States / Alaska
Alaska
- Alaska has no lottery, commercial casinos, legal sports betting or pari-mutuel racing, making it one of the most restrictive states.
- Only social games and state-licensed charitable gaming are legal, plus tribal Class II bingo-style halls.
More detail
- Legal framework. Alaska has no state lottery, no commercial casinos, no legal sports betting, and no pari-mutuel racing, among the most restrictive gambling frameworks in the country. The general gambling offense (AS 11.66.200, AS 11.66.280) is broadly defined. It exempts social games played on equal terms, such as home poker.
- Charitable gaming. State-licensed charitable gaming is exempt: bingo, pull-tabs, raffles, and quirky local contests like dog-mushers' contests and ice classics (AS 05.15). The Department of Revenue's Tax Division administers it. Pull-tab purchases require a minimum age of 21 (AS 05.15.187).
- Tribal gaming. Alaska's governor has not negotiated any tribal-state Class III gaming compact, so every tribal gaming operation is limited to IGRA Class II bingo-style gaming. The operations are the long-standing Metlakatla Indian Community hall, a Klawock facility that opened in 2022, and the Native Village of Eklutna's Chin'an Gaming Hall near Anchorage. Chin'an opened in February 2025 after a multi-year federal fight the tribe won in 2024.
- DFS, sweepstakes and skill games. Alaska's "contest of chance" statutory test explicitly applies "notwithstanding that skill ... may also be a factor." DFS, DFS pick'em, sweepstakes casinos and skill-game machines are therefore not authorized. No enabling statute exists for any of them, even though gray-market operators are present without enforcement.
- Pending legislation. A bill to legalize online sports betting (HB 145, up to 10 operators, 20% tax) died in committee in 2025. It was reintroduced for 2026 without passing.
- Prediction markets. Prediction markets (Kalshi, Polymarket) reportedly operate with no reported Alaska state action. Alaska sits in the Ninth Circuit, which ruled against Kalshi on CFTC-preemption grounds in a Nevada case (August 28, 2026).
Reviewed Oct 10, 2026 · 18 sources
Legal status
LiveLegal, not launchedLimitedContestedProhibitedNot authorizedRepealedNA
| Vertical | Status | Launched | Model | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports (online) | Not authorized | HB 145 (Rep. David Nelson), which would let the Dept. of Revenue license up to 10 online sportsbooks at a 20% tax on adjusted gross revenue with a $100,000 license fee and a 21+ minimum age, died in committee in 2025 and was reintroduced for the 2026 session without passing as of this research. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200 [1] | ||
| Sports (retail) | Not authorized | No enabling legislation for retail sports wagering; falls under the general gambling offense with no carve-out. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200; Alaska Stat. §11.66.280 [2] | ||
| Online casino | Not authorized | No licensing framework exists for real-money online casino games; secondary trackers describe Alaska as having no regulated online gaming. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200 [3] | ||
| Online poker | Not authorized | Informal home poker among equal players is protected by the "social game" defense in §11.66.200(b), defined further in §11.66.280(10), but no licensing framework exists for real-money online poker. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200; Alaska Stat. §11.66.280 [2],[4] | ||
| Commercial casinos | Not authorized | No commercial-casino license category exists. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200 [3] | ||
| Tribal casinos | Limited | Monopoly Tribal | Alaska's governor has not negotiated any Class III tribal-state gaming compact, so every tribal gaming facility in the state operates Class II bingo-style gaming only: the Metlakatla Indian Community (Alaska's only reservation not dissolved by ANCSA), a Klawock facility that opened in 2022, and the Native Village of Eklutna's Chin'an Gaming Hall outside Anchorage, which opened to the public in February 2025 (85 machines, planned to grow to 700) after NIGC approved the tribe's gaming-eligible land in 2024, reversing an earlier 2018 denial that had prompted a 2019 federal lawsuit by the tribe. IGRA Class II (no Alaska tribal-state compact exists) [5],[6] | |
| Lottery | Not authorized | Alaska has no state lottery; it is one of a small handful of states without one.[3] | ||
| iLottery | Not authorized | No state lottery exists to sell tickets online.[3] | ||
| Daily fantasy | Not authorized | CORRECTED from "limited" to "not_authorized" per the Choosing-a-Status rule ("no authorization... even when gray-market operators are present without enforcement"): DFS has no enabling statute in Alaska, so "limited" (authorized but restricted) was the wrong category regardless of whether operators are present. DFS operators including PrizePicks and FanDuel reportedly operate in Alaska on the legal theory that their contests are skill-based rather than chance-based, but a direct fetch of §11.66.280(2)'s "contest of chance" definition shows it applies "notwithstanding that the skill of the contestants may also be a factor" — i.e., the statutory text does not clearly support the skill-based defense operators are relying on. No Alaska court ruling, AG opinion, or enforcement action has settled the question either way. HB 145 (the pending sports-betting bill) explicitly does not regulate DFS. Alaska Stat. §11.66.280 [1],[4] | ||
