The situation with sports betting in Idaho is… complex.
One thing is for certain though, you cannot bet on MLS in the Gem State. Idaho’s strict anti-gambling laws prohibit almost all forms of gambling, and the few that are allowed have been hard to push through.
Idaho has a long history of prohibiting most forms of gambling because the state’s constitution explicitly bans them. This means that changing the law is a very long and difficult process, requiring a constitutional amendment, and that would necessitate a supermajority vote whereby two-thirds of the House and the Senate vote it through, then the vote goes to the people. A topic like gambling always draws attention, so this vote would attract all sorts of lobbyists trying to force the issue one way or the other.
This is probably why there are still no plans to introduce sports betting in the state, even though there is no longer a federal ban on it countrywide. In 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was passed, effectively prohibiting sports betting nationwide, with a few exceptions. When PASPA was overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2018, many states took the opportunity to legalize and regulate sports betting within their borders. However, Idaho did not follow this trend.
There are a few things you can bet on though.
History of Gambling in Idaho
Idaho was founded as a state in 1890, with a constitution adopted the year before. In this constitution, most forms of gambling were banned outright. However, lot of betting products exist these days that weren’t around in 1890, and there have been attempts to get around the law because of this.
For example, in 1953 the question of slot machines was raised. These weren’t specifically mentioned in the constitution, but the Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional, reinforcing the strict anti-gambling position of the Gem State.
There was an exception made for pari-mutuel betting on horse racing in 1963, and a state lottery was introduced in 1989, but other than that, public appetite for expanding gambling regulations has been low. Plus, despite being legal the horse racing industry is in serious decline, yet more evidence that Idahoans just aren’t that interested in sports betting.
Daily fantasy sports services like FanDuel and DraftKings operated in Idaho for a few years, claiming they did not fit into the sports betting category and so were no illegal, but in 2016 the state decided they were essentially illegal gambling outfits, and they voluntarily withdrew to avoid legal consequences.
Tribal Gaming Compacts
Idaho is home to several Native American tribes that operate casinos on their reservations, despite the state ban. These tribes have compacts with the state government that outline the scope and regulations of their gaming operations.
Currently, these compacts do not include provisions for sports betting or card games, but they can offer video gaming machines – so they are slot casinos, basically. The tribes can get away with it under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), but even then their scope is very limited.
Any expansion of gambling in Idaho, including the legalization of sports betting, would likely require renegotiation of these compacts and the consent of the tribes, who would certainly make life difficult in order to protect their asset.
Options for MLS Fans
The small number of MLS fans in Idaho have little option when it comes to attending a soccer game or betting on one.
In terms of betting, they basically have to cross state lines into neighbouring Wyoming, Nevada, or Oregon to place online wagers. Montana is available too, but only for in person bets at specific locations. Any Idahoan sports fans living near the border with Utah has double bad luck because sports betting is illegal there, too.
Most of the population is within a few hours of a state line to a state where bets can be made, but that’s quite a journey to stick $20 on the soccer.
As for MLS teams nearby, well there aren’t any.
Real Salt Lake are about a 2 hour drive from state lines, but that doesn’t account for any time spent travelling within Idaho. Anyone in the South East of the state could feasibly make the trip though. Although they still couldn’t bet on them because Salt Lake is in Utah. Other than that you have the Portland Timbers in Oregon and the Seattle Sounders in Washington, but they are both at the other side of the state, closer to the North Pacific ocean than to Idaho.
There are a few small soccer clubs in the state, but they only got their first professional team in 2025, and they are a USL team, not an MLS team, imaginatively called Boise Pro Soccer.
Therefore, the best option for MLS fans in Idaho is probably to move somewhere else!
Any Chance of Legalization in the Future?
Never say never, but as things stand it is not even being discussed. Since the process would take a very long time if the state ever did decide to press ahead with legalizing gambling, I would say sports betting is still at least a decade away at the very minimum.
Although there are some limited forms of gambling allowed, they aren’t massively popular, and the law around each one was carved out individually, so they have their own conditions and oversight bodies. This patchwork approach would make any state-wide legalization incredibly complex, so without major public sentiment it just wouldn’t be worthwhile.
It’s true that Idaho are missing out on tax income, but in a state that isn’t exactly famous for loving sports and only has a population of little more than 2 million people, that potential tax probably isn’t seen as significant.
There is not a single major sports team in Idaho, for example. American football is probably the biggest sport in the state, with ice hockey coming in second, but outside of the towns you are more likely to find people attending a rodeo than a sports game. Fishing and hunting are popular activities, but sports like soccer are rarely played in rural areas. In fact, Joe Cannon aside, there have been no notable Major League Soccer players from Idaho.
The state capital is Boise, which only has a population of around 250,000, and Idaho is the 14th largest state in America, so you can imagine how spread out the population are. This population spread could not support a big sports team, and as a result, the appetite for betting on sport just isn’t that big.
They may decide to legalize betting eventually, but with the constitutional difficulties and likely tribal objections it is unlikely to be a priority.