Legal Mobile Sports Betting Apps For 2023
If you bet on sports, even in states with legal domestic options, online betting via mobile devices is the gold standard. By far, sports betting on mobile platforms is the most popular avenue for gamblers, as the convenience of being able to wager from anywhere, anytime, beats going to local brick-and-mortar casinos or betting lounges any day.
Of course, most American gamblers do not have access to convenient domestic options. Thus, gamblers turn to the best offshore sportsbooks. These international betting sites are safe and legal for nearly all US residents to use, and if you want the best mobile sportsbook experiences for iPhone, iPad, and Android, use your device to read our advice and then roll the dice!
Is Mobile Sports Betting Legal In 2023?
Yes! When it comes to legal sports betting, real money wagers can be made in the US either domestically or internationally. Domestic sportsbooks are those betting sites run inside the US by US-based companies. International sportsbooks, on the other hand, operate outside of US jurisdiction, making them legal for the vast majority of American players.
The only exceptions are for residents of Washington, who are legally precluded from all online gambling, including betting on sports. However, these mandates are unenforced traditionally, and there is no record of any WA resident being cited, fined, or arrested for online gambling. Still, please follow all local gambling laws.
Domestic Mobile Sportsbooks
For US bettors, the first and more limited sports gambling option is to use a domestic online sportsbook in a state that offers them.
The catch is that more than 25 states have legalized sports wagering, but to place bets with books there, you must be physically located in the states where those books operate. In addition, not all of those states allow mobile betting options.
The minimum age to wager at most of these is 21 and up. So if you’re anywhere else or you’re under 21, you’re out of luck.
International Mobile Sportsbooks
Those players in the US who can’t access domestic sportsbooks due to geo-fencing restrictions or who aren’t yet 21 can legally gamble with international sportsbooks.
There are no federal gambling laws barring access to or real money gambling with these offshore sportsbook sites, and US residents only have to be 18 or older to sign up.
These sites use the same mobile sportsbook technology that domestic operators do, and they’ve been taking action from American players for generations.
Best Sports Betting App For 2023
Bovada Sportsbook
#1 Rated Legal Online Sportsbook For USA In 2023
The Bovada mobile sports betting app offers the most streamlined wagering experience on the Internet. Before mobile, Bovada was already one of the best betting sites out there, based purely on its competitive odds menu. But with a cutting-edge mobile sports betting portal and universal Bovada iPhone, Bovada iPad, and Bovada Android compatibility, it's now easily the best site in the business.
Site Rating
Compability
Pros
US Friendly - Most US States Accepted
Most reputable name in online sports betting
Generous 50% bonus up to $1,000 for new members
Easy deposits using credit cards or Bitcoin/crypto
Fast and reliable payouts guaranteed
Cons
Only US, Mexico and Brazil players accepted
Residents of DE, MD, NJ, NV, NY not accepted
Limited deposit options compared to other sites
Top Sports Betting Apps For US Gamblers
| Site | Review | Sports Bonus | USA | Visit |
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| Read Review | 50% Max $1,000 | Play now | |
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A Video Guide To Sports Betting Apps
Domestic Vs. International Mobile Sports Betting Sites
We’ve already listed the legal differences between domestic sports wagering and offshore sports betting, but there are other significant points of comparison that are important for those looking for legitimate online sports betting app experience.
With a domestic sports bet app, you’re going to see a focus on US-based players, teams, and leagues. That makes sense, but there are plenty of US gamblers that follow international action with just as much enthusiasm. For them, the best app to bet on sports is likely going to be a web app from one of the top-rated sportsbooks listed here.
Of course, this is just one of the many benefits of doing your sports betting internationally. The following reasons are why we recommend overseas betting sites over domestic local options:
- Players from most US states accepted
- Minimum age to sign up is just 18+
- Bitcoin + other cryptocurrencies accepted
- 1000s of daily bets
- Live betting on all major contests
- Full mobile support – No app downloads required
- Greater value on every line - No “home team” premium
- 24/7 customer service
- Guaranteed payouts + same day with crypto
- Big sportsbook bonuses + free plays
- No geofencing – Play from anywhere in the USA!
iPhone Sports Betting
The iPhone is the most popular smartphone line in the US. Of course, you can only get iPhone sportsbook apps in the few states that have domestic online betting options. For most players, that simply doesn’t cut it, no matter how cutting-edge their iPhones are.
