Vermont has joined the push to legalize sports betting this year, with a new mobile-only betting bill filed this week.
Bill S.213, filed by Sens. Dick Sears and Michael Sirotkin, calls for license fees of $10,000 for both operators and suppliers.
What else is in the Vermont sports betting bill?
Many of the details of the proposed VT sports betting legislation suggest an industry-friendly regulatory setup:
- A 10% tax on gross sports revenues, paid monthly.
- A similar 10% tax on daily fantasy sports revenues put in place of the existing $5,000 annual fee.
- No stated limit on licenses/skins for online sports betting brands.
- Betting to be overseen by the state’s Board of Liquor and Lottery.
If an operator loses money in a given month, the losses can offset future tax payments.
The bill also codifies operators’ ability to lay off bets, saying the practice is permitted as long as both parties are transparent.
Bill S.213 is the first effort to introduce betting to Vermont in 2020 and the first bill since the initiative in March 2019.
If successful, sports betting would go live by the middle of 2020, according to the bill.
Why is Vermont moving on betting now?
The Green Mountain State is bordered on the south by New Hampshire, which went live with legal sports betting at the start of this year. That launch saw nearly $3.5 million wagered in the first week, according to Gov.Chris Sununu:
https://twitter.com/GovChrisSununu/status/1214580521214337029
New Hampshire sports betting is only one potential competitor for Vermont. New Englanders also have the option to wager via retail or mobile means in Rhode Island sports betting as well.
What gambling exists in Vermont today?
Vermont is one of the few US states with no commercial gambling other than the lottery, which is presumably why the bill calls for mobile sports betting only.
The state has a population of a little more than 600,000 people.
