Two Sports Betting Bills Progress to Montana Governor

Authorities of the state of Montana have given a nudge forward to two out of three proposed sports wagering legislations that have been sent to Governor, Steve Bullock, for his approval and eventual signature that should turn one of them into law.

Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2019 (House Bill 725) was cleared by the house. Montana Sports Betting Act (Senate Bill 330) was ed by Senate with a 33-17 vote in favor.

A Choice to be Made

Montana’s current legislative session ends on April 30th which will give Governor, Bullock, enough time to decide on one of these bills…

…although, alternatively, he can sign both of them into law. It is imperative that he does that before the deadline on the 30th because the state would miss out on legal sports betting for another whole year!

Bills were met with general approval, although some changes and minor amendments were made on both of them while ing through the Senate. However, the most vital languages and the very core of both bills remained unaltered.

HB457’s Unlikely Journey

At the beginning of April, three bills that looked to regulate sports betting were going through the legislature process in Montana…

…with HB475 being the one that fell out of favor in the process and was the only one not deemed satisfactory by the Senate. HB 725 was referred back to the House, having been found favorable by Senate who voted 34-14 for it.

According to this particular bill, the Montana Lottery would be the sole provider of online, mobile and land-based sports betting.

Another body would be instated under its : a state lottery and wagering commission that would regulate the entire market. Sports wagering can be offered only by licensed operators.

The bill still misses some crucial details such as the cost of a license or at what rate sports wagering would be taxed, so it is a tad surprising that it managed to get this far.

SB330 is Way More Specific

SB330 already went through some alterations and was amended before being returned by the House. This particular suggestion for sports betting legalization offers a more open market with multiple operators and a proposal for licensed operators to offer interactive sports betting platforms through a site or a mobile device.

Also, it details in depth things like how much willing operators need to pay for license fees and taxes. The latter, 8.5% tax on gross sports betting revenue, would be paid on a quarterly basis. A yearly fee of $100 for each kiosk in a gambling property would also need to be paid.

As far as licensing goes…

…securing a permit costs $1,000 as does annual renewal fee. The license will expire on June 30th of each year. Also according to this legislation, licensees are allowed to cooperate with a third party company to run a sports betting platform which can be conducted via associated gambling business license that allows leasing of sports betting equipment.

Source:

“Montana sports betting bill heads to Governor”, igamingbusiness.com, April 24, 2019.