For the best sports betting app, iPhone users can forget about the App Store and simply visit any of the mobile betting sites listed here. The web apps offered by these operators fit any size of the iPhone, and they’re compatible with multiple generations of iconic handsets.
With pixel-perfect responsive design and no downloads required, your bookie is always just a few taps away when you wager with your iPhone. Simply open Safari, head over to your favorite betting site, and browse the boards!
iPad Sports Betting
As with the best sports betting apps for iPhone, you don’t need the App Store to enjoy wagering on the big(ger) screen. If you want real money sports betting apps for iPad, Apple’s storefront only offers these in the few states where domestic Internet-based wagering is legal.
If you live anywhere else – or you simply want all the great benefits of overseas sports betting options – just visit your favorite operator via any modern web browser, log in, pick your winners, and cash out!
Android Sports Betting
While iPhones and iPads dominate the market on a per-model basis, more US gamblers use Android phones and tablets than any other platform. Again, however, when looking for Android sportsbook apps, Android users won’t find much in the Google Play store unless they live in a state that has already legalized local online sports wagering.
As a result, the best Android gambling apps aren’t apps at all – they’re actually the same web apps that you can access on iPhone and iPad!
All the top online sportsbooks operating outside of US jurisdiction have made their mobile portals 100% device-agnostic, meaning that you’ll get the same slick interfaces and responsive touchscreen controls regardless of the make or model of your handset or tablet. Online sports betting is the great unifier in the iPhone vs. Android flame wars because the experience is identical across both platforms!
Live Mobile Betting
Live betting is only a few years old, making its debut on the desktop portals of all the best international sports betting sites. However, as mobile computing advanced and 4G LTE really took off, live betting came to iPhones and Androids everywhere.
Now, NFL live betting is one of the most entertaining and engaging ways to bet on your favorite players and teams, allowing you to put money on in-game events and dynamic odds that shift throughout the entire course of every game.
You can take advantage of live mobile betting to recover bad pregame bets, double down on blowouts, and be a part of each contest like never before. With mobile live betting options across all major sports, you have literally thousands of lines available to you each and every day, wherever you are!
Rating The Best Sports Betting App User Interfaces
When you’re looking for top-rated online sports betting apps (or, more accurately, web apps), the first consideration is always safety and legitimacy. Of course, all the operators recommended here are as legit and secure as they come.
Thus, the next most important thing is to go with a book that gives you the most favorable odds. But no single book always has the best lines. This is why we recommend joining multiple books to shop lines for every game on which you wish to wager.
That said, most bettors prefer to choose a single site for 99% of their gambling needs. In these cases, mobile site design reigns supreme. When you need to bet quickly, you want an easy sports betting app experience above all else.
With this in mind, we’ve rated the mobile betting interface for each major operator with which we gamble regularly:
#1
Bovada - The Bovada mobile site offers the industry’s best overall UI. It looks and feels like a true, custom, native app on both iPhone and Android devices, and it’s extremely responsive. Bovada’s mobile interface is the standard by which all others are measured.
#2
MyBookie – The MyBookie website was completely redesigned in 2020, and the new theme is slicker and more fun than ever. It makes excellent use of screen space, and it even offers a dark mode. The site’s new look is everything you’d want from a MyBookie mobile app.
#3
BetOnline AG – For years, the BetOnline AG mobile suite was stuck in the past with a garish, barebones design. The new BetOnline mobile app experience, launched in mid-2020, is much more modern and streamlined.
#4
4. GTBets – The GTBets mobile experience uses some outdated design cues, but it’s easy to navigate, loads quickly and offers simple controls. Some tweaks here and there – mostly to the orange and blue color scheme – would be welcomed.
#5
5. BookMaker – BookMaker is one of the original online sportsbooks, first launched all the way back in 1996. The BookMaker mobile site mirrors the desktop experience, and navigation and presentation are merely “OK.” It’s easy enough to bet via the BookMaker EU mobile portal, but it could use a little more polish.
#6
6. SportsBetting AG – While SportsBetting is an excellent sportsbook with competitive odds for US players, it has an archaic design when accessed from smartphones and tablets. It’s not difficult to navigate, but it kind of looks like a Word document. Hopefully, a SportsBetting AG mobile app update is in the works.
