introduced in January 2026 by Sen. Christopher Mattos. It would let the Board of Liquor and Lottery issue up to two casino licenses, but it was referred to committee with no recorded hearings.

Vermont’s gambling history is mostly a story of slow, deliberate steps rather than big leaps.

Real-money online casino games remain illegal in Vermont, and no iGaming bill has made real progress. Slots, blackjack, and online poker simply have no legal path in the state right now.

The closest thing to expansion came in 2026, when S.319 proposed limited permits for poker games and tournaments. Like S.318, it went no further than a committee referral.

The Vermont Lottery remains the state’s oldest legal game, with profits directed to the Vermont Education Fund. Players can buy scratch tickets, Powerball, Mega Millions, and Tri-State games like Megabucks, but only in person.

That could change eventually. In 2026, H.669 proposed online lottery sales, with the state projecting an extra $2.5 million in the first year, but reporting indicates it never cleared committee.

Sweepstakes casinos fill the gap for some players. Vermont hasn’t enacted a dedicated ban, so these dual-currency sites still operate in a legal gray zone.

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Vermont’s neighbors have moved faster, though neither offers legal online casinos either. The closest regulated iCasino markets sit further south, in Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Next door, New Hampshire’s sports betting and online lottery market runs on a single-operator model, with DraftKings holding exclusive mobile rights. The Granite State also sells lottery tickets online, something Vermont is still debating.

To the south, Massachusetts’ casinos and sportsbooks offer a much bigger menu, with three licensed casino properties and a competitive mobile betting market. Lawmakers there have also filed bills to legalize online casinos while banning sweepstakes sites.

In the short term, expect more of the same. Sports betting is maturing, and the state’s sports wagering director has said he expects continued growth.

Not everyone is sold. H.133, filed in 2025, would repeal both the lottery and sports betting, and it received a committee walk-through in April 2026 without advancing.

Casino expansion and online casino games still look like long shots. For now, Vermont remains a lottery-and-sportsbooks state, and any bigger shift will likely start with online lottery sales.