Vermont could become the only state to offer mobile sportsbooks—only mobile sportsbooks—because it has no gaming at all other than the state lottery.
Two state senators have introduced a bill that would legalize sports betting. If the bill is adopted, mobile sports betting would go live by the middle of this year.
Senator Dick Sears, co-authors of S 213 with Senator Michael Sirotkin, explained to GGB News why the bill only provides for mobile sports betting.
“We don’t really have any racetracks or casinos or off-track betting like some states,” he said. “I think it’s the only way you could do it.”
He said the bill would call for the state’s Department of Liquor & Lottery to contract with a provider such as DraftKings or FanDuel.
The main reason he sponsored the bill, said Sears, is to bring an illegal activity into the light of day. “The amount of betting that goes along illegally or around the country or in Vermont is so high that it’s an opportunity to put some parameters around it and obviously avoid having people go to new Hampshire to place a bet,” said the senator. “It’s also to curb illegal betting.”
New Hampshire has been successful launching sports betting, with almost $3.5 million bet in the first week, according to Governor Chris Sununu.
The sports betting industry approached Sears about it. “But I’ve
been thinking about it for quite a while as I saw Massachusetts, Rhode Island and other new England states begin talking about it,” he said.
The tax rate would be determined later as the bill is taken up by Senator Michael Sirotkin, chairman of the Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs. The bill does call for a license fee of $10,000 for both operators and suppliers.
“I’m thinking 10 percent taxation rate,” said Sears, adding that a lot of details will be determined later. “We went through a lot of decision-making. I didn’t want to do college betting, but I was convinced by others that there is so much college betting done that it ought to be part of it.”
He sees the state getting taxes from sports betting, “but that’s not the huge factor. For me, the factor is to give Vermont some control over what goes on in its state.”
Still, there could be a fight. “Anything gambling is controversial in this legislature,” said Sears. “We hope that people will appreciate the reality of what’s happening in the real world.”
The bill makes no provision for the treatment of gambling addiction, and Brianne M. Doura-Schawohl, legislative director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), would like to do something about that.
Doura-Schawohl has read the draft bill, and told GGB News that she has concerns. “The council is neutral on legalized gambling. What we are going to say is if there is an approval, a consideration is made for problem and responsible gambling. Although we can’t get rid of it, there are many things that legislators and operators can do to mitigate risks and reduce the harm of gambling.
“We call on all legislators to incorporate into the bill a protected funding stream that is solely earmarked for problem gambling services, inclusive of research, prevention, intervention-treatment and recovery,” she said.
Doura-Schawohl spoke recently in San Diego at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS), where she declared that all those who profit from gaming bear the responsibility to fund problem gaming treatment.
“Anyone who benefits really needs to be at the table,” she told GGB News. “Anytime there is a new form of legalized gambling brought into a state, subsequently there will be an increase in problems. What can we do to be proactive? States like Vermont that have poor infrastructure for dealing with problem gambling. will be struggling more,” she said.
The entire bill has one mention of problem gambling, she said, a passage that reads, “the promotion of social responsibility, responsible gaming, and the display of information regarding how an individual may obtain assistance for a gambling problem.”
“There is no funding allocated,” she said.
According to the 2016 Survey of Problem Gambling Services in the United States, she noted, “An estimated 2.2 percent of Vermont adults are believed to manifest a gambling problem.” Vermont has a population of about 600,000. Currently, the lottery allocates $150,000 to problem gaming.
“If this bill passes, there isn’t any money allocated to fund a help line, make sure there are clinicians to help people, and there isn’t any money for recovery and to keep people safe,” said Doura-Schawohl. “It’s really a time in this nation for legislators to examine what they have neglected so long, and to be aggressive in terms of public welfare. They can create a fund that all these things feed into to go into these initiatives. Not one entity can do this alone. It’s going to take collaboration. It needs to be responsible, comprehensive and it has to be adopted to meet the needs of the state. If it’s too rigid, it won’t be effective.”
