The Supreme Court has repealed PASPA 2018 in 2018. Since then, there have been constant efforts to increase sports betting. Both state legislatures and operators seek to profit from a rapidly-growing market.
The 2022 year was no exception, as three states have managed to pass bills that allow sports betting to be legalized. While Massachusetts, Kansas, and Maine were able to come to an agreement to legalize sports betting, some other states weren’t so lucky.
SBC Americas will be sharing our review of some of the most significant legislative initiatives to increase sports betting in America by 2022.
Maine
Two-and-a half years after the state’s prohibition , Maine’s sports betting legislation was passed by Janet Mills.
Bill LD 585, which gives tribes exclusive rights to offer online betting,while casinos may provide in-person gambling. The agreement allows tribes to either open their own online sportsbook, or join one of the larger sportsbooks.
The bill was negotiated to increase tribal sovereignty. It also offers operators a 10% tax rate. This is in addition to a fixed-rate four-year mobile agreement of $200,000.
Sports betting in Maine has yet to launch despite the fact that it was signed six months ago. Many hope for an opening by mid-2023.
Kansas
The long journey to bring in sports betting to Kansas was difficult. There were many times when the Senate and House almost brought the bill down.
The Kansas City Chiefs was a key issue. A proposal for the NFL to be moved from Missouri to Kansas nearly ended the bill.
The bill was passed 63-50 by the Kansas House of Representatives. However, some have interpreted it to be a way to attract the Missouri-based franchisee to Kansas.
These issues were resolved and Governor Laura Kelly signed bill SB84 into law , allowing retail and online betting to be allowed in the Sunflower State.
The market was launched on September 1 with the imposition of a 10% tax. Major operators like FanDuel and DraftKings secured licenses just in time to kickoff the NFL season.
Massachusetts
The legalization of sports betting in Massachusetts was an extremely difficult and lengthy process. The last session of the house was spent arguing over the legality and fairness of college sports betting. This almost ended the bill.
The bills were passed by both the Senate and House. However, debate on collegiate betting was divided between the chambers.
Although it was difficult to compromise on, Massachusetts’ law regarding sports betting stipulates that a 15% tax rate for retail betting is followed by 20% for online betting. The bill also banned college betting in Massachusetts, except when the teams were participating in collegiate tournaments.
While the state has yet to open, the MGC is currently in the process of granting licenses to untethered operator. It is expected that the market will open by late January 2023 just in time to host Super Bowl.
California
Many people see the entire process of bringing sports betting to California as a huge disaster.
Divided into two camps, Prop 26, which would have granted control to the Tribes, racetrack and sports betting, and Prop 27 which would allow online and mobile betting in California with DraftKings, FanDuel and others awaiting in the wings. Both sides spent over $600 million on campaigns.
Despite their enormous spending, neither proposal gained much popularity. Instead managed to unify both Democrats and Republicans by rejecting each bill.
Nearly everyone opposed sports betting within the state by the election. The final vote showed that neither proposition received even 30% of the support.
Many people hope California will return to its roots and try again in 2024.
Brandt Iden, Fanatics’ Vice President of Government Affairs, stated to SBC Americas that he is hopeful that both the commercials as well as the tribal leaders will sit down with them and attempt to find a way that it can be legislated.
It will require a compromise, like what we have seen in Michigan and Arizona where commercials and tribes were able to co-operate. We should not spend nearly half of a billion on another battle if we go back to 2024.
