New Governor J.B Pritzker has raised hopes of legal Illinois sports betting after including $200 million in future tax revenue from wagering activities in his 2020 budget proposal. Pritzker is proposing to legalize sports betting at facilities across the state, including in-person and online gambling. Those betting via the internet would be able to do so from inside Illinois or in a jurisdiction that has entered into a reciprocal agreement with the state. Pritzker has said Illinois could generate between $384m and $680m in gross sports betting revenue per year under full implementation. Based on the proposed 20% tax rate,…

Tribal casinos might be next on deck for regulated sports betting in Minnesota. On Wednesday, Rep. Pat Garofalo unveiled a new sports betting bill as part of a press conference in the capital. Garofalo has been the primary spark for related discussions in Saint Paul over the past year, an effort which has finally spawned a piece of proposed legislation. The bill has both a title: The Safe and Regulated Sports gambling Act of 2019. The bill for sports betting in Minnesota proposes language to define and legalize “sports pools” within state lines. It would create a new five-member Minnesota…

Casinos would run sports betting in Iowa if the new bills in the Iowa House and Senate were to legalize the practice. Bets  would be allowed on college and professional sports at the state’s 19 land based casinos, as well as online if Iowans visit a casino in person to register an account and provide age verification. The requirement to visit a casino in person would sunset after 18 months under a Senate bill. The bill, which passed a Senate subcommittee Tuesday, would also legalize fantasy sports for the first time in Iowa. A similar bill in the House is…

A lawmaker pushing the newest Kentucky sports betting bill says it is a good bet to pass this year, but it still faces long odds. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that states could legalize sports betting, and so far seven states have done it. Rep. Adam Koenig argues Kentucky should not be late to the game. He has sponsored House Bill 175 to legalize sports betting, online poker and fantasy sports. Koenig testified about the bill during a meeting of the House Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations, which he chairs. “You can bet on sports on this…

A government committee has approved a South Dakota sports betting bill by a narrow 5-4 margin. The bill, Senate Joint Resolution 2, goes next to the Senate floor and gaming operators in the state are anxiously watching to see how the legislative piece progresses. Even if it is approved by legislative officials, there is reportedly a huge roadblock ahead and it is positioned at the last stop any gambling legislation has to make before becoming law. Unfortunately for South Dakotans, they elected a governor, Kristi Noem who is opposed to any gambling expansion in the state. Her stance isn’t too…

State legislators are to hold hearings this week on a bill that could legalize Washington State sports betting after decades of it being banned. House Bill 1975, sponsored by Majority Caucus Chair Eric Pettigrew (D) and seven others, calls for professional and college sports wagering to be legalized within tribal gaming facilities. The bill, introduced last Friday, also calls for the legalization of online sports gaming within those same tribal facilities — which would represent a significant shift for the nation’s only state where any form of internet gambling is currently a Class C felony. At least one regulator predicts…