“Additional federal engagement is not warranted at this time.”
Those words close the first paragraph of the American Gaming Association‘s latest volley in the discussion about the creation of federal sports betting regulation. The AGA, a national trade group, has been on the front lines in working with stakeholders to streamline the legislative process as sports betting becomes legal in more and more states.
On Thursday, it released a letter sent to Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (New York), in response to Schumer’s call for a federal framework that would, among other things, require sportsbooks to use “official” league data and would allow the professional sports leagues a voice in determining what kinds of bets could be placed. The letter is intended as a reply to Schumer’s staff, which requested additional information from the AGA following an Aug. 2 meeting.
Kentucky lawmakers on Thursday got a primer on sports betting when staff members presented a detailed look at sports betting to the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue.
The presentation likely created more questions than answers, but it was a significant step for the Kentucky lawmakers who are pushing for legal sports betting. Kentucky’s state legislature is not currently in session, but interim joint committees keep the legislative process moving through the summer months. By opening the sports betting discussion on a formal level, the interim committee can help the standing committees it supports in both chambers to hit the ground running when the new legislative session begins in January. Senate Appropriations and Revenue chairman Christian McDaniel (R-District 23) requested the presentation to give committee members and overview of the sports betting issue.
The presentation lasted about a half hour and included:
An explanation of what the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was;
A primer on the and the Supreme Court case Murphy vs. NCAA;
The possibility of a federal framework;
A brief look at how Nevada manages sports betting, it’s tax structure and revenue;
A look at the “integrity fee” or royalty that the professional sports leagues have been lobbying for;
Whether or not the Kentucky constitution allows for sports betting and possible ways to make sports betting legal (i.e. is a constitutional amendment required?); and
Who would oversee sports betting in the Bluegrass State.
KY Sports Betting Working Group Has Been Laying the Groundwork for Legal KY Sports Betting.
A nine-member “working group” of Kentucky legislators has been meeting through the summer to build a consensus on sports betting. The group has met twice and has reached two key decisions: Kentucky should tax net revenue, not handle, and the group does not endorse the integrity fee that the professional leagues have been lobbying for.
It’s unlikely that the bill that the working group files will include the fee. No state that has legalized sports betting since PASPA was struck down includes a royalty, and the only state that seems to be seriously discussing such a fee is New York.
See what State Senator Julian Carroll thinks about the bill by visiting SportsHandle using the link below:
After being a lone voice this summer pushing for a federal framework on sports betting, Utah senator Orrin Hatch got some company on Wednesday when New York Democrat Chuck Schumer released a memo outlining his thoughts on legalized sports betting.
First released to ESPN, Schumer said that he wants to see sportsbooks across the nation using only official league data and to allow the professional sports leagues a voice in deciding what types of bets should be allowed.
Schumer’s ideas could be a boon to the pro sports leagues, which have been lobbying for a royalty or integrity fee across the country this year. While no state that currently has legalized sports betting is paying the pro leagues, New York state lawmakers are pushing for an integrity fee should the Empire State legalize sports betting. It’s possible that if Schumer’s idea takes hold on a federal level, a royalty could be included, which would be a key change for the six states (including three that are already taking bets) that have legal sports betting.
Legislators Have Been Pushing for an Integrity Fee Should NY Sports Betting Become Legal.
In Albany, New York State Senator John Bonacic (R-District 42) and Representative Gary Pretlow (D-District 89) have put forth legislation that would pay the pro leagues 1/5 of 1 percent of the handle. This number is significantly lower than the 1 percent the pro leagues had been lobbying for, but a windfall nonetheless.
Under Schumer’s plan, the professional leagues would stand to gain even without an integrity fee. Requiring sportsbooks to use only official league data would force operators to pay the leagues for the data. The memo all but panders to the professional leagues. The NFL, in particular, has voiced support for a federal framework, which would make oversight simpler – one law to work with vs. different laws or regulations in every sports betting state.
But Schumer is already getting pushback. The American Gaming Association, which released a statement mirroring its comments after Hatch made a plea for Congress to entertain sports betting last Friday. In both statements, the organization refers to federal oversight of sports betting as “an abject failure,” and points to the “thriving illegal market” that blossomed after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was passed in 1972. That law was struck down by the Supreme Court on May 14, paving the way for states to determine if they want to have sports betting.
See what else the AGA had to say by visiting SportsHandle using the link below:
Why is one of the architects of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act taking point on sports betting in Congress? After all, PASPA was deemed unconstitutional just three months ago, and it seems highly unlikely that Congress will get a second shot at prohibiting sports betting.
