Online Casinos in Montana
Are real-money online casinos legal in Montana, and what is still legal after SB 555 made online gambling a felony in October 2025?
Short Answer
No. There are no licensed online casinos in Montana.
Montana has never licensed real-money online slots or table games. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed SB 555 on May 12, 2025, and effective October 1, 2025 the law makes operating an internet casino a felony punishable by up to $50,000 per offense and 10 years in prison. The same bill banned sweepstakes casinos, putting Montana first in the country to do so. What is still legal: Sports Bet Montana lottery kiosks (no remote betting), about 15,000 video gambling machines in liquor-licensed bars, eight tribal casinos, the Montana Lottery through Jackpocket couriers, and live card rooms.
How It Happened
Voters approve the Montana Lottery
A statewide referendum legalizes a state lottery with 68.97% support. The Montana Lottery, codified in MCA Title 23, Chapter 7, opens for ticket sales in June 1987.
Video Gaming Machine Control Law takes effect
MCA Title 23, Chapter 5, Part 6 authorizes line games, poker, keno, and bingo VGMs in liquor-licensed bars. The cap of 20 machines per location and the $2 maximum bet / $800 maximum payout still stand in 2026.
Gov. Bullock signs HB 725 (Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment)
Montana becomes the first state to authorize sports betting in 2019 post-PASPA. The bill gives the Montana Lottery a monopoly and bars private mobile sportsbooks. Bullock vetoes the competing private-operator bill, SB 330, the same day.
Sports Bet Montana goes live with Intralot
Kiosk installations begin March 9, 2020 at bars, taverns, and casinos. The Sports Bet Montana app shows odds anywhere but only accepts wagers when geolocated inside a licensed retail location.
Jackpocket courier launches in Montana
Jackpocket becomes the first licensed lottery courier in the state, scanning physical tickets from a fulfillment center in Missoula. Players 18 or older physically in Montana can buy Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, Montana Cash, and Big Sky Bonus tickets through the app.
Gov. Gianforte signs SB 555
Montana becomes the first US state to explicitly ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos by statute. SB 555 amends MCA 23-5-151 to redefine internet gambling to include online casinos, sweeps platforms, and prediction-market wagering, with felony penalties up to $50,000 per offense and 10 years in prison.
SB 555 takes effect; sweeps operators exit
McLuck, Pulsz, NoLimitCoins, and Funrize pull out of Montana before enforcement begins. Kalshi sues in federal court after the state issues a cease-and-desist letter over its sports event contracts, arguing CFTC preemption under the Commodity Exchange Act.
Casinos Available to Montana Players
No state-licensed online casinos operate here, and SB 555 banned sweepstakes models in October 2025. Any operator accepting Montana players today is offshore and unregulated. These listings are placeholders until our database is wired in.
Casinos we play at. We earn a commission when you sign up through these.
Why There Are No Online Casinos
Montana has run a narrow, bar-based gambling market since voters approved the lottery referendum in 1986 and the legislature passed the Video Gaming Machine Control Law in 1991. Under MCA Title 23, Chapter 5, only liquor-licensed bars and taverns can host up to 20 VGMs each, with a $2 maximum bet and $800 maximum payout, taxed at 15% of gross machine income. About 15,000 machines run across more than 1,000 retailers. Eight tribal casinos add Class III gaming on five reservations under state compacts (Fort Peck, Rocky Boy's, Northern Cheyenne, Crow, and Fort Belknap), while the Salish-Kootenai and Blackfeet operate Class II only. Sports betting arrived in 2019 when Gov. Steve Bullock signed HB 725 on May 3, handing a state-run monopoly to the Montana Lottery; Intralot launched Sports Bet Montana on March 11, 2020, and the app only accepts wagers when a player is physically inside a licensed kiosk location.
Online casinos never had a legal path here, and Montana went further than any other state to close the door. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed SB 555 on May 12, 2025, the first US law to explicitly ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos. The bill rewrote MCA 23-5-151 to expand the definition of internet gambling to cover online casinos, sweeps platforms, and prediction-market wagering, and made operating one a felony with fines up to $50,000 and prison terms up to 10 years. The law took effect October 1, 2025, and McLuck, Pulsz, NoLimitCoins, and Funrize pulled out of the state ahead of the deadline. Kalshi sued in federal court after the Department of Justice issued a cease-and-desist over its sports event contracts. No iGaming-authorization bill was introduced in 2025 or 2026.
What You Can Play in Montana
The only gambling forms still legal in Montana after SB 555.
