Central States In The U.S. Battling For Legal Sports Betting This Year Before It’s Too Late
- Sports betting in Colorado would not be legalized with the passing of a bill, rather the bill would place the issue for voters in the state decide.
- An Indiana sports betting bill will be sent to IN Governor Eric Holcomb upon a conference between members of the House and Senate
- Iowa sports betting bill requires the passing of the State House and possible signature of IA Governor Kim Reynolds in order to become law
- Sports Betting in Tennessee will have to be decided by state lawmakers this week in order to become law this year.
As the month of April winds down, the 2019 legislative sessions for states across the country are coming to a close. This means the opportunity to legalize sports betting is also coming down to the wire and that is certainly the case for states such as Tennessee, Indiana, Colorado, and Iowa.
When it comes to the Volunteer State, several major amendments have been made to the TN sports betting bill before having been passed by the Finance Ways and Means Committee in the State House.
TN HB 1 now only includes provisions for online sports wagering in TN. Operator license fees have been raised from $7,500 to $750,000 and taxes have been risen from 10% to 20% to be taken out from any revenue generated by the activity.
The bill will now be voted on by the House floor, while companion bill TN SB 16 is still making its way through the State Senate. However, the state legislature will adjourn at the end of this week.
In the case of Indiana, both the State House and the State Senate have passed the sports betting bill IN SB 552. However, each chamber passed it with different amendments, mainly concerning whether or not to include mobile sports wagering in Indiana.
A conference between members of the IN State House and Senate is set to occur in order to hash out the details of the bill before sending it to IN Governor Eric Holcomb to sign. Any issues will have to be resolved sometime this week as this year's legislative session in Indiana adjourns on April 29, 2019.
Colorado may have the least amount of time of any state to pass a proper sports betting bill. However, the one introduced last week would not effectively legalize the activity, rather put it on the ballot for voters to decide in November of this year.
CO HB 1327 would allow for both retail and state-wide mobile sports betting in Colorado and would impose a 10 percent tax on sports wagering revenue generated by operators in the state.
This proposal comes in at nearly a year in the making, but lawmakers will have to act fast as the Colorado legislative session is set to adjourn on May 3 of this year.
To counter that situation, sports betting in Iowa seems to be right on track to pass. The Iowa legislature will also adjourn on May 3, however, the State Senate has recently passed IA SB 617 which would legalize mobile and retail sports betting.
The bill will now go to the House floor for a vote, with many expecting them to pass the measure. The proposed piece of legislation also includes rules for legalizing and regulating daily fantasy sports contests.
LegalGamblingUSA knows that several other states are on the cusp of legalizing sports wagering in including Montana, North Carolina, Connecticut, and Oregon. Final answers on the fate of sports betting in those states will also come in the next few weeks.
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