Idaho, whose voters just declined to approve of the use of historical racing machines at its casinos, is probably even less likely to see a movement in the legislature to legalize sports betting—despite the intense activity in many states to do that since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban in May.
For one thing, says Idaho Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane, it would probably require amending the state constitution.
He told the Idaho Press: “To me, it’s so uphill that I haven’t even heard a whisper of a proponent,” adding “The Constitution is very clear.”
The Constitution allows a state lottery, charitable raffles and pari-mutuel gaming—and nothing else. Tribal casinos are allowed, but the games they offer are limited.
Existing law also prevents betting through services such as FanDuel and DraftKings, said Kane. The state forced an agreement with both companies that required them to purge their accounts of any Idaho addresses. The AG at the time, Lawrence Wasden, wrote in May 2016: “The concern I have is that the paid daily sports offerings provided by these companies constitute gambling under Idaho law. I have a duty to enforce and uphold that law. I commend the companies for negotiating in good faith and agreeing not to make these contests available in Idaho.”
Kane told the Press: “You’re actually seeing the states that are doing it, I don’t want to say they were predisposed to gambling, but they had a much more favorable regulatory regime to amend.”
Less than a month ago the voters failed to approve Proposition 1. Since the state is surrounded by states that allow sports betting and other gaming, some consider it likely that residents who do like to play these games find plenty of outlets.
