sports betting legislation

September 10, 2024

US lawmakers Tonko, Blumenthal to introduce federal wagering legislation

On Tuesday (10 September) US Representative Paul Tonko and US Senator Richard Blumenthal announced they will hold a press conference on Thursday (12 September) to introduce new federal online sports betting legislation.
The press conference is set for 1pm ET, and will also be streamed live on Tonko’s X page.

Tonko has previously filed two pieces of federal wagering legislation. Both would have put at least some federal framework around legal sports betting, which is a states’ rights issue. The US Supreme Court in May 2018 overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The act was a federal ban on sports betting.

Within months of the decision, brick-and-mortar casinos in four states were offering in-person sports betting. New Jersey sportsbooks were the first to offer digital betting, starting 6 August 2018. New Jersey governors Chris Christie and then Phil Murphy led the lawsuit that overturned PASPA.

According to a press release, representatives from the..

August 27, 2024

Rumblings begin anew for legal wagering in South Carolina

South Carolina lawmakers have barely seriously considered legalalising sports betting but, in 2025, the discussion could get more serious.
South Carolina is the opposite of a gambling mecca. The deep red southern state has no land-based casinos, no horse racing and it has some of the strictest gambling laws in the US. Despite those issues, at least one person who studies gambling expects a push toward wagering legalisation in 2025.

“The success in terms of the tax revenue generated already in North Carolina will be enticing,” Stephen Shapiro of the University of South Carolina Department of Sport and Entertainment Management told Statehouse Report earlier this month. “I would imagine that we’re going to see more of those types of [sports betting] bills and that there’s a good chance it would be legalised in the next couple years.”

South Carolina is among the last group of US states to consider legal wagering. To date, there has not been a serious push for it. During the 2024 legisla..

August 20, 2024

Last chance for US gambling expansion in 2024 dies in Nebraska

Seventeen days into its special session, on Tuesday (20 August), the Nebraska legislature adjourned sine die, leaving legal digital sports betting and many other issues unresolved. Governor Jim Pillen called the special session with the goal of addressing property tax relief.
The Nebraska special session likely represented the last opportunity for digital wagering or online casino expansion in the US in 2024. This year marks the first time since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) fell in 2018 that no state has legalised some form of sports betting.

Legal wagering would have played a significant role in cutting back property taxes in Nebraska. Unlike in other US states, property tax proceeds are used to fund public education. Nebraska is among the top 10 states in the US in terms of property-tax burden. Homeowners are charged a median 1.61%. Some 90% of wagering tax revenue in Senator Eliot Bostar’s bill package was earmarked for property tax relief.

Still n..

August 13, 2024

Nebraska wagering bill gets out of committee, but floor vote uncertain

On Monday (12 August) Nebraska's General Affairs Committee advanced a constitutional amendment that would put the decision of whether or not to expand gaming to include digital sports betting to the voters.
The committee voted, 5-2, to send LR3CA to the floor, but failed to advance framework legislation. If the Nebraska wagering bill passes and voters approve the ballot referendum, the legislature will be tasked with deciding what digital wagering will look like.

In addition the framework legislation, LB13, includes language that would have put the constitutional amendment on the ballot this year. Unless an exception is made, the decision won’t go to the voters until 2026.

Senator John Cavanaugh introduced a change to LR3CA before it passed. According to the Lincoln Journal-Star, Cavanaugh said the change “keeps power in the hands of the legislature, allows voters to speak on it and then lets the legislature decide once it’s legal how proscriptive you want to make it”.

He al..

August 1, 2024

Nebraska lawmakers seem unprepared to consider digital wagering; it’s not clear they must

A Nebraska legislative committee late on Wednesday (31 July) heard testimony on five bills about an expansion of gaming in the state. Committee members appeared uneducated on the subject, which may already be legal.
In 2020, Nebraska voters approved an expansion of gaming when they passed an initiative that made “games of chance” legal. At the time, there was some question as to whether or not a game of chance includes sports betting. But the legislature later determined it does. That fact begs the question as to why the legislature feels it needs to pass laws that would make digital sports betting legal.

In 2022, Nebraska’s Racing and Gaming Commission declined to include language about digital betting in its regulations. Stakeholders asked the commission to include such language. The current law defines a gaming device as any “electronic, mechanical or other device which plays a game of chance when activated by a player”. It goes on to explain that sports wagers may be placed on “..

July 31, 2024

Bill to repeal US gambling excise tax filed

On Wednesday (31 July) a pair of US senators filed a bill calling for the repeal of the US federal excise tax on gambling. The 0.25% excise tax on the amount of any legal wager is levied above and beyond state taxes.
Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi) filed the bill. Called the “Withdrawing Arduous Gaming Excise Rates Act,” the acronym is “the WAGER Act.” The American Gaming Association (AGA), a trade group, almost immediately came out in favour of the bill. The legislation, the AGA said, would save operators tens of millions of dollars per year in taxes.

“The federal sports betting excise tax was enacted more than 70 years ago as a tool to prosecute illegal sports betting operators,” the AGA wrote in a statement. “Today, with sports betting legal in 38 states and Washington DC, this antiquated tax puts legal operators at a competitive disadvantage and rewards illegal offshore bookmakers that pay no federal or state taxes, offer no responsible..

