Author: Andy Nelson

Welcome to the first March Madness with legal sports betting outside Nevada in the United States. March Madness betting is nothing new, of course. Last year alone, bettors put up more than $300 million on the NCAA Tournament through Nevada sports betting alone. The illegal market for March Madness betting claims an even more robust total. An American Gaming Association (AGA) report estimates as…

Already a long shot to pass in 2019, Maryland sports betting met its demise for this year at the state legislature. Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. declared dead efforts to maneuver around a constitutional requirement to approve MD sports betting at the ballot box. “Sports betting is going to have to wait until next year,” Miller said in the Washington Post…

Happy Friday, cowboys and cowgirls, and welcome back to another edition of our policymaking pull-together. In this recurring piece, we do our best to compile and condense all of the week's legislative movement around sports betting in one place. Here are the vitals for US sports betting right now: States with regulated sports betting: 8 Jurisdictions pending launch: 3 States with bills on file: 34…

The state legislature continues to press Gov. Andrew Cuomo to authorize mobile NY sports betting. Amid budget negotiations, Senate lawmakers are prepared to include enabling language in their proposal to Cuomo. Voters previously approved NY sports betting for four upstate casinos, and regulators are now working to create a framework of rules. Legal Sports Report has obtained a draft of the budget language, which includes…

There is neither a bill nor any proposal, but there is some ray of hope for Florida sports betting to sneak into the state's short legislative session. A priority of the legislature is negotiating a new gaming compact with the Seminole tribe. Senate President Bill Galvano tells Legal Sports Report he thinks legal sports betting would be part of any agreement. “It’s definitely part of the…

A long-awaited sports betting bill appeared in Ohio on Thursday, marking one of the last major states in the Midwest or Northeast to address the topic in earnest. And it seems primed to get a real push this spring. The legislation — which you can see here — would allow for both land-based and online wagering in the state. In the Ohio budget? Adding…

Whether Connecticut sports betting constitutes a casino game was a key part of the discussion Tuesday in a committee hearing. The Public Safety and Security Committee listened to testimony on its new committee bill that would authorize CT sports betting at tribal casinos, off-track betting parlors and via the Connecticut Lottery. The inclusiveness of H 7331 differs from bills discussed in committee two weeks ago. Those would give…

While the majority of US states struggle to pass sports betting legislation, lawmakers in Rhode Island have now done it twice in consecutive years. The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that will authorize statewide online and mobile wagering. RI sports betting first became legal late last year, but implementation has so far been restricted to in-person betting at the two Twin River…

Happy Monday, ladies and gents, and welcome back for another tour of the US sports betting landscape. In this weekly piece, we try to cover the recent, relevant movement in states considering legal sports betting. Here are the numbers right now: States with regulated sports betting: 8 Jurisdictions pending launch: 3 States with bills on file: 31 Number of bills on file: 138 Our…

Momentum for California sports betting will not come this year from the legislature or the ballot. A proposed initiative to authorize CA sports betting expired without enough signatures to qualify for the 2020 ballot. The deadline for introduction of new sports betting bills also passed last month in the state legislature. According to the petition's filer, the legal sports betting effort never really got off the…