Montana Sports Betting Gets Favorable Ruling On Locations By Judge
- Montana sportsbooks can now open in places that do not serve alcohol.
- A judge in Montana has chosen to rule in favor of turning over the alcoholic beverage rule for licensure set by the Montana Lottery for potential sports betting facility operators.
HELENA, Mont. – Montana sports betting got a win in the locations department as a judge ruled that sportsbooks will not be confined to just locations that have liquor licenses.
The Montana Lottery is the regulator of sports betting in Montana which was legalized in May 2019.
The launch of the industry occurred in March 2020, but that happened to be at the same time when most sporting events were stopped to contain the outbreak of COVID-19.
The Judge’s Ruling
The law in the state of Montana that made gambling on sports matchups legal had no clause placed within it requiring facilities to hold liquor licenses. That rule was made by the Montana Lottery, and it was overturned on October 28 by Judge Kathy Seeley from the Lewis and Clark County District Court. Now, any location is eligible to apply for a sports wagering license with the state of Montana.
“If the Legislature intended to limit sports wagering facilities in this way, the Legislature could have done so,” said Seeley. “The Court will not insert a provision that the Legislature omitted.”
The Montana Lottery has chosen against an appeal on the judge’s decision. They have decided that the alcohol rule is only one in a myriad of requirements that a sportsbook operator must meet in order to be approved for licensure.
“One of the elements to getting a sports betting license is that you have to be offering something at your business other than just lottery or sports betting. A lot of our sales agents have gas, groceries at their businesses, so they are offering something besides gaming,” said Jennifer McKee, of the Montana Lottery. “We are the fourth largest state in the country and our lottery and sports betting is designed to be successful in that environment, as we do not have a huge metropolis or destination casino within the state.”
Montana Sports Betting Industry
In the last seven months since the new industry opened, licensed sportsbooks in Montana have brought in $531,000 in revenue. And that’s with a lack of sports happening because of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Now with sports matchups back on the big screen and more operators being eligible to offer sports betting at their establishments, Montana can expect to see those revenue numbers surge.
An extreme growth spurt is expected to take place for the Treasure State’s sports betting industry in the future.