Voters in Nebraska, South Dakota, Louisiana, Maryland and Colorado will determine the outcome of gambling-related initiatives on the November 3 ballot. South Dakota, Louisiana and Maryland voters will decide if they want to legalize sports betting. Voters in Colorado will weigh in on increasing the current maximum sports betting limits. And in Nebraska, voters will decide three initiatives that would legalize casino gambling.
Amendment B, the sports betting bill in South Dakota, would amend the state constitution to allow the legislature to include betting on sporting events as a legal form of gambling in Deadwood. Mike Rodman, executive director of the Deadwood Gaming Association, said, “Deadwood wants to make sure that we’re able to compete nationally as a gaming destination. We know that people love their sporting events and that wagering is going on here in South Dakota, just illegally, and we want to give people that opportunity to wager in a legal, safe, regulated environment.”
In Louisiana, for the second time in two years, voters in all 64 parishes will decide whether to authorize sports betting. In 2018, voters in 47 of 64 parishes voted to legalize online sports fantasy games for cash prizes. Observers said the voting results probably will be about the same as the geographic breakdown from two years ago. State Senator Cameron Henry, sponsor of the 2020 legislation that led to the ballot measure, said, “This is a revenue-generator. Everybody is struggling with the sales tax,” referring to the steep drop in government revenue due to Covid-19. “This would obviously be an addition to anything they would normally receive.”
The group Louisiana Wins is promoting the issue. The group’s Director Richard Carbo said, “We’re losing out on more than $330 million in taxable revenue while states next door like Arkansas and Mississippi use sports wagering revenues for education and infrastructure. That revenue could be used to fund roads and bridges or help fill gaps in education funding here in Louisiana. Supporting this proposal keeps our tax dollars here in Louisiana to fund our priorities. The legislature overwhelmingly approved this plan, and now the voters can have their say.”
Sports betting would not be available in parishes that pass the measure until 2022 or beyond, because the legislature would have to draft rules, including whether wagering would be limited to casinos, as in Mississippi, or if it would be offered online. Henry said, “If we focus strictly on a bricks-and-mortar system that will not be as beneficial to the state as if we move to more of an online model.”
In Maryland, voter response to Question 2 on the November 3 ballot will determine if sports betting should be legalized in the state. Voters approved a referendum legalizing slot machines in 2008 and another for table games in 2012. As a result, hopes are high for Question 2 passing.
At FanDuel, which spent $500,000 promoting Question 2, Vice President for Government Affairs Cory Fox said Maryland has the population with the “disposable income that folks like to spend on sports entertainment products.” He noted a recent FanDuel poll indicated Maryland voters supported sports betting in the range of 55 percent to 60 percent.
Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan has endorsed the measure as well as prominent Democrats. State Senator Craig Zucker said, “We’re looking to ensure that your casinos, your racetracks have the opportunity to have sportsbooks at the facilities.” He added those venues also should be allowed to take bets through a mobile app. “We want to make sure that there’s competition and ultimately that raises revenue for the state of Maryland. We expect the minimum revenue from sports betting to be about $20 million a year, but it could be upward of $40 million,” he said.
Baltimore City Del. Nick Mosby, expected to be elected the new chairman of the Baltimore City Council next month, noted sports betting operations also could operate as independent retailers, even if they’re located inside a casino or racetrack. “The actual box, the big box, doesn’t own these separate entities inside of it. It could be partnerships. It could be sole-proprietor ownerships, but it doesn’t necessarily have to go to the owner of the big box.”
However, gaming industry consultant Sara Slane said the casinos “are your partners in your state. They’ve made substantial investments in the state of Maryland. MGM invested over a billion dollars into Prince George’s County. They’re good partners and they should be rewarded for that. They need to continue to compete with neighboring states that have the same offerings.”
Slane cautioned state regulators will have to “put together the most compelling package possible for you to drive the most dollars back to the state. And that’s not going to come through a high tax rate or through a monopoly, and it’s not going to come through a slow regulatory process either.”
Prince George’s County Del. Darryl Barnes, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, said, “Sports betting is a big part of creating opportunities here in the state of Maryland. Here’s another multibillion dollar opportunity in which the Black caucus has taken the lead to have conversations centered around equity and inclusion, meaning that there needs to be some form of ownership for minorities, i.e. Black people. That is the number one fight that the caucus is having,” Barnes said.
Furthermore, he stated, “There would be a competitive bidding process, similar to the lessons we’ve learned from medical cannabis, ensuring that there is a score system that would give points for disadvantaged businesses in certain areas and so on and so forth. I think if we look at it from that model, and then looking at it from a minority business enterprise standpoint in the state of Maryland, I think it then opens it up where folks have opportunity.”
Colorado legalized sports betting last year and launched it this spring. However, under state law, gamblers cannot place a bet larger than $100, no matter what game or event they’re betting on. The ballot proposal would lift the limit and allow larger bets at Colorado’s 33 casinos.
In Nebraska, ballot initiatives 429, 430 and 431 would expand gambling to allow casinos at horse racetracks. Mike Newlin, general manager at Horsemen’s Park in Omaha, stated if voters approve racinos, the state’s horseracing industry could begin generating revenue. “The problem with horseracing right now in Nebraska is there’s not enough money to really make it worthwhile for people to bring horses to Nebraska or raise horses in Nebraska because the purse money is so low, the reward for winning the race isn’t very much and that’s why we have a limited number of days,” Newlin explained.
He estimated Horsemen’s Park and Lincoln Race Course could become racinos by spring 2022 and run a combined 100-day racing season, with up to 60 race days and 40 days in Omaha–four times the number of races currently run there. “It’s going to take us a while to get everything completed and get slot machines and the gaming regulations in before we could actually open the casino,” Newlin said.
In Virginia, voters in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk, and Portsmouth will weigh in on separate local referendums that could result in the building of casinos in each town. Legislation was passed last year that permit four casinos in economically disadvantaged areas. Casino companies have made deals in each of the cities: Danville with Caesars Entertainment; Portsmouth with Rush Street Gaming, operator of the Rivers casinos; Bristol with Hard Rock International; and Norfolk with the Pamunkey tribe in partnership with billionaire John Yarbrough, the founder of slot maker VGT.
Voters in San Jose, California, will cast ballots Tuesday on Measure M, which would increase the number of card tables allowed in the Northern California city from 98 to 128.
It would also increase the tax percentage paid by the Bay 101 Casino and Casino M8trix to 16.5 percent from 15 percent. It is estimated this will bring $15 million annually to the city.
The measure came about from a settlement of a legal battle between the casinos and the city. The city council put it on the ballot in August.
The lone vote against doing that was Mayor Sam Liccardo, an opponent of gaming, who calls the measure “a sellout to the card room industry.” He supports increasing the casinos taxes but opposes allowing them to expand.
Councilmember Johnny Khamis, who voted to put the measure on the ballot, counters “We’re not talking about a huge expansion of gambling. We’re (not) adding an entire establishment.”
It has been more than ten years since card rooms in the city were allowed to add the number of tables.
Robert Lindo, vice president at Casino M8trix, told the San Jose Spotlight, “Gambling is a legal business in California and maintaining these highly regulated businesses is crucial for the safety and well-being of the citizens of San Jose.”
