Several Indiana lawmakers recently said they will file bills for the 2019 session to authorize sports betting. But before that they’ll have to come to agreement regarding where the wagering will occur, how to tax and allocate sports betting revenue, whether betting via mobile device will be allowed and what sports will be included.
The legislature’s Public Policy Committee chairs shared their opinions on sports betting. State Rep. Ben Smaltz said, “We’re in the stage of figuring out the right questions to ask. I want to hear what makes it right for Hoosiers or wrong for Hoosiers.”
State Senator Ron Alting stated, “We’re taking something that people are doing illegally today and we are capitalizing on it by making it legal and regulating it. We are getting it out of back rooms and bookies and making it open and transparent.”
Smaltz acknowledged he’s against expanding gambling. However, he said, “I don’t know if it’s an expansion until I find out to what extent it’s already going on.”
Lawmakers will review where sports betting should be offered: lotteries, casinos, horse racetracks or commercial sports books. Casino Association of Indiana President and Chief Executive Officer Matt Bell added, “The legislature is obviously interested in this topic but there is a lot to learn and a lot to think about.”
He said without mobile wagering, illegal sports betting would continue to thrive. He added, optimistically sports betting could begin in Indiana in time for the 2019 NFL season.
Alting said it would be best to use the existing casino licensing structure through the Indiana Gaming Commission, rather than numerous stand-alone betting parlors. “Why reinvent the wheel if you already have one?” he said.
But Smaltz said letting people bet throughout the state would be a large expansion. He said kiosks and mobile devices seem “far out there for me.” Allowing sports betting in an existing casino would be much less of an expansion, he stated. “It’s layer upon layer of questions. It’s kind of new territory,” he said.
Bell said casinos only have a 2 percent – 4 percent profit margin on sports betting. They make money when people order drinks, eat dinner, play slots or see a show.
Betting only could occur in casinos under state Senator Jon Ford’s proposed legislation, which Alting and Smaltz chose not to hear while the U.S. Supreme Court considered the sports betting case. Ford’s bill defined sports betting as “conducted on athletic and sporting events involving human competitors.” Horseracing was not included.
Ford’s measure also required an initial licensing fee of the greater of 1 percent of adjusted gross receipts from gambling at the casino or $500,000. A fiscal analysis showed that would generate about $22 million. Also, the legislation imposed a wagering tax of 9.25 percent on the adjusted gross receipts received from sports wagering, which would generate $3.1 million – $18.8 million annually. Bell said it’s important to keep the wagering tax below 10 percent, including the 0.25 percent of total bets to the federal government, to make sports betting financially feasible for casinos. Nevada taxes sports betting revenue at 6.75 percent.
Two other issues also have to be considered. One is that the National College Athletic Association is headquartered in Indianapolis. The organization has taken a strong stand against betting on college games. “They will have a very important role in the discussion,” Alting said. Smaltz added he was surprised to discover people bet on high school sports via online sites outside the United States.
offer it for some football games.
Another issue is the 1 percent “integrity fee” promoted by Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. They claim the money is needed to safeguard against game-fixing. “Right now in the euphoria everyone has their hand out,” Bell said.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb has not commented on sports betting, except to say it is not a priority for him.