The simple answer is that the upcoming mid-term elections have created something of a void. Senators and representatives don’t want any part of controversial legislation when their names are on the ballot. But Orrin Hatch, the conservative Utah senator who helped author PASPA, isn’t on the ballot. He’s retiring. And as his swan song, he clearly wants another federal mandate on sports betting.
Just days after the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in May, Hatch promised new legislation to help protect the integrity of the game. Yet in the ensuing months, as six states have legalized sports betting and three (Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi) already have sportsbooks up and running, there has been no new bill.
Conservative Senator Opposes Sports Betting, But Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi Are Already Accepting Sports Bets.
It seemed odd that last week, in the middle of a Senate session that had nothing to do with sports betting, that Hatch made his plea and again promised legislation that would “kick-start” the federal discussion on sports betting. Let’s be real here – Hatch is opposed to sports betting and he wants his legacy to be a last-minute law banning it again.
It’s highly unlikely that Hatch will get what he wants. There is little time left on the Congressional calendar before his term expires in January. In fact, without breaking down every little detail, there are only 35 legislative days between Labor Day weekend and the mid-term elections on Nov. 6. And while I don’t know much about how quickly Congress moves, that hardly seems like ample time before a series of lame-duck sessions after the elections. Or maybe it’s the lame-duck sessions Hatch is counting on?
To read the rest of this article, visit SportsHandle using the link below:
Kentucky’s sports betting working group isn’t working in a vacuum. During its first meeting on Monday, the nine-member panel took time to review what’s been going on from Mississippi to Pennsylvania and all points in between.
“We broadly discussed how sports wagering legislation has developed across the country and how we envision it take shape here in Kentucky,” Senator Julian M. Carroll told Sports Handle via e-mail. “My priority has been and remains to protect Kentuckians by regulating sports wagering and generating new revenue for Kentucky’s ailing pension systems.”
Kentucky badly needs additional revenue to rescue its pension systems and lawmakers have made no secret that that is the driving force behind exploring sports betting. Carroll, a former Kentucky governor, has been leading the charge and in June pre-filed a bill that he hopes will ultimately be the framework for the legalization of Kentucky sports betting.
Kentucky has Plenty of Sports Betting Ideas to Study as Three States Have Rolled Out Sports Betting in the Last Three Months and One More has Made it Legal.
There’s plenty for Bluegrass State lawmakers to consider: in the three months since the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi have all rolled out sports betting, and Rhode Island has legalized it and is making preparations for launch. West Virginia legalized in March (pending SCOTUS) and after setting regulations, will see the Hollywood Casino in Charles Town take the state’s first legal wager before Sept. 1. And Pennsylvania has been working on sports betting regulations to implement its framework.
Kentucky’s famed Churchill Downs racetrack.
But before state lawmakers can vote on anything, they must first come to a consensus on what sports betting in Kentucky will look like. Monday’s meeting at Keeneland Racecourse was the first step in bringing varying opinions together. The working group including nine lawmakers from both chambers and both political parties:
Senator Julie Raque Adams (R-Louisville)
Rep. George Brown (D-Lexington)
Senator Julian Carroll (D-Frankfort)
Senator Morgan McGarvey (D-Louisville)
Rep. Kim Moser (R-Taylor Mill)
Rep. Jason Nemes (R-Louisville)
Rep. Diane St. Onge (R-Fort Wright)
Rep. Dean Schamore (D-Hardinsburg)
Rep. John Sims (D-Flemingsburg)
Of the nine, Carroll, Sims and Schamore have all filed sports betting bills, but none have gotten past committee. Carroll’s bill puts its focus on Kentucky’s horse racing industry and calls for sports betting at the state’s racetracks and OTB parlors. It allows for a 20 percent tax on handle, though, which will guarantee the kind of reaction from potential operators as in Pennsylvania, where a 36 percent tax on gross revenue has a caused a bit of a standoff with operators claiming they cannot make any money in such an environment.
Carroll told Sports Handle earlier this summer that the decision to tax handle was made because it mirrors the current Kentucky tax structure for pari-mutuel wagering.
Two Bluegrass State Sports Betting Bills Are Floating Around the State Legislature, But They Have Different Frameworks.
The house bill casts a wider net, calls for the state lottery commission to oversee sports betting and would allow for sport wagering at retail lottery outlets, as well.
Kentucky’s Thistledown Racino.
Kentucky is not currently home to any full-fledged commercial casinos, but there are nine horse-racing venues, including the famed Churchill Downs, that are also “racinos,” as well as off-track betting parlors. Given that the initial proposed legislation comes at sports betting from different directions, the working group has much to discuss in the coming months.
“The working group will continue these discussions in future meetings to discuss details on the appropriate agency to administer sports wagering, the venues that may offer sports wagering, and the optimal tax rate to generate the most revenue for Kentucky,” Carroll said.
