States / Montana / Sports betting
Is sports betting legal in Montana?
Yes. In Montana, sports betting is legal, with limited online options (as of Oct 12, 2026). Online and in-person betting launched May 2020. Operators pay Same state-lottery-monopoly structure as sports_retail in tax.
| Channel | Status | Launched | Model | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports (online) | Limited | May 2020 | Monopoly State | The Sports Bet Montana app is geofenced with GeoComply Bluetooth beacons to the physical space of licensed premises; there is no statewide/off-premises mobile wagering. Gov. Steve Bullock signed HB 725 (Ch. 284, L. 2019) on May 3, 2019, with an immediate effective date. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' new Class III compact (DOI-approved Jan. 26, 2026) separately gives the state and CSKT concurrent jurisdiction to regulate sports wagering on the Flathead Reservation, a carve-out from the Lottery's statewide monopoly. 2019 Mont. Laws, Ch. 284 (HB 725, Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act); Mont. Code Ann. § 23-7-104 [1],[2],[3],[4]? |
| Sports (retail) | Live | May 2020 | Monopoly State | Montana Lottery is the sole sports-wagering operator; bets are placed in person or via app at ~2,000 licensed taverns/casinos, using Intralot as technology provider. Gov. Steve Bullock signed HB 725 on May 3, 2019 (the bill carried an immediate effective date, so the signing date and effective date are the same). 2019 Mont. Laws, Ch. 284 (HB 725, Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act); Mont. Code Ann. § 23-7-104 [1],[2],[4] |
Tax rate
| Rate | Since | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Same state-lottery-monopoly structure as sports_retail (mobile play is geofenced to licensed premises, not a standalone statewide product): no separate operator GGR tax; licensed host locations receive a 3% commission on gross sales, remainder to the State Lottery Fund. OTHER (online) | May 2020 | [5] |
| Not a tax on a private operator: Sports Bet Montana is a Montana Lottery product, so wagering proceeds are state lottery revenue rather than a GGR tax. Licensed host locations (taverns and casinos) that place terminals/kiosks receive a 3% commission on the gross sales placed at their location; the remainder flows to the State Lottery Fund. OTHER (retail) | May 2020 | FY2025: $66,184,270 in sales, $5,956,584 returned to the state; lifetime through CY2025, $314,126,400 in total sales and $27,724,260 total return to the state.[5] |
Rules
- Minimum age to place a sports wager
- 18 · Same statute as the lottery age floor, since Sports Bet Montana is a Montana Lottery product under Title 23, ch. 7; the operator's own site also states the 18-and-over requirement.[6],[7]
- Wagering on college sports allowed at all
- Yes[8],[9]
- Wagering on in-state college teams allowed
- Yes · Sports Bet Montana has taken wagers on in-state rivalry games such as the Griz-Cats "Brawl of the Wild."[9]
- Individual college player prop bets allowed
- Yes · The Montana Lottery declined a 2024 NCAA request to drop college player-prop markets, citing the state's limited number of in-state college teams.[8]
- Credit cards may be used to fund accounts
- No · Montana law requires gambling consideration to be paid in cash (a debit card or bank transfer may be used to obtain cash or fund an account, but not a credit card).[10]?
- New online accounts must be created in person
- No · Bettors create a Sports Bet Montana account online or through the app, verifying identity with a driver's license or Social Security number; wagers must still be placed while physically on a licensed location's premises.[11]?
- Online sports wagering available statewide (not tethered to premises)
- No · The Sports Bet Montana app is geofenced to licensed premises; no off-premises mobile wagering.[1],[2]
Licensed sportsbooks
| Operator | Brand | Channel | Status | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intralot | Sports Bet Montana (mobile, on-premises) | Sports (online) | active | May 2020[12] |
| Intralot | Sports Bet Montana | Sports (retail) | active | May 2020[12],[13] |
All gambling laws in Montana → · Sports betting in every state →
Sources
- Sports Bet Montana — Montana's Exclusive Sportsbook · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- GeoComply's PinPoint Powers On-Premise Sports Betting in Montana · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
secondary/vendor source only.
- State-Tribal Gaming Compacts — Montana Department of Justice, Gambling Control Division · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
Fetched directly via gld.fetch.get (dojmt.gov returns 403 to plain httpx clients but is reachable with a Chrome TLS fingerprint). Supersedes tribal-compacts-secondary, which had relied on a search-result summary and mistakenly carried forward the CSKT compact as "deemed approved by federal default" rather than DOI-approved.
- HB 725 (2019) — Allow sports wagering through the state lottery · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
Bill-tracker page reproducing the Montana Legislature's official action log for HB 725; shows "Transmitted to Governor" 4/25/19, "Signed by Governor" 5/3/19, and "Chapter Number Assigned" the same day (Ch. 284, L. 2019, per the MCA compiler's history notes to §§ 23-7-102/-104). Corroborated by contemporaneous news coverage (krtv.com, kpax.com, missoulacurrent.com) reporting Gov. Bullock signed the bill "Friday" (May 3, 2019). The official leg.mt.gov/bills.legmt.gov bill-status page could not be fetched directly (dynamic JS app with no server-rendered content; legacy CGI status-query URL now redirects to that same app), so this tracker is used as the best available record of the official action date.
- SportsBetMT Handout (Montana Lottery presentation to the Economic Affairs Interim Committee) · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
Identified via WebSearch summary of this March 10, 2026 committee handout; not independently re-fetched for a verbatim excerpt this session. Reports a current 3% retailer commission on gross sales, 568 licensed locations, FY2025 sales/return figures, and lifetime totals through CY2025.
- Mont. Code Ann. § 23-7-302 — Sales restrictions · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- Montana's Exclusive Sportsbook · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- Montana Lottery keeping college player props · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- Montana bet big on the Griz · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- Credit Gambling (Gambling Control Division guidance) · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
PDF itself is marked "Rev. 5.2025" though hosted at a filename dated 5.2022.
- Sport betting is now available in Montana · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
Launch-era (2020) coverage; also quotes a Lottery spokesperson on the licensed-location requirement and geo-beacon geofencing.
- Intralot welcomes launch of Sports Bet Montana · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Intralot Inc. Signs Contract with Montana Lottery to Deliver Next-Generation Lottery Technology · retrieved Oct 10, 2026