With gambling taking off in North America thanks to laws legalizing sports wagering, many patrons are wondering what to do if they have a dispute or complaint against a sportsbook operator, especially if they feel the bet wasn't resolved correctly.

In the United States all betting is run by the states, so resolution has to be provided through state gaming agencies or Tribal offices, if the gambling is conducted via Tribes. The following state-by-state directory informs players on the website necessary to file a dispute and/or the telephone number for dispute resolution. The directory also applies to casino gambling, whether it is conducted in a land-based setting or online.

All states mention that the first point of contact should be with the gambling operator itself to see if the dispute can be settled amicably without involving any governmental agency or the courts. Many times, if the complaint is reasonable and the amount at risk is not excessive, operators will settle disputes for the player to not only avoid the hassle and costs associated with legal proceedings, but also to keep the customer happy.

For example, if a customer bet on a team and the bet is voided since it was placed five minutes after the game started, often times the operator will look at the circumstances, deem the timing did not affect the outcome and settle the bet for the player, saying it is "a goodwill gesture", but inform the player that this is a one-time offering only. If the player continues to past-post, the bets will be voided and/or the account could be closed. Moreover, with regulated sports betting being so new in North America and with the amount of competition for the betting dollar in each state, companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and PointsBet have shown to be eager to keep a customer happy, within reason.

In the case of Tribal gambling, all resolutions have to be made through the Tribal gambling operator. It would be almost impossible to list every Tribe and their rules here, although OSGA would be happy to provide the exact information to members if they have disputes with specific tribes. Some tribes in states like Arizona indicate that any dispute exceeding $500 must be investigated by the Tribal gambling operator, but that costs for the dispute could fall on the player if unsuccessful. Consequently, the player must balance the risk versus the reward before filing a complaint. Watchdog sites like OSGA can also be helpful in reaching out to operators for a player gambling with an operator outside of the U.S., a benefit of becoming an OSGA member.

So here is a United States, state-by-state directory for filing a customer dispute on a gambling operator in the U.S.

Alabama
The only legal gambling in Alabama is casino wagering operated by the Poarch Board of Creek Indians and any casino disputes need to be resolved by the Tribal gaming office (TGO) with the group at pci-nsn.gov or by phone at (251) 368-9136

Alaska
Alaska has no legal gambling other than bingo.

Arizona
All casino gambling in Arizona is Tribal and must be filed with Tribal gaming office (TGO). Any dispute over $500 must be investigated by the TGO. There are over 16 tribal casinos although Casino Arizona is operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and disputes at that casino should be filed with their regulatory agency at srpmic-nsn.gov/government/cra or by telephone at (480) 362-5450. For fantasy sports, event wagering and sports betting which is currently being offered in Arizona stadiums, any disputes needs to be filed with Arizona Department of Gaming at gaming.az.gov or by phone at 602-771-4263.

Arkansas
Arkansas has no legal gambling

California
All non-poker or horse racing betting in California is run by the individual Tribes. There are dozens of tribes with casinos throughout California so if a client needs any information to file a dispute with a particular tribe, please reach out to OSGA for help.

Colorado
Colorado has a mix of Tribal gambling and commercial gambling, mostly online. The Ute Tribe has entered into a compact with the state and allows them to take bets on both casino wagering and sports. All disputes at the Ute casinos must be filed with the Ute Tribe at southernute-nsn.gov/ or utemountainutetribe.com/. For online sports wagering and other forms of commercial gambling, the point of contact for filing a dispute is with the Colorado Division of Gaming at hsbg.colorado.gov or by phone at 303-205-1300

Connecticut
Although most gambling in Connecticut is with the Tribal groups of Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which runs the Foxwoods Casino and the Mohegan Sun, run by the Mohegan Tribe, it is suggested that all disputes, including those against DraftKings, which operates sportsbooks out of the casinos along with online gaming disputes, and any non-Tribal disputes be filed with Connecticut Department of Consumer Affairs. The website is portal.ct.gov/gaming and the phone number is 860-713-6310. Disputes with the Tribal casinos need to be filed directly with the Tribal Gaming office.

