Sports betting may soon become legal in Vermont if a sports betting bill can get through a vote in the state Senate.
House Bill 127 is now eligible for a Senate vote after it was approved by the Senate Committee on Finance earlier this week. The bill passed a vote in the Vermont House of Representatives in March.
Vermont Governor Phil Scott has indicated he will sign the bill into law if its can pass the Senate, essentially making the Senate vote the final hurdle to sports betting legalization in the state.
Under the bill two to six online sports betting apps would be authorized to operate in Vermont. Each approved operator would pay a $550,000 license fee. The state’s Department of Liquor and Lottery would be given authority to negotiate tax rates, betting criteria, and advertising guidelines for sportsbooks.
The bill also gives the Department of Liquor and Lottery the option to institute a revenue-sharing agreement with sportsbooks instead of imposing a set tax on revenues.
“The tax rate that the operators lobby or want to have is lower than what we expect we can get through a competitive bidding process,” DLL Commissioner Wendy Knight said at a Senate Finance meeting last week. “A 20% tax rate is the number sports betting operators have indicated as the maximum they would expect.”
Lobbyists for the sports betting operators said at the meetings they would prefer a set tax rate to avoid potential fluctuating costs that could be damaging to long-term business in the state.
“It’s going to factor into how much an operator is ultimately willing to bid,” said Jon Mandel of the Sprots Betting Alliance. “We could see reduced interest among operators to apply, so then less likely of a robust competitive market and more users going to states with multiple options.”
Vermont standouts from other jurisdictions with legalized sports betting because the state will impose a tax on sports bettor’s winnings. The bill allows the state to subject sports bettor’s winning to income tax the same way lottery winnings are taxed.
The vote of the bill in the Senate will have to take before May 12 which is when the 2023 legislative session ends.
