Legislation
US – Montana signs in one operator sports betting bill
By Phil - 7 May 2019
The Governor of Montana Steve Bullock has signed in a bill, H725, allowing sports betting in the state, making it the ninth US state to allow sports betting.
As the state’s chosen lottery entity, Greek betting giant Intralot, will run the state’s sports betting operation for the next seven years. It will also oversee mobile sports betting in Montana.
Governor Bullock said: “Sports betting is new to our state. As many legislators and stakeholders have observed, unfortunately, a new market like this cannot support sports wagering under both systems at once.For the market to succeed, Montana needs to enter the sports wagering market conservatively-adopting only one of the two models now. If, in two years, the market can tolerate more entrants, then I fully expect the legislature will revisit whether a second model is prudent for our state.”
Two bills were being considered. The other SB 330 would have legalised land-based, online and mobile sports betting across the state. This Senate bill would have allowed several commercial operators to offer land-based sports betting in Montana.
Governor Bullock said he had spent a great deal of time considering the pros and cons of both systems.
He said: “Ultimately, however, the Lottery model makes more sense for Montana. Under the Lottery model in HB 725, the state will have the ability to control, monitor, and protect sports wagering products and players through security and integrity protocols, policies around responsible gaming, and policies to ensure that sports wagering is competitive, transparent, and reliable.
“Like the private model, the Lottery model protects the taxpayer from risk. But the Lottery model builds on existing infrastructure and is projected to return significantly more revenue to taxpayers. By contrast, the private model could risk favoring market entrants with the most resources to advertise and promote their products. In that environment, competition between well-heeled, international purveyors of gambling could lead to a fragmented market with competing sportsbooks spending most of their profits on acquiring players, leaving little margin for return to the taxpayer.”
Neil Peterson, Executive Director of the Gaming Industry Association of Montana, said: “We’re hopeful that the Legislature will take another look at the private model. We think that’s where sports betting ought to be positioned, not as a government-run operation.”
The Senate Bill SB 330 would have taxed sports betting operators at 8.5 per cent of revenue. The level of tax that Intralot will pay has not yet been made public.