Delaware
Delaware offers casino and sports betting from the racetracks and any disputes must be filed at the Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement at dge.delaware.gov or by phone at (302) 526-5850

Florida
All non-ship and pari-mutuel gambling in Florida is run by the Seminole Tribe. Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new compact to allow for sports betting, but that was voided by the U.S. Federal courts recently. All casino disputes at the Seminole casinos need to be filed with the Tribe at semtribe.com or by phone at 1-800-683-7800

Georgia
Georgia has no legal gambling other than lotteries

Hawaii
Hawaii has no forms of gambling whatsoever

Idaho
There are 7 Indian casinos in Idaho run by different tribes and any gambling disputes must be filed with the respective TGO

Illinois
All gambling in Illinois is commercial and Illinois has recently started offering sports betting online and at casinos and sports stadiums. All patron disputes over any gambling, casino or sports needs to be filed with an electronic form on the Illinois Gaming Board  website at igb.illinois.gov. There is no telephone contact available.

Indiana
Indiana has all forms of gambling, including Tribal, Online and Commercial. The state doesn’t seem to differentiate the forms of gambling for patron disputes and all the guidelines state is that they are working on solutions for disputes. Until then all disputes can be filed via an online form at the Indiana Gaming Commission website at in.gov/igc or by phone at 317-233-0046

Iowa
Iowa offers all forms of gambling, Tribal, Online and sports and all disputes need to be filed with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission at irgc.iowa.gov or by phone at 515-281-7352. If a patron has a dispute that can't be resolved with the Tribe or operator they can schedule a hearing where the IRGC ruling will be final.

Kansas
All gambling in Kansas is Tribal and casino only. Kansas has compacts with four Tribes, three of which are dual compacts between Kansas and Nebraska. Any disputes will have to be made at the TGO with the casino in question.

Kentucky
Other than horse racing and some charitable gambling, Kentucky has no casino gambling or sports wagering.

Louisiana
Louisiana offers all forms of gambling, including four online sports betting licenses given out recently. Louisiana recommends that disputes at Tribal casinos be filed with the TGO whereas disputes with the licenses sportsbooks or commercial casinos need to be filed with the c at lgcb.dps.louisiana.gov or by phone at 225-925-1846.

Maine
All gambling in Maine, including sports betting, is commercial. Maine requires that any disputes including sports betting with a monetary value over $100, must be filed in writing to the Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Unit at Department of Public Safety, Gambling Control Unit, 45 Commerce Drive, Suite 3, Augusta, ME 04333-0087. Patrons can also phone 207-626-3900, although by all accounts they will be told to submit their dispute in writing.

Maryland
All gambling in Maryland, including sports betting, is commercial. Maryland suggests that any sports betting complaint be resolved first with the five operators who currently takes spots bets in the state, but if a resolution is not possible or if a patron has a complaint against a casino operator, the patron is asked to file a dispute with the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Agency at mdgaming.com. The phone number is 410-230-8800. The Commission has a judicial branch which can resolve any disputes for a large monetary sum.

Massachusetts
Massachusetts offers both Tribal gaming and commercial casinos. Sports betting is currently not allowed. Any disputes with the Tribes must be made at their TGO but disputes with commercial casinos must be made through the Massachusetts Gaming Commission at massgaming.com or by phone at 617-979-8400

Michigan
Michigan has all forms of gambling, and a recent agreement allows Tribes to offer their products off reserve. Consequently, all gambling disputes for any form of gaming including sports betting needs to be made through the Michigan Gaming Control Board. The website suggests all complaints need to be filed through the platform provider’s website and the patron must be given a response within 10 days. If the dispute is still in question, a complaint is to be filed via a form at the Control Board’s website at michigan.gov/mgcb.

Minnesota
Minnesota only allows Tribal gambling but no casinos or sports betting.