| VGTs / VLTs | Not authorized | No bar/truck-stop video-gaming-terminal program exists outside licensed (and, if SB 170 passes, electronic) pull-tabs under the charitable-gaming program.[7] | ||
| Historical horse racing | Not authorized | No pari-mutuel/racing framework exists.[3] | ||
| Sweepstakes casinos | Not authorized | CORRECTED from "limited" to "not_authorized" per the Choosing-a-Status rule: Alaska has no statute that affirmatively authorizes the dual-currency sweepstakes model, so "limited" (which implies some form of authorization) was incorrect. Dual-currency sweepstakes-casino platforms operate in Alaska on the theory that they are promotional sweepstakes (a free-entry path to redeemable "sweeps coins") rather than gambling under §11.66.280's consideration-based "gambling" definition; multiple secondary trackers claim no Alaska statute prohibits the model, but no primary state confirmation (AG opinion, regulation, or court ruling) was found either way. Alaska Stat. §11.66.280 [8],[4] | ||
| Prediction markets | Not authorized | Resolved from "unknown" to "not_authorized": no Alaska-specific cease-and-desist, lawsuit, or AG statement on Kalshi or similar CFTC-registered platforms was found, unlike Arizona, Washington, Montana, and Ohio, and no Alaska statute affirmatively authorizes these platforms either. A secondary industry tracker (fetched directly) reports Kalshi and Polymarket as operating in Alaska with no reported state action, consistent with not_authorized (gray-market operation without enforcement) rather than operational, per the Choosing-a-Status rule. Alaska sits in the Ninth Circuit, which ruled against Kalshi on CFTC-preemption grounds on Aug. 28, 2026 in KalshiEX v. Assad (Nevada), but no Alaska enforcement action has invoked that ruling as of this research.[9] | ||
| Skill games | Not authorized | Resolved via the same direct statute fetch used for the DFS analysis: §11.66.280(2)'s "contest of chance" definition applies "notwithstanding that the skill of the contestants may also be a factor," so Alaska has no standalone "bona fide contest of skill" exemption comparable to, e.g., Idaho's statute. A grey/skill-game machine with any material degree of chance would fall under the general gambling prohibition; no specific enforcement action or AG opinion addressing skill-game machines was identified, but absent a carve-out or authorization, not_authorized is the correct default per the Choosing-a-Status rule. Alaska Stat. §11.66.280 [4] | ||
| Card rooms | Not authorized | No stand-alone card-room license category exists outside the social-game home-poker defense. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200 [2] | ||
| Lottery couriers | Not authorized | No state lottery exists for a courier to resell tickets from.[3] | ||
| Pick'em fantasy | Not authorized | CORRECTED from "limited" to "not_authorized" for the same reason as dfs (no enabling statute; presence of unenforced gray-market operators is not itself authorization). Treated the same as peer-to-peer DFS by operators and trackers; no Alaska-specific distinction found.[1],[4] | ||
| Pari-mutuel | Not authorized | Secondary trackers state Alaska has not legalized pari-mutuel horse betting; 1987-1991 legislative attempts to create a racing-commission chapter were not confirmed as enacted. Alaska Stat. §11.66.200 [3] | ||
| Advance deposit wagering | Not authorized | No pari-mutuel racing exists for advance-deposit wagering to attach to.[3] | ||
| Charitable gaming | Live | Monopoly State | Bingo, pull-tabs, raffles, dog mushers' contests, and similar games (e.g., local "ice classic"/ice-pool contests) are licensed to qualifying nonprofit/municipal permittees that have existed 3+ consecutive years; operators (for-profit contractors) and vendors (bars/liquor stores selling pull-tabs) are separately licensed. A pending 2026 bill (SB 170) would authorize electronic pull-tabs and raise annual prize caps from $500,000 to $4,000,000 for e-pull-tab permittees. Pull-tab purchase age is 21+ (confirmed via direct fetch of AS 05.15.187(e)). Alaska Stat. §05.15; Alaska Stat. §11.66.280(12) [7],[10] | |
| Esports betting | Not authorized | No carve-out exists; falls under the general gambling prohibition.[2],[4] | ||
| Social casino | Live | Free-to-play apps with no cash prize or redemption path are not "gambling" under §11.66.280(3)'s definition, which requires staking "something of value" (defined in §11.66.280(11) as money, property, or something exchangeable for them) on a chance outcome. Alaska Stat. §11.66.280 [2],[4] |
Sports betting in Alaska: status, tax rate, sportsbooks and bills →
Tax rates
No gaming taxes recorded.
