Sports Week Recap: Florida, Washington, South Dakota, and Other Regions Review sports betting developments
It's the weekend (or fashionably late), and there's a myriad of crazy shit going on in the world of sports betting. Let's break it down, peeps!
Don't get too hyped about Florida
Y'all might've heard that Florida lawmakers approved a sports betting law and a tribal compact during a three-day special session. But hey, don't get too excited just yet! Lawsuits are on the horizon, even from the lawmakers themselves—assuming the Department of the Interior signs off on it, of course.
The Florida House passes sports betting, but that ain't a win just yet, at least according to some senator. Check out @10TampaBay at 5pm - @EricGlasserWTSP explains why.
The bill that included the compact set Oct. 15, 2021, as a potential launch date for sports betting, halfway through the football season. If Floridians can actually place a bet on Oct. 15, they should be hella happy. But if the Dept. of the Interior doesn't approve the compact or if lawsuits materialize, Oct. 15 will feel like a date we should have embraced. Any lawsuit could come with an injunction to further delay a launch.
Three other sports-betting-related bills also passed, including SB 8A, which allows for "decoupling" at parimutuel facilities. There was heavy opposition to this bill, and the vote to pass it was the closest of the four. Many lawmakers argued it would force the closure of multiple parimutuel facilities. Check out the Paulick Report for the horsemen's take on the new law.
Up in Connecticut, DFS could be in trouble
When Florida lawmakers passed their package of bills on Wednesday, they left out a bill that would have required daily fantasy operators to be licensed in the state. But CT lawmakers are heading in the opposite direction. The Connecticut bill that legalizes statewide mobile sports betting will effectively force DFS companies to pull out of the state until they can get licensed. That's a shitload of problems for the states—including hurting the tax revenue windfall they're aiming to get with legal wagering and gaming expansion.
Sports betting and DFS titans like DraftKings and FanDuel usually rely on their DFS databases to build a base of sports betting customers. But if they're not able to operate in the state when sports betting goes live, they'll be starting from scratch, which could mean a slower ramp-up in sports betting participation.
Ain't no time to settle matters, though, as the CT legislature meets on Wednesday to debate the bill. Stay tuned, folks!
South Dakota sports betting applications available
Applications for Sports Wagering Services Providers are now available on the South Dakota Department of Revenue website. Licenses are required for anyone "who maintains or operates the software or hardware of a sports wagering system or facilitates wagering on a sporting event by providing a service, including data aggregation, risk management, computer service, furnishing information or setting odds." The application fee is $5,000 with license and annual renewal fees of $2,000.
On May 18, the Department of Gaming approved 13 proposed rules related to gaming and a 14th that tweaked how adjusted gross revenue will be computed, according to Keloland Media Group. Voters in South Dakota retail legalized sports betting in Deadwood only via referendum in November 2020, and the goal is for the first bets to be taken sometime after July 1.
It's complicated in Nebraska: no betting on home team
Nebraska this week became the most college-sports-loving U.S. jurisdiction to approve legal sports betting, but with a twist: they banned betting on the home team. At least 11 states with legal sports betting ban betting on local colleges, and operators argue that this leaves open the door for the black market to thrive. For the most part, states with major college football or basketball teams allow betting on college sports.
Nebraska is the only state with a Big Ten team that prohibits wagering on in-state colleges. And if bettors want to place those bets, they can just drive to neighbors Iowa, Colorado, and soon Wyoming.
That's all for this week, folks! Be sure to check out our network for more coverage on the wild world of gambling.
Have a great weekend!
Matt Rybaltowski, Contributor
- Despite the recent approval of a sports betting law in Florida, potential lawsuits and the lack of Department of the Interior's approval pose risks for a potential launch on October 15.
- Connecticut's bill legalizing statewide mobile sports betting could force daily fantasy sports operators to pull out until they can get licensed, potentially hampering tax revenue and the growth of sports betting participation.
- In South Dakota, applications for Sports Wagering Services Providers are available, with a $5,000 application fee and annual renewal fees of $2,000, as the Department of Gaming aims for the first bets to be taken after July 1.