Mississippi
Mississippi offers gambling at land based Tribal casinos and sports betting through the BetMGM app, but registration and betting must be done in-person. The state recommends that all disputes be resolved through MGM or the TGO directly but if disputes cannot be settled through those means they can be filed with the Mississippi Gaming Commission on a patron dispute form.

Missouri
Missouri only offers riverboat casinos, bingo and fantasy sports. Any complaints or disputes can be made with the Missouri Gaming Commission at mgc.dps.mo.gov/

Montana
Montana offers casino gambling along with sports betting via compacts with various Tribes. Complaints and disputes can be filed with the TGO or with the Montana Gaming Commission at dojmt.gov/gaming or by phone at 406-444-1971

Nebraska
Nebraska only allows slot play at four small Tribal casinos. Any disputes need to be taken up with the gaming operator directly.

Nevada
As the first state to offer all forms of gambling, Nevada has a very robust system for handling disputes. While Nevada prefers that patrons first approach the casino operator, if the dispute cannot be resolved there, then the Nevada Gaming Control Board will handle the dispute. Patron dispute resolution is listed under regulation 7A and indicates that any dispute must be for bets at casinos (excluding horse racing) and must be made within 30 days. The board will then decide whether to hold a hearing to settle the dispute. The regulation can be found at https://gaming.nv.gov/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=18089. The Nevada Gaming Control Board website is gaming.nv.gov and they do not accept phone calls.

New Hampshire
New Hampshire has seven small commercial casinos and all online gambling, including sports betting is conducted through the New Hampshire Lottery. Any disputes are to be made first via the lottery and failing that the New Hampshire Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority will handle the dispute. The website is nh.gov/groa and the phone number is 603-271-3391.

New Jersey
New Jersey has physical casinos in Atlantic City and online gambling conducted through operators located at casinos or racetracks. The state also offers sports betting at land based operations and online. The state recommends that any dispute first be directed to the gambling operator and failing that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement will take over the dispute. An email be sent to info@njdge.org or by phone at 609-984-0909. There is also a dispute form that can be filled out in person at the security podium or filling out the form at https://www.nj.gov/oag/ge/docs/InternetGaming/IgamingDisputeForm.pdf

New Mexico
New Mexico offers Tribal Gambling including sports betting at a number of compacts reached with different tribal groups. Any disputes over casinos and sports needs to be taken up with the TGO although all other gambling disputes should be taken up with the New Mexico Gaming Board whose website nmgcb.org where a complaint form is listed on the front page.

New York
New York always had Tribal casinos, but recently they started offering licensed online sports betting along with sports betting at the Tribal casinos. Any Tribal disputes are made with the TGO from the Seneca, Oneida and Mohawk Nations, but for sports betting they are generally made through the operator such as FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Bet Caesars, etc. Any further disputes would have to be made via the New York Gaming Commission website at gaming.ny.gov/. The commission has no phone numbers to file disputes although they do have social media pages at Twitter and Facebook, where disputes can be made and a representative may follow up.

North Carolina
North Carolina only has Tribal Casinos under a compact with the Cherokee Nation. The 2 largest casinos are run by Harrah’s. Any gambling disputes need to be made by the Cherokee Tribal Gaming Commission at cherokeegamingcommission.com/. A form is available on the site to submit a claim but they do not accept phone calls.

North Dakota
In North Dakota, five Tribes have Class III compacts with the state to offer casino gambling. Any disputes need to be taken up with the appropriate TGO.

Ohio
Ohio offers casino gambling at several land-based facilities, including racetracks. There is no online gambling or sports betting in the state. Any disputes with casinos must be taken up with the Ohio Casino Control Commission at casinocontrol.ohio.gov/ or by phone at 614-387-5858. If a dispute cannot be settled directly with the casino, the commission will set up a hearing.

Oklahoma
Oklahoma has 32 compacts for casino wagering with various Tribes and any casino disputes must be taken up with the Tribal Gaming Office. Oklahoma does not allow online betting or sports betting.