July 30, 2024

Nebraska lawmakers could be first in US in 2024 to legalise or expand gambling

Nearly seven months into the year, no US jurisdiction has legalised or expanded gambling. Will Nebraska be the first?
Nebraska’s state legislature started a special session last week and, on Wednesday (30 July), the general affairs committee will debate five bills that could legalise digital sports betting and daily fantasy sports.

At the heart of the move to legalise digital sports betting is Nebraska’s high property taxes, which fund education. According to one of the bills, the state ranks among the top 10 in the US in “property tax burden” and “relies more heavily on local property taxes to support public education” than other states. The goal is reduce property taxes by using online sports betting revenue to defray the costs to homeowners.

Nebraskans approved an expansion of gaming in November 2020. At that time, it wasn’t clear whether or not that expansion included sports betting – retail or digital. But lawmakers eventually decided that in-person wagering met the criteria. ..

June 25, 2024

DC Council creates open, competitive wagering marketplace

On Tuesday (25 June) the DC Council gave final approval to its FY2025 budget that includes a provision to open the digital sports betting market. Currently, FanDuel is the sole platform available citywide but, under the new budget, that will change.

The new budget required an emergency act to avoid having to send the budget to congress for approval. The DC Council passed the Budget Support Act via voice vote. The budget is set to go into effect on 15 July.

The new budget will allow for commercial operators to enter the market. BetMGM (Nationals Park) and Caesars Sportsbook (Capital One Arena) should quickly be able to expand their current digital offerings. Through existing partnerships, the operators have brick-and-mortar sportsbooks and offer digital betting within an exclusion zone. Under the new plan, they will be able to offer their platforms across the District.

FanDuel in April launched its platform in partnership with the DC Lottery. The company currently has a monopoly. ..

June 12, 2024

DC sports betting: Open, competitive market coming? It sure looks like it

On Wednesday (12 June) the DC Council took the first step toward opening the city's sports betting market by approving a FY2025 budget that includes the Sports Wagering Amendment Act of 2024. The council unanimously approved the budget during a legislative meeting. There will be a second vote as early as next week.

The decision to open the market was not without controversy. An amendment that would have removed the new sports betting plan was defeated, 4-9, after heated discussion. Two key issues around DC sports betting were at play on Wednesday. Some council members said they were concerned about the “speed” at which the change has moved forward. Others said small businesses that currently benefit from having wagering kiosks could lose the opportunity.

In the current scenario, the Office of Lottery and Gaming (OLG) has a monopoly on online wagering. As of April, FanDuel was the only operator that could offer digital betting throughout the District. BetMGM and Caesars Sportsb..

May 20, 2024

Minnesota sports betting bill dead at end of chaotic, marathon day

A chaotic marathon legislative session ended on Sunday (19 May) in Minnesota without legal sports betting being considered. Before the calendar turned to 2024, Minnesota was among four US states that stakeholders believed had a real shot to legalise.

Instead, Minnesota’s session has been marred by the arrest of a state senator and mired in partisan politics. Although the house voted to convene on Monday (20 May) at 10am, the senate is adjourned for the session. In the final days, the DFL and Republicans called each other names, had shouting matches on the floor,and filibustered. Both chambers met in extended sessions – some going as late as 5am – beginning last week.

Over the weekend, an omnibus bill was created and included many key issues in an effort to get a vote on some issues. Sports betting is not believed to be in the bill, although lawmakers were unsure.

“Why don’t you go through it?” asked Minority Leader Mark Johnson during end-of-session media availability. “Why don’t ..

May 14, 2024

US DoJ to Supreme Court: Florida sports betting case isn’t in your purview

Late on Monday (13 May) the US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed its response in the Supreme Court in the Florida sports betting case. The filing is the final piece before the court determines whether or not it will hear the case that could change the future of sports betting in Florida.

West Flagler and Associates (WFA) filed a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court in April. In its response to WFA, the DoJ essentially argues that the Florida pari-mutuel’s case has no place before the court.

DoJ attorneys, on behalf of the Department of the Interior (DoI) wrote that the key issue, the validity of the Seminole-Florida 2021 compact, is not a federal issue. They also argued that the compact itself is well within bounds and that the DoI decision to allow it to be “deemed approved” does not violate any laws.

At issue is whether or not the DoI should have approved a compact that gives the Seminoles exclusivity to online sports betting. DoJ lawyers said the Florida sports betting ca..

April 30, 2024

Missouri lawmaker trying again to marry VLTs and wagering gets plenty of pushback

A Missouri hearing with no vote on Tuesday (30 April) again revealed opposition to marrying legal video lottery terminals with sports betting. This time around, it wasn't Senator Denny Hoskins carrying the bill, but House Minority Leader Crystal Quade.

HB 2835 likely won’t get far. Assigned last week to the special committee on innovation and technology, the bill got its first hearing with opposition from casinos, a convenience store association and the home docks, or locations where gambling boats sit .

There were also references that the senate has plans to adjourn early. One lawmaker suggested it may adjourn on Tuesday. If that happens, current bills would stall and lawmakers would have to wait to see if there will be a special session. The senate has not yet approved a budget.

Quade’s bill would allow for statewide mobile wagering and renames and defines video lottery terminals as “mechanical amusement machines”. The machines currently operate in a grey market. They are ..

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Tag: sports betting legislation