The Indiana Gaming Commission recently signed a 2-year, $150,000 contract with marketing analysis firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming LLC to conduct a study of sports betting options for the state. IGC officials said work already has begun on “an aggressive timeline” regarding the study. IGC Executive Director Sara Gonso Tait said, “We’re regulators and we view our role as being able to provide education. We wanted to produce a neutral report that could aid decision-makers. We want decision-makers to have independent information to base things on,” Tait said.
According to the contract, Eilers & Krejcik will “consult and assist the state in regards to various issues and matters related to sports wagering, including, but not limited to, market analysis, demographic analysis, fiscal analysis, costs, revenue forecast, revenue impacts and policy considerations.”
In the most recent legislative session, state Senator Jon Ford and state Rep. Alan Morrison introduced bills to legalize sports betting, if the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal ban. Neither bill passed, but legislators approved a summer study committee, which has not as yet met.
Ford and Morrison said they will introduce sports betting legislation again in 2019, even if it’s prior to the completion of the Eilers & Krejcik report. “Knowledge is power, and it’s good to identify as much data ahead of time as we can. But we’re moving forward this session,” Morrison said.
Morrison and Ford said a “gray market” exists in which gamblers may be participating in sports wagering illegally. “People are currently betting on sports locally. We don’t know what is possible until we introduce sports wagering,” Ford said.
Morrison’s measure, House Bill 1325, projected sports betting could generate $3.1-$18.8 million annually, with a 9.25 percent tax on revenue. However, Jennifer Roberts, associate director of the University of Nevada’s International Center for Gaming Regulation, who said Indiana lawmakers have contacted the center, said financial results of sports betting can’t be guaranteed for a state. “You have to really understand the business operates at a low margin. It will certainly add some benefits, but it’s not going to suddenly repair all of your roads.”
Roberts added Ford’s and Morrison’s inclusion of mobile platforms in addition to on-site betting could help minimize illegal sports wagering. She explained mobile platforms would require bettors to register on licensed apps, which generally have vetting requirements and geofencing technology that ensures players are within state lines.