Oregon
Oregon may have the most confusing dispute resolution system in the U.S. All land based casino gambling in the state is Tribal and while patrons can file casino complaint with the TGO over any dispute including for sports betting, it is actually the Oregon State Police who will look into the dispute claims and decide appropriate action. Online sports betting in the state switched to DraftKings last month and is run by the Oregon Lottery. Any disputes related to the lottery or DraftKings is made through the Oregon Lottery through a form at oregonlottery.org or by phone at 1-800-766-6789. It is uncertain if the state police will get involved in lottery/sports betting disputes but it seems unlikely.

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania offers all forms of commercial gambling including online wagering and sports betting. To file a dispute over any form of gambling, a patron must go to the following website gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov and click the appropriate tab whereby a long form is to be filled out including all the details relating to the dispute. All claims must be made within 30 days of the infraction.

Rhode Island
Any disputes, whether related to casinos or sports betting, must be made by phone at (800) 248-2511 where a customer representative will hear the dispute and try to solve it. If this doesn't work then the dispute will be sent to the Rhode Island Lottery who will make the final determination.

South Carolina
South Carolina has no gambling other than lotteries.

South Dakota
Gambling in South Dakota is all land-based and is either on Tribal lands or in Deadwood South Dakota where all casinos are commercial and deemed relevant for tourism purposes. Sports betting was legalized by the courts but thus far no facilities offer sports betting. Any casino disputes are generally made with the casino, however, if resolution is not possible then the licensee must bring up any disputes over $250 with the South Dakota legislature where the executive secretary of the department of revenue will yield a judgement. All disputes must be made within 30 days of the alleged infraction.

Tennessee
Tennessee has no casino gambling, but does allow sports betting via. apps from BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, WynnBet, Bet Caesars and TwinSpires. Any disputes are first to be taken up with the operator but failing that they should be made with the Sports Wagering Advisory Council which acts as a regulator and is part of the Tennessee Lottery. Disputes apparently are done on the lottery website at tnlottery.com

Texas
Texas has Tribal gambling at three Tribal casinos located in Eagle Pass and only slots and poker. Online gambling or sports betting is not permitted. Any disputes at the Tribal casinos must be made with the TGO.

Utah
Utah has no gambling whatsoever and likely never will.

Vermont
Vermont only has lotteries, although laws are on the table to change that.

Virginia
Casino gambling is available in five locations - all called Rosie’s Gambling Emporium, although the number is supposed to swell in 2022. Sports betting became legal in 2020. The Virginia Lottery acts as the regulator for both the casinos and sports betting, so any disputes need to be filed with the lottery at valottery.com. There is no specific dispute resolution mechanisms listed.

Washington
Washington offers casino and sports wagering at land based facilities. The state has both Tribal gambling and commercial casinos. Any dispute at the Tribal casinos must first be made with the TGO. Unresolved disputes as well as those at commercial casinos are filed at the Washington State Gambling Commission website wsgc.wa.gov/ under the submit a tip link or by phone at (360) 486-3606.

West Virginia
There are six casinos in West Virginia all offering slots, table games and sports betting. The sports betting operators include DraftKings and PointsBet at CharlesTown's racetrack casino called Hollywood Park, FanDuel and BetMGM at the Greenbrier, a large private resort in Sulphur Springs, Betly Sportsbook at the Mardi Gras Casino located in Nitro and Caesars Sportsbook operating at Mountaineer Park racetrack’s casino. The West Virginia lottery handles all disputes including sports wagering disputes. Their website is wvlottery.com. A form to submit a dispute is located on the website.

Wisconsin
Wisconsin entered into class III agreements with various Tribes in Wisconsin and the state has over 20 casinos. All disputes over casino gambling have to be made with the Tribal Gaming Office. The state does not offer online gambling or sports betting.

Wyoming
Wyoming only has casino gambling at six small Tribal casinos. There is no online gambling or sports betting, although laws are being written to possibly change that. Any casino disputes are to be made with the TGO.

Washington D.C.
William Hill runs an online sportsbook in Washington DC at their football stadium. Any complaints against them can be filed with the DC Lottery at dclottery.com/.

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