DraftKings Vermont: Legal — Only 3 Books Won the Bid

DraftKings Vermont: Legal Since 2024, One of Only Three Books

DraftKings Vermont is legal, licensed, and — since 2025 — quietly taking a cut out of every winning bet before it hits your account. Vermont didn't open its market to every operator that wanted in; it ran a competitive bid in 2023, picked three winners, and DraftKings was one of them. That structure is most of what makes betting here different from a crowded state like New Jersey.

Legal status in Vermont

Vermont legalized online sports betting through H.127, signed by Governor Phil Scott on June 14, 2023. Rather than license any operator that applied, the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery ran a competitive bidding process and selected exactly three: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics. Mobile betting went live January 11, 2024. Vermont is a mobile-only market, like Tennessee and Wyoming — there is no retail sportsbook to walk into anywhere in the state, so the app is the only way to legally place a bet. DraftKings agreed to pay 31% of adjusted gross revenue in tax, the same rate as Fanatics; FanDuel bid higher, at 33%. Because that tax rate is above 20% and more than one operator is licensed, DraftKings applies its gaming surcharge to winning Vermont bets, a policy the company rolled out nationally in 2025 in high-tax, multi-operator states.

State gambling authority: Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL)

Here’s the part most “DraftKings Vermont” searches don’t answer: yes, it’s legal, and yes, since 2025 the company shaves a small surcharge off your winnings before the payout lands. Neither fact is a scandal. Both come from the same source — Vermont didn’t open its sportsbook market to everyone, it ran a bid, picked three winners, and taxed them hard enough that DraftKings now passes part of the cost back to bettors.

Is DraftKings Legal in Vermont? Yes, Since January 2024

Governor Phil Scott signed H.127 on June 14, 2023, legalizing online sports betting statewide. The Department of Liquor and Lottery didn’t license an open field the way New Jersey or Colorado did. It ran a competitive bidding process that fall and selected exactly three operators: DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics. All three launched together on January 11, 2024. If you’re comparing five or six apps the way you might in a bigger market, stop — Vermont only ever had three to choose from.

What the three operators bid: DraftKings and Fanatics each agreed to pay 31% of adjusted gross revenue in state tax. FanDuel bid higher, at 33%. Vermont picked winners partly on who offered the state the biggest cut — a different selection method than most states use, and part of why the market stayed small.

The Surcharge Vermont Bettors Actually Pay

This is the detail that catches people off guard. Starting in 2025, DraftKings began applying a gaming surcharge to winning bets in any state where the tax rate tops 20% and more than one operator is licensed. Vermont’s 31% rate clears that bar easily, so the surcharge applies here. It’s not a Vermont-specific penalty — New York and Illinois bettors see the same thing — but it means the number on your winning slip and the number that hits your bank account won’t quite match. Read the payout screen before you assume a shortfall is an error.

Mobile Only — There’s No Counter to Walk Into

Vermont joined Tennessee and Wyoming as a mobile-only market: no retail license was ever on the table, so there’s no DraftKings sportsbook window at a casino or racetrack anywhere in the state. Cross the border into New Hampshire and the setup flips — four retail counters plus an app, all run by DraftKings under that state’s single-operator contract. In Vermont, the phone is the entire product.

Age Rules and the One Bet Vermont Won’t Let You Place

Vermont’s general gambling age is 18, but sports betting carries its own, higher floor: 21, full stop. The law also specifically bars betting on Vermont high school sports — a carve-out aimed at keeping money out of games involving the state’s own student athletes. Both rules sit inside H.127 itself, not in DraftKings’ own terms, so they apply no matter which of the three licensed apps someone uses.

DraftKings is legitimately licensed and legitimately safe to use in Vermont — DLL oversight, geolocation, a real regulator on the other end of a complaint. It’s also a smaller, pricier market than most DraftKings states, by design. Treat any deposit as entertainment spending, factor the surcharge into what a win actually pays, and if betting stops feeling like entertainment, 1-800-GAMBLER is free and confidential.

DraftKings Vermont — Frequently Asked Questions

Is DraftKings legal in Vermont?

Yes. H.127 legalized online sports betting in June 2023, and DraftKings has been live since the market's January 11, 2024 launch. It's one of exactly three licensed operators — the Department of Liquor and Lottery ran a competitive bid rather than an open license, and DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics were the only winners.

Why does Vermont only have three sportsbooks?

Because the state designed it that way. Instead of licensing every operator that applied, like most states do, Vermont's Department of Liquor and Lottery ran a competitive bidding process in 2023 and capped the market at the winners. DraftKings and Fanatics both bid 31% of adjusted gross revenue in tax; FanDuel went higher, at 33%. A narrower field was the tradeoff for a higher public take.

Is DraftKings safe to use in Vermont, given the surcharge?

The app itself is safe in the standard sense — state license, DLL oversight, mandatory geolocation. The surcharge is a cost, not a security risk: since 2025, DraftKings deducts a small percentage from winning bets in states where the tax rate exceeds 20% and more than one operator competes, and Vermont's 31% rate qualifies. It shows up as a line item on the payout, not a hidden fee.

Is DraftKings legit in Vermont if the state picked the operators?

Yes — a competitive bid is a stricter filter than an open license, not a looser one. Vermont vetted bidders on price and terms before ever letting them take a bet, and DraftKings is a Nasdaq-listed company answering to the same Department of Liquor and Lottery that licenses FanDuel and Fanatics. There's no fourth operator waiting in the wings because none of the others cleared the bid, not because DraftKings blocked them.

Can I visit a DraftKings retail sportsbook in Vermont?

No. Vermont authorized mobile betting only — there's no in-person counter or kiosk anywhere in the state, unlike neighboring New Hampshire, which has four retail locations alongside its app. The DraftKings phone app is the entire Vermont product.

Can I bet on Vermont high school sports through DraftKings?

No. Vermont's sports betting law specifically bars wagering on high school athletics, alongside the standard 21-plus age floor for placing a bet — notable because Vermont's general gambling age is 18, so sports betting carries its own, higher bar.