Chapter 30: Minnesota, Washington D.C., Delaware, and Illinois – Rules and Regulations – iGB
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Chapter 30: Minnesota, Washington D.C., Delaware, and Illinois
The major political game is back after some technical issues, and we have a lot to catch up on.
We’ll begin with Minnesota. The state had high ambitions of legalizing sports wagering before the legislative session concluded, but ultimately it didn’t even consider sports wagering. Minnesota was one of four states that interested parties thought might pass sports betting legislation, the other three being Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri. But none of them passed.
Bussmann pointed out that numerous factors contributed to Minnesota’s last-minute failure, one of which was the arrest of state senator Nicole Mitchell for burglary.
“In the end, one of the things that happened was, you know, there were a lot of people, some of them Democrats, who just didn’t want to come to an agreement at the end,” he said. Even though they had reached an agreement, a bipartisan and bicameral compromise in the legislature, it didn’t move forward because it didn’t appear on the agenda.
“We were procedurally messed up this year.”
The Washington D.C. market is getting hotter
We’ll quickly move on to Washington D.C., which has started its budget process.
Mr. Iden provided us with an update on a legislative proposal put forward by Councilmember Kenyan R McDuffie. This proposal would permit a mobile market in the region.
Iden clarified that the wording drafted by McDuffie, advocating for a free, competitive sports betting market in the area, has been incorporated into the budget. “This procedure will take place over the next three weeks or so, during which the City Council will discuss the entire budget proposal.
“By that time, the budget proposal will ultimately be approved, which will include certain wording.”
Subsequently, the budget proposal will be presented to Congress and authorized within 30 days. It remains uncertain whether the wording will remain in the budget or if it will be removed and become a separate legislative measure.
Iden also mentioned that commissioners and council members opposed the model suggested by Intralot, which chose FanDuel as its new subcontractor in March following GamBetDC’s unsatisfactory performance.
“This lottery operating agreement, which was procured solely by the District, has let down the area,” he continued. “Simply replacing Intralot’s past shortcomings with a new operator is not the answer.”
Finally, Delaware and Illinois
Third is Delaware, which is facing a similar situation.
Similar to the nation’s capital, Delaware has a singular entity managing its lottery, and this entity is seeking a competitive marketplace. However, Delaware also permits online wagering, unlike Washington, D.C.
Bussmann highlighted that Delaware’s framework has always been disjointed. Nevertheless, House Bill 365 intends to rectify this matter.
In the end, an open and competitive marketplace will effectively challenge the illicit market.
Speaking of the illicit market, we finally arrive at Illinois, the state that has everyone on edge. Last week, the state legislature passed a contentious bill that would increase tax rates. The new rates would place some operators at 40%, significantly higher than the initial 15%.
“We shouldn’t imitate poor tax policy,” Bussmann implored. “As we discussed earlier, this is a challenge I observed in my Maryland report, where they added more detrimental tax policy, and the consequences of those policies.
“Let’s examine the financial aspects of the market, let’s analyze the financial aspects of the operators.”
But we’re not finished yet. Iden commended his home state of Michigan and the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) for the expulsion of Curacao-based gambling company Bovada. The MGCB asserted that Harp Media BV (which operates Bovada) allowed Bovada.com and Bovada.lv to be accessible to Michigan residents. Despite Harp Media BV lacking the necessary licenses.
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