At one time there were three bills to legalize sports betting in Montana, one under the aegis of the lottery, two bills as a pari-mutuel activity with private providers. Both were passed by the legislature. Ultimately Governor Steve Bullock signed only one: An Act Generally Revising Lottery Laws to Authorize Sports Wagering, which puts the lottery in charge.
The lottery could be operating sports betting on professional and collegiate sports at kiosks throughout the state by the end of the year, although sports book aficionados hope it will be earlier than that to take advantage of the NFL season’s start in September. Athletes, coaches, team staff, team owners and referees will be banned from making sports bets.
Montana becomes the ninth state to legalize sports book, and the first in 2019.
Senator Mark Blasdel, whose SB 330 would have allowed multiple commercial licenses in bars and taverns, still thinks the state would benefit from having that kind of choice in addition to the lottery option.
Governor Bullock disagreed. He vetoed Blasdel’s bill while signing HB 725, which legalizes sports book with the lottery in charge and its current lottery supplier, Athens-based Intralot, acting as bookmaker. A limited form of mobile betting is allowed for customers who are near the kiosks where the lottery is offered.
In the governor’s veto letter he said the market couldn’t support two sports book models: “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.”
Bullock added, “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.”
Neil Peterson, executive director of the Gaming Industry Association, told the Associated Press he hoped lawmakers would revisit the private model in two years. The legislature meets every other year.
“We think that’s where sports betting ought to be positioned, not as a government-run operation,” said Peterson.
Proponents estimate that the new law will raise up to $2 million for the general fund and up to $4 million for scholarships to benefit science and technology learning.
One of the reasons the governor gave for supporting the lottery over the private version of sports betting was that it would make more money for the state: “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.”
The bill’s sponsor Rep. Ryan Lynch, declared, “It’s a good day for Montana to be able to see sports betting in the marketplace. I think Montanans will enjoy the new aspect of watching sports for entertainment as well as betting on it.”
The Montana Tavern Association had lobbied for the bill, which benefits the bars and licensed restaurants where the kiosks are allowed. Executive Director John Iverson explained what the actual effects are likely to be: “Extra cheeseburgers; extra slices of pizza, a few more people filling seats. The actual revenue from the gaming isn’t going to be significant.”
The lottery estimates that during the first year about $65 million will be wagered, rising to $87 million by 2023.
