Greyhound racing is legal in the United States in only six states, and live races are still run in just one of them: West Virginia. Forty-four states have banned commercial dog racing outright. The remaining five, Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin, allow it on paper but have no operating tracks.
Where Greyhound Racing Still Happens
Two West Virginia casino-racetracks host the last live greyhound racing in the country: Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack in Wheeling and Mardi Gras Casino and Resort in Cross Lanes. Both are primarily casinos, and racing continues largely because state law requires it.
Under West Virginia’s gaming rules, casinos cannot run table games like roulette and blackjack unless they also host horse or dog racing at the same venue. That coupling requirement is the main reason greyhound racing survives there. Three kennels at Wheeling Island have closed in recent years for lack of profitability, and both tracks have lost racing patrons steadily. The casino operators have said publicly that if lawmakers let them run table games without racing, they would work with kennel owners to phase it out.
A $15 million annual Greyhound Breeding Development Fund, drawn from a percentage of wagers, subsidizes the industry. The state legislature passed a bill in 2017 to eliminate that fund and decouple casino licenses from racing, but Governor Jim Justice vetoed it. Later decoupling bills have not passed.
States Where Racing Is Legal but Dormant
Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Texas, and Wisconsin still permit commercial greyhound racing, but every track in those states has closed. Iowa’s last track shut down in 2022. No new tracks are expected to open: public interest has collapsed, animal welfare opposition is organized, and the political momentum runs the other way.
Texas law still includes local option elections, meaning voters in a county or municipality could in theory approve a new track. In practice, nothing moves in that direction.
Where Greyhound Racing Has Been Banned
Forty-four states prohibit commercial dog racing, through a mix of legislation and voter-approved ballot measures. The recent wave:
- Arkansas banned both live racing and simulcast wagering in March 2025 through HB 1721.1Arkansas State Legislature. Arkansas HB1721 Bill Information
- Connecticut repealed its dog racing statutes in 2024, formally outlawing a sport that had already been inactive there for nearly two decades.2Connecticut Senate Democrats. Dog Racing Now Officially Illegal in Connecticut
- Colorado banned wagering on out-of-state simulcast races in 2023 under HB 1041, having already prohibited in-state racing.
- Oregon banned greyhound racing in 2022 and separately prohibited all forms of wagering on dog races, including internet betting.
- Florida, once the country’s largest greyhound racing state, phased out all commercial racing by the end of 2020 after 69 percent of voters approved Amendment 13 in 2018.
Earlier bans include Arizona (2016), Colorado’s initial ban on live racing (2014), Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire (all 2010), and Pennsylvania (2004). Many states that never had meaningful greyhound racing banned it preemptively.
Simulcast Wagering Is a Separate Question
Banning live racing in a state does not automatically stop residents from betting on races held elsewhere. Some states shut down their tracks but still allowed off-track venues to carry simulcast feeds from out-of-state tracks. That loophole is closing. More than half the country now prohibits greyhound simulcasting. Kansas and Massachusetts passed simulcast bans in 2022, Colorado followed in 2023, and Arizona, Arkansas, New Hampshire, and Oregon have specifically banned remote gambling on dog races.
The trend matters for the few tracks still running. Even one operating West Virginia track can generate betting revenue from out-of-state venues that carry its signal, and as more states cut off those feeds, the financial case for continuing to race weakens.
The Federal Bill That Could End Racing Nationwide
The Greyhound Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 5017) was introduced in the U.S. House on August 21, 2025, and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture the next day.3Congress.gov. HR 5017 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) Greyhound Protection Act of 2025 It would amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit commercial greyhound racing, live lure training, and open field coursing across the country.
If passed, the bill would override the remaining state frameworks and make greyhound racing a federal violation. As of late 2025 it remained in committee. Earlier federal proposals on the same subject never reached a floor vote.
Why the Industry Keeps Shrinking
Animal welfare concerns have driven most of the state-level bans, and the injury record is the reason. From 2015 through 2024, nearly 8,000 greyhound injuries were documented at U.S. tracks. The two West Virginia tracks alone recorded more than 5,600 injuries during that span, including at least 123 dogs that died or were euthanized. Welfare advocates say the real numbers are higher, because tracking what happens to dogs after they leave the industry has never been comprehensive.
In West Virginia, state regulations require each racing association to operate an adoption program for retired greyhounds, with sufficient staff, training, and funding, under the direction of the racing commission.4Legal Information Institute. West Virginia Code of State Rules 178-2-31 – Greyhound Adoption Program
The industry’s survival in West Virginia depends less on racing’s own economics than on its legal tie to casino licensing. If a decoupling bill eventually passes, the last live greyhound races in the United States are likely to end with it.