Vermont has Ben and Jerry’s, Senator Bernie Sanders and picturesque autumns. What they don’t have are casinos, race tracks, iGaming and sports betting. But thanks to a report by the state’s Sports Betting Study Committee, the last item stands a chance of becoming law.
Lawmakers approved legislation establishing a committee to examine the pros and cons and what to do in the case of a positive outlook. Now that the study is all but completed, the consensus is to recommend lawmakers approve mobile wagering, according to Covers.
Committee members just have to approve the final draft and ship the report off to legislators. Should the lawmakers decide to follow the recommendation, they would authorize sports betting.
“As a first step, the committee determined that the state’s interests would be best served by legalizing sports wagering,” the draft report concludes. “The committee determined that a legal and regulated market would align with the committee’s institutional priorities.”
Vermont is one of only 14 U.S. states that has not approved sports betting, and the only one in New England.
If the decision is to move ahead, the question becomes how. The committee said the state should authorize the Department of Liquor and Lottery to select operators, which the committee suggests should have a minimum of two and a maximum of six.
“The department may authorize a single agent to conduct a sportsbook if there are not a sufficient number of qualified applicants,” the draft added.
Liquor and Lottery would act as the regulator of sports betting in the state, the report said. While the focus at the outset would rest on mobile operations, brick-and-mortar could follow.
The committee did not recommend a tax rate but left it to lawmakers.
The committee did call for responsible gaming measures such as blocking use of credit cards to place wagers. They suggested comparing Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York for ideas.