Rules and requirements
Legislation
- Summary of significant pending gambling legislation this session
- HB 145 (online sports betting, up to 10 licenses, 20% tax on AGR, 21+ age, died in committee 2025, reintroduced 2026, not yet enacted) and SB 170 (electronic pull-tabs, higher prize caps, reported out of Senate Finance Apr. 1, 2026) are the two active gambling-policy bills identified.[1],[7]
Minimum age
- Minimum age for charitable bingo/raffles
- 21Pull-tab purchase age, confirmed via direct fetch of AS 05.15.187(e) ("Pull-tabs may not be sold to a person under the age of 21 years").[10]
Prediction markets
- Summary of the state's action against sports event contracts (C&D
- No confirmed Alaska enforcement action, lawsuit, or AG opinion on Kalshi/prediction markets identified as of October 2026.[9]
Sweepstakes
- Statute or regulator action specifically bans dual-currency online sweepstakes casinos
- NoNo dedicated statute found; industry/tracker sources claim no Alaska law prohibits the dual-currency sweepstakes model, but this is not confirmed by a primary state source.[8]
Tax revenue
- Where gaming tax revenue goes (education fund
- Pull-tab tax is 3% of gross receipts less prizes per pull-tab game, plus a 1% net-proceeds fee for higher-grossing permittees, manufacturer/distributor license fees, and a $50/year/location vendor permit fee, per a Dept. of Revenue fiscal note; proceeds go to the permittee's charitable purpose, not a state fund.Secondary source only (legislative fiscal note summary); exact current statutory citation and effective date of the 3% rate not independently confirmed.[7]
Tribal gaming
Tribal gaming revenue in the NIGC Portland Region
NIGC Portland RegionFederal fiscal years
$2.0B$4.0B$6.0BFY2019FY2021FY2023FY2025$4.9B
The National Indian Gaming Commission reports revenue only by region. This region also includes Idaho, Oregon, Washington.[11]
Economy
- Adults 21 and over
- 540K (2024; 737K residents)
- Gambling taxes collected
- $33.8M in FY2025 · 2% of all state taxes
- Gambling jobs
- 47 in 2025 · $42,995 average annual payUndercount: the Bureau of Labor Statistics withholds some figures to protect individual employers.
Gambling taxes collectedState fiscal years
$20.0M$40.0MFY2013FY2016FY2019FY2022FY2025$33.8M
Census Bureau tax collections on amusements and pari-mutuel wagering. Most states book casino, sports betting and video gaming taxes here; amusement taxes can also include admissions taxes unrelated to gambling.
Gambling jobsAnnual average
25050075020152017201920212023202547
Casinos, casino hotels, card rooms, bingo halls, off-track betting and slot-route operators, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Racetracks are not included. Jobs at tribal casinos are counted as government jobs.
Gambling jobs by industry, 2025
| Industry | Ownership | Employers | Jobs | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gambling industries | tribal and other government-owned | 3 | 47 | $43,379 |
| Gambling industries | privately owned | withheld |
Taxes by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Amusement taxes | Pari-mutuel taxes | Share of state taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $33.8M | — | 2.00% |
| FY2024 | $30.4M | — | 1.53% |
| FY2023 | $21.4M | — | 0.77% |
| FY2022 | $6.8M | — | 0.23% |
| FY2021 | $15.5M | — | 1.47% |
| FY2020 | $2.3M | — | 0.17% |
| FY2019 | $12.6M | — | 0.71% |
| FY2018 | $11.0M | — | 0.66% |
| FY2017 | $10.7M | — | 0.88% |
| FY2016 | $10.3M | — | 1.15% |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, States (NST-EST2025-ALLDATA); U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections (STC): Historical Dataset; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2025 annual averages, NAICS 7132 (Gambling industries)
Timeline
- Mar 2025 · Other · Sports (online)Rep. David Nelson introduces HB 145 to legalize online sports betting[1]
- Feb 4, 2025 · Launched · Tribal casinosEklutna's Chin'an Gaming Hall opens to the public near Anchorage[6]
- 2024 · Regulation Adopted · Tribal casinosNIGC approves Eklutna's land as gaming-eligible, reversing its 2018 position[6]
- 2022 · Launched · Tribal casinosA Klawock tribal Class II gaming facility opens in Southeast Alaska[6]
- Oct 2019 · Other · Tribal casinosNative Village of Eklutna sues the federal government after Interior finds it lacks jurisdiction over land for a planned Class II gaming hall[6]
- Aug 20, 2008 · Court Ruling · Tribal casinosMetlakatla Indian Community withdraws its appeal of NIGC's disapproval of a fully electronic "one-touch" bingo game, leaving its gaming limited to traditional Class II bingo[5]
Legislation
AI outlook · Oct 11, 2026
Alaska has no live gambling bills. The two mobile sports wagering bills (HB145 and SB194) and the two permanent fund dividend raffle bills (HB255 and SB240) are dead, with the regular session for the 34th Legislature having ended in May 2025 and no action recorded. The state remains one of the most restrictive in the country.
