The Indiana House Public Policy Committee has amended a potential sports betting bill to remove language permitting mobile sports betting and a requirement for operators to use official data for in-play wagers, but some reports say the mobile betting aspect could return.
Legal Sports Report, citing unnamed sources, said some legislators will attempt to reinsert the language, but did not provide details on how that would be accomplished.
The state’s gambling expansion bill was passed by the State Senate in February and is now in house committees. The bill now moves to the House Ways and Means Committee
Representative Ben Smaltz, who chairs the policy committee, has said he is concerned mobile wagering would be an expansion of gambling into communities that might not want it:
“I think that the public has to make the decision on if they want wagering available throughout the four borders of the state of Indiana,” he told the website. “I think the answer to that in a lot of places is probably not.”
However, testimony before the committee focused mostly on industry officials warning that without mobile wagering, state residents would continue to bet online at unlicensed offshore sites.
The committee also heard arguments about the use of official data for in-play wagers. Though several league representatives—including officials for the Indianapolis 500—argued that using official league data was important for their sports and consistent results, the committee voted to remove the language requiring official data.
No state that has legal sports betting thus far has made using official data a requirement.
