If you're traveling this Thanksgiving, you may find yourself in a state without your normal sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings.
States like California, Georgia and Texas (and about 20 others) do not have real-money online sports betting, meaning you can't play on those popular platforms.
If you're not in a state with legal betting, you can use a social/sweepstakes sportsbook like Fliff or Rebet (learn more about how sweepstakes betting works here). Or you can use a DFS site like Underdog or PrizePicks, which doesn't allow you to take the winner of the game, but allows you to build lineups around player stats like yardage, touchdowns, catches, and many more.
Where Is Each Gaming Type Allowed?
There's some form of gaming in almost all 50 states — by our count, Idaho is the only state with none of the three options.
Traditional refers to legal, regulated online sportsbooks like DraftKings and FanDuel. Sweepstakes is operators like Fliff and Rebet, available in 40+ states. DFS refers to DFS pick'em sites like PrizePicks and Underdog.
| State | Trad. | Sweeps | DFS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | Yes | No |
| Alaska | No | Yes | Yes |
| Arizona | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Arkansas | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| California | No | Yes | Yes |
| Colorado | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connecticut | Yes | Yes | No |
| Delaware | No | Yes | No |
| DC | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Florida | Yes | Yes | No |
| Georgia | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hawaii | No | Yes | No |
| Idaho | No | No | No |
| Illinois | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Indiana | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Iowa | Yes | Yes | No |
| Kansas | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kentucky | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Louisiana | Yes | Yes | No |
| Maine | Yes | Yes | No |
| Maryland | No | Yes | No |
| Mass. | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Michigan | Yes | No | No |
| Minnesota | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mississippi | No | Yes | No |
| Missouri | No | Yes | No |
| Montana | No | No | No |
| Nebraska | No | Yes | Yes |
| Nevada | Yes | No | No |
| New Hampshire | Yes | Yes | No |
| New Jersey | Yes | Yes | No |
| New Mexico | No | Yes | Yes |
| New York | Yes | Yes | No |
| North Carolina | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| North Dakota | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ohio | Yes | Yes | No |
| Oklahoma | No | Yes | Yes |
| Oregon | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | Yes | No |
| Rhode Island | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| South Carolina | No | Yes | Yes |
| South Dakota | No | Yes | Yes |
| Tennessee | Yes | Yes | No |
| Texas | No | Yes | Yes |
| Utah | No | Yes | Yes |
| Vermont | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virginia | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Washington | No | Yes | No |
| West Virginia | Yes | Yes | No |
| Wisconsin | No | Yes | Yes |
| Wyoming | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Alternatives to Real-Money Sportsbooks
There are two main alternative ways to play the NFL Thanksgiving slate, though there are many operators within each of those categories:
DFS
DFS Pick'em, as it's called, is different from traditional salary cap DFS. You're building a lineup of player stats, not players.
Three of the most popular platforms:
For example, I've built this three-player lineup for Monday Night Football a few days before Thanksgiving. If I take Derrick Henry more than 0.5 TDs, JK Dobbins less than 47.5 rushing yards and Justin Herbet more than 1.5 passing TDs, I'll win 1.75x my stake.
Social/Sweepstakes Sportsbook
Confused about social/sweepstakes betting? Read more up on how they work and their legality here. It's similar to real betting, but you're making a purchase to put money on the platform, not depositing. Several of these platforms, including Fliff and Rebet, are available in 40+ states.