What to watch: The 34th Legislature ends with the 2026 calendar, so these bills do not carry over. Sports betting and dividend raffle proposals are likely to be refiled when the 35th Legislature convenes in January 2027, though passage has not come close so far.
Regulators
- Charitable Gaming Program, Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division — Charitable gaming
- Alaska Department of Law (Attorney General) — Sports (retail), Sports (online), Online casino, Daily fantasy, Prediction markets
Sources
- Alaska House bill aims to authorize up to 10 online sportsbooks · SBC Americas · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Alaska Stat. § 11.66.200 — Gambling · FindLaw (Alaska Statutes codification) · statute · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“(a) A person commits the offense of gambling if the person engages in unlawful gambling. (b) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that the defendant was a player in a social game.”
- Alaska online casino and gambling legal status · Legal Sports Report · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Alaska Stat. § 11.66.280 — Definitions · FindLaw (Alaska Statutes codification) · statute · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“"contest of chance" means a contest, game, gaming scheme, or gaming device in which the outcome depends in a material degree upon an element of chance, notwithstanding that the skill of the contestants may also be a factor... "social game" means gambling in a home where no house player, house bank, or house odds exist and where there is no house income from the operation of the game.”
- NIGC Announces Metlakatla Withdrawal · National Indian Gaming Commission · regulator page · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Eklutna gaming hall opens to the public, some neighbors still aren't sold · Alaska's News Source (KTUU) · press · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“After decades of pursuing a license and invite-only soft launches, the Native Village of Eklunta opened the doors of the Chin'an Gaming Hall to the public Monday afternoon.”
- Overview of Charitable Gaming · Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division · government other · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Annually an operator must remit 100 percent of net proceeds to the permittee, which must represent a minimum of 30 percent of adjusted gross income.”
- Alaska sweepstakes casino legal status · Lines.com · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
- Is Kalshi Legal in Alaska? Prediction Markets Status (2026) · Squawka · secondary · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Yes — prediction markets are available to Alaska residents. Kalshi and Polymarket both operate under CFTC regulation, with no reported state action against them as of the reviewed date.”
- Alaska Stat. § 05.15.187 — Operation of pull-tab games · FindLaw (Alaska Statutes codification) · statute · retrieved Oct 10, 2026
“Pull-tabs may not be sold to a person under the age of 21 years. A person under the age of 21 years may not purchase a pull-tab.”
- NIGC FY 2025 Gross Gaming Revenue Report · National Indian Gaming Commission · regulator report · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
“FY 2025’s GGR of $46.2 billion marks the highest ever GGR for the Indian gaming industry.”
- SB170: An Act relating to gaming; relating to gaming activities on Alaska marine highway system vessels; relating to bingo; relating to pull-tabs and electronic pull-tab systems; relating to the powers of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities; relating to the Alaska marine highway s · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- HCR22: Suspending Rules 24(c), 35, 41(b), and 42(e), Uniform Rules of the Alaska State Legislature, concerning Senate Bill No. 170, relating to gaming; relating to gaming activities on Alaska marine highway system vessels; relating to bingo; relating to pull-tabs and electronic pull-tab systems; rel · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- HB386: An Act relating to gaming; relating to gaming activities on Alaska marine highway system vessels; relating to bingo; relating to pull-tabs and electronic pull-tab systems; relating to the powers of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities; relating to the Alaska marine highway s · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- SB194: An Act authorizing mobile sports wagering; relating to the regulation of mobile sports wagering; imposing a tax on mobile sports wagering revenue; relating to criminal history record checks for licensure to operate mobile sports wagering; and providing for an effective date. · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- HB255: An Act relating to permanent fund dividend raffles; creating the senior citizen grants endowment fund and the senior citizen grants dividend raffle fund; authorizing donations from permanent fund dividends for grants to organizations that provide support for senior citizens and for entry into · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- SB240: An Act relating to permanent fund dividend raffles; creating the senior citizen grants endowment fund and the senior citizen grants dividend raffle fund; authorizing donations from permanent fund dividends for grants to organizations that provide support for senior citizens and for entry into · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026
- HB145: An Act authorizing mobile sports wagering; relating to the regulation of mobile sports wagering; imposing a tax on mobile sports wagering revenue; relating to criminal history record checks for licensure to operate mobile sports wagering; and providing for an effective date. · Open States / state legislature · bill · retrieved Oct 11, 2026