Sports Bet Montana (Kiosk Only)
Run by the Montana Lottery and operated by Intralot on the Orion platform since March 11, 2020. The app shows lines anywhere, but bets only clear when geolocation places the user inside one of roughly 2,000 licensed retailers, which receive 6% of every wager. Minimum age 18.
Video Gambling Machines in Bars
Any business with an alcoholic-beverages license may host up to 20 VGMs running line games, poker, keno, or bingo, with a $2 maximum bet and $800 maximum payout under MCA 23-5 Part 6. Gross machine income is taxed at 15%. Around 15,000 machines run across more than 1,000 locations. Minimum age 18.
Tribal Casinos
Eight casinos run by the Assiniboine and Sioux (Fort Peck), Chippewa Cree (Rocky Boy's), Northern Cheyenne, Crow, and Gros Ventre and Assiniboine (Fort Belknap) tribes under Class III compacts approved by the US Department of the Interior. The Salish-Kootenai and Blackfeet tribes run Class II bingo and electronic bingo without a Class III compact.
Live Card Rooms
Liquor-licensed bars with a gambling-operator license may run up to six live poker tables and pan, plus house-banked games like blackjack and panguingue with strict bet limits. Card rooms are the only legal in-person table games outside tribal casinos.
Montana Lottery and Jackpocket
The Montana Lottery opened in 1987 and sells Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, Lucky for Life, Montana Cash, and Big Sky Bonus through retailers. The state has no iLottery; Jackpocket has been licensed as a third-party courier since July 5, 2022 and is the only legal way to buy tickets online. Minimum age 18.
Play Responsibly
You must be at least 18 to gamble in Montana, and 21 in any gaming area where alcohol is served. If gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER for free, confidential help, or read our responsible gambling guide.
Montana Gambling FAQ
Are online casinos legal in Montana?+
No. Gov. Greg Gianforte signed SB 555 on May 12, 2025, and effective October 1, 2025 the law makes operating an internet casino a felony in Montana, punishable by up to $50,000 per offense and 10 years in prison. The same bill banned dual-currency sweepstakes casinos, the first such statutory ban in the country. Any site advertising 'Montana online casino real money' is offshore and operating in violation of state law.
Can I legally bet on sports online in Montana?+
Not from your couch. Sports Bet Montana, the only legal sportsbook in the state, has a mobile app, but bets clear only when geolocation places you inside one of roughly 2,000 licensed retail kiosk locations. HB 725 (2019) gave the Montana Lottery and Intralot a state monopoly, and no private mobile sportsbook is licensed here.
What does SB 555 actually ban?+
SB 555 rewrote MCA 23-5-151 to define internet gambling to cover any platform that transmits wagering data, accepts wagers in any form of currency, and issues payouts in any form of currency. That language captures online casinos, dual-currency sweepstakes sites, online poker, and prediction-market sportsbooks like Kalshi. The exception is platforms that use no currency at all, which keeps free-to-play social casinos legal.
Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Montana?+
No, not since October 1, 2025. McLuck, Pulsz, NoLimitCoins, and Funrize all exited Montana before SB 555's effective date. Pure free-to-play social casinos that never award redeemable prizes still work because SB 555's exception covers platforms using no currency.
How many tribal casinos does Montana have?+
Eight. The Assiniboine and Sioux (Fort Peck), Chippewa Cree (Rocky Boy's), Northern Cheyenne, Crow, and Fort Belknap tribes run Class III gaming under state compacts. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai (Flathead) and Blackfeet tribes have no Class III compact and run Class II bingo and electronic bingo only. Twelve tribes are federally recognized across eight reservations.
Can I buy Montana Lottery tickets online?+
Not directly. The Montana Lottery does not run an iLottery and its app only scans tickets. Jackpocket has been a licensed third-party courier here since July 5, 2022, runs a fulfillment center in Missoula, and is the only legal way to order tickets online. Players must be 18 and physically inside Montana.
How old do you have to be to gamble in Montana?+
Eighteen for VGMs, the lottery, card rooms, Sports Bet Montana kiosks, and tribal casinos. Twenty-one in any gaming area that serves alcohol, which covers most bar floors and several tribal gaming rooms.
Will Montana legalize online casinos?+
No bill has moved that way. The 2025 session went the opposite direction with SB 555, and no iGaming-authorization bill has been filed in 2026. With the state-lottery sports betting monopoly and the bar-based VGM industry both protected by powerful in-state interests, a private-operator online casino bill faces structural opposition. We update this page when the legal status changes.