These are the states where happy hour is illegal
For many nine-to-five workers, happy hours are a treasured tradition to unwind after work. But in six states, evening drink discounts are illegal. Massachusetts was the first to ban happy hour specials in 1984, after a fatal drunk driving accident that was tied to a drink promotion. As an anti-drunk-driving movement took hold, other states followed Massachusetts's lead. The 1980s saw widespread changes to alcohol laws, including bans on unlimited drink deals, two-for-one specials, and multiple drinks served at once. During that decade, the national drinking age was also raised from 18 to 21.
Since that initial wave of drinking restrictions 40 years ago, though, some states have started to rethink their laws. Kansas was the first state to repeal its total ban on happy hour specials in 2012, with Illinois and Oklahoma following suit in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Yahoo News used data from the Alcohol Policy Information System to map where bans on happy hour and unlimited drink specials remain.
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