It’s likely that one of the easier issues to settle will be mobile betting and deposits, Carroll said, as the state already allows for both in pari-mutuel wagering.
The next working group meeting has been set for Aug. 22.
The post Happy Anniversary! Delaware Sports Betting a Winner One Month In appeared first on SportsHandle.
A $100,000 bet has been placed. A $1 million “profit” has been made. And about $7 million has been bet.
Yep, Delaware has hit it big.
Today marks the one-month anniversary of legal sports betting in the state and Delaware Lottery Games director Vernon Kirk couldn’t be happier. Delaware Sports Betting Bringing in More Than Expected
“It’s obviously pretty exciting, but we’re doing well,” he told Sports Handle. “Maybe even a little bit better than the percentages that we expected.”
Not a bad deal for the first state outside of Nevada to accept full-fledged legal sports bets since the United States Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA)on May 14.
The state’s fiscal numbers were due on June 24, according to Kirk. And those numbers revealed that bettors in Delaware had placed approximately $7 million in bets with $6 million paid out to winners, and a $1 million “profit” to cover the likes of vendor fees, computer fees, risk management, commissions to the racetracks, a purse increase and the state’s share.
Kirk (DE Lottery)
The numbers also showed that the lion’s share of bets were placed on baseball – approximately $6 million, according to Kirk, including the first bet ever laid down in the state, a $10 wager on the Philadelphia Phillies by governor John Carney on June 5 on the hometown Philadelphia Phillies. There were also a few surprises – about $35,000 was wagered on mixed martial arts, a handful of college softball bets were placed and what Kirk described as a “surprising” amount of wagers were laid down on the World Cup.
The numbers represent 19 days of sports betting, from June 5-24. And Kirk was quick to point out that he’s quoting cash numbers, as opposed to the graded figures generally quoted in Nevada. As an example, he said, when Delaware takes a futures bet, the state counts it immediately where a Las Vegas casino would not.
Delaware Park Took State’s First $100,000 Bet
The most significant wager to date, Kirk said, was $100,000 in college football bets from a single bettor. The bets were placed at Delaware Park, and Kirk said the bettors put down the six-figure wager across multiple college football teams.
Delaware Park, located in Wilmington in the upper northern tip of the state, has done most of the sports betting business – about $5 million, according to Kirk. The casino’s proximity to Philadelphia (about a 35-minutes drive), the New Jersey border and Baltimore (just under 1 ½ hours driving) make it the most accessible casino in the country’s second-smallest state.
Kirk can’t point to any real hiccups during the first month of sports betting in the First State. The only real “glitch” may have been that casinos were a bit underprepared for the NBA Finals – the last two games of the Golden State Warriors’ 4-0 sweep – were June 6 and 8.
“We had one brief moment when we were overwhelmed on the second day,” he said. “There was a pro basketball game and Delaware Park was a little unprepared for the volume. Otherwise, I can say that we were ready.”
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Having too much business and too many people, is, of course, a good problem to have. And one that Kirk is sure will be resolved before the start of college football season in August. But he feels very strongly that Delaware was uber prepared for its moment because prior to PASPA being struck down, the state offered parlay football betting, and in 2009 was prepared to offer single-game sports betting before the courts denied it the opportunity.
“To be fair, we had an advantage,” Kirk said. “We’d been doing this for years with parlay cards. We had the infrastructure in place, so we just had to dust off the software, retrain the ticket writers at the casinos and that all went very smoothly.” The Debate Between In-Person and Remote Deposits for Mobile Betting
The state hasn’t introduced mobile betting yet, so that wasn’t a factor through the first month. Kirk’s hope is to get mobile up and running by football season. State law says that mobile betting will be limited to in-state, and mobile bettors will have to register with a casino. Whether they will have to do that in person or not is as yet undecided.
Looking forward, football season will be the ultimate challenge, and not just in terms of volume. Delaware has long offered parlay cards, but now that single-game wagering has been introduced, it will change where people place their bets. That could potentially hurt small vendors who, in the past had handled parlay cards, but will likely see a dip in business as bettors place single-game wagers at casinos.
“We may see our retailers take a hit on parlay card sales, but that can’t be helped,” Kirk said. “The casinos are much better prepared to take single-game betting and they’re better equipped to monitor” sports betting.
“I’m a little concerned about what it’s going to be like with the football. It’s going to be a whole other thing … there are going to be some very busy Saturdays and Sundays, but we’re aware of that … and we think we’re taking the right steps to make that manageable. But you know, the best laid plans of mice and men. If there are some snaggles, we should be able to sort them out.”
