Online casinos in Montana: is it legal?

Montana's only legal sports betting is Sports Bet Montana, run by the Montana Lottery, and the geofencing is written into statute rather than left to regulation. MCA 23-7-104 makes the operation of sports wagering lawful only as it pertains to the state lottery. MCA 23-7-103(11) defines a sports wagering license as authorizing wagering conducted through mobile application or other digital platforms only where it is 'initiated and received or otherwise made exclusively within the physical confines using location-based services of the single approved sports wagering facility', and 23-7-103(10) defines that facility as an approved lottery location licensed as a gambling operator. So the Sports Bet Montana app exists but is geofenced to licensed premises, and is not statewide online sports betting. The legislature is biennial: the 69th Regular Session (2025) is the most recent session with introduced bills, and there is no 2026 session. Montana moved in the RESTRICTIVE direction in 2025: SB 555 revised the definition of internet gambling to include online casinos, brought cryptocurrency into the definition of internet gambling and raised criminal penalties; it was signed by the Governor on 2025-05-13 and had a chapter number assigned 2025-05-16 (https://bills.legmt.gov/#/laws/bill/2/2671). A 2027-session draft request, LC0032 'Generally revise laws relating to sport betting', exists in the legislature's bill system but has no bill number, status or action date, so it is not recorded as a bill.