Mobile Sports Betting FAQs
Domestically, more than 25 US states currently offer (or have legalized) sports betting within their borders. However, for those living elsewhere, these sportsbooks are off-limits thanks to the Interstate Wire Act and geo-fencing. And as mentioned before, not all of these states allow mobile betting apps.
That said, if you use a reputable international mobile sportsbook operating outside of US jurisdiction, residents from almost every US state can legally wager at just 18 years old and up.
The one state from which major sportsbooks do not accept US members is New Jersey.
Most US players prefer Bovada Mobile, but the answer really depends on your personal needs and tastes.
Because it’s such a subjective thing, we recommend joining several different books and familiarizing yourself with their mobile layouts and mobile optimization, as well as their betting lines.
In all likelihood, you will find yourself favoring two or three betting sites and regularly using each one to get the most bang for your buck on any given bet. Remember to always shop lines!
There isn’t one!
All the top sites recommended here work on any mobile operating system, though because iOS is the gold standard, you can bet that it gets a lot of attention. But it doesn’t get more attention than Android, as these web apps have to maintain total cross-platform compatibility.
That said, legal offshore betting sites must be designed with dynamic, responsive elements so they render perfectly on any iPhone of any screen size, along with all major desktop and laptop brands. Still, in terms of UI and UX, we recommend Bovada for starters if you use an iPhone, since its presentation uses many of Apple’s published “best practices.”
As with iPhones, there are no “best” betting apps for Android smartphones and tablets.
The best international sportsbooks all offer strictly web-based experiences, so their parameters adjust on the fly to fit any size of screen display and any pixel density. As Android is such a diverse platform with so many different specs across so many makes and models, this web app approach is best.
With bulletproof mobile network compatibility and 3G, 4G, LTE, and 5G support, these sites run perfectly on Android as long as your device isn’t absolutely ancient.
None of them. We repeat, in all caps: NONE OF THEM.
If you use a mobile VPN on your iPhone, iPad, or Android (or any other type of modern smartphone or tablet), you must turn it off before logging into your online sports betting account.
Using VPNs is strictly against the terms and conditions of every reputable site, as your betting operator must be able to identify the country or region from which you are accessing their services. This is for both their safety and yours, as it has to do with Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols.
While we recommend using a VPN for all common web activity, online sports betting with an offshore operator is an exception.
Mobile sports betting sites offer all the same wager types that you’re used to, whether you’re coming over from a desktop betting suite or a physical brick-and-mortar venue. These include the following, just to name a few:
- Spread bets
- Straight bets
- Totals bets (over/unders)
- Player prop bets
- Team prop bets
- Game prop bets
- Futures bets
- Live in-game bets
- +More
When you join an online sportsbook, mobile or otherwise, you’ll get a varied selection of funding methods. Usually, gamblers will have more deposit methods to choose from than withdrawal options, but every US-friendly international betting site is dedicated to supporting banking options that work for all American players. These include the following.
Deposits:
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Altcoins (Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Stellar, USD Coin, Chainlink, etc.)
- Vouchers
- Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover)
- Debit Cards
- International Gift Cards
- Cashier’s Checks
- Money Orders
- Bank Wires
- Person-To-Person Services
- Zelle-To-Bitcoin Exchange
Withdrawals:
- Bitcoin
- Altcoins
- Vouchers
- Courier Checks
- Money Orders
- Bank Wires
- Person-To-Person Services
Our top choice for mobile sports betting bankroll management is to use Bitcoin or another supported cryptocurrency, as these come with lots of added benefits compared to other funding methods.
With BTC and other cryptos, you get nearly instant deposits, low minimums, high maximums, enhanced sports betting bonuses, no added fees of any kind, and – most importantly – same-day payouts!
It bears repeating: Bitcoin and altcoins are the only options for same-day withdrawals from overseas betting sites. That said, you can now withdraw in crypto regardless of your method of deposit.
Mobile sportsbook bonuses are something every bettor looks for. When you wager with an international bookmaker, you’ll get a large menu of bonus offers to choose from, from deposit bonuses, account reload bonuses, referral bonuses, and even special bonuses for those making their first mobile sports bets.
Usually, you won’t even have to enter any mobile bet bonus codes, although the sites that still accept such always publish their current betting promo codes on their “Promotions” pages.
Sports betting bonuses will give you extra money with which to gamble, but they do come with some basic terms and conditions. This is called rollover, and it’s explained in detail on every promotion you have the opportunity to select.