sports betting legislation – FairOdds Network

March 18, 2025

Nebraska committee sends legal digital sports betting to full senate

A constitutional amendment that could decide the future of digital gaming in Nebraska is headed to the senate floor. The proposed referendum would go on the November 2026 ballot.

The legislative action makes Nebraska the best chance so far this year for any US state to add digital sports betting. Chances for legalisation in the state were under the radar until a senate committee late on Monday (17 March) voted, 6-2, to send the proposed constitutional amendment to the floor.

Nebraska has America’s only unicameral, or single-chamber, legislature. Now that the senate general affairs committee has passed the proposal, it must get a two-thirds majority on each of three votes on the senate floor to pass. LR 20CA is a constitutional amendment with no regulatory framework. It would go on the 2026 ballot, meaning if it passes at the polls, the earliest digital sports betting could launch in Nebraska would be 2027.

The proposal moved forward despite heavy opposition at a hearing on 10 March…

March 14, 2025

Hawaii digital sports betting bill passes first senate committee

Despite opposition from multiple government agencies and several groups of native Hawaiians, a senate committee in the state advanced a digital sports betting bill.

The Hawaii senate joint committee on economic development and tourism and commerce and consumer protection unanimously moved forward HB 1308 on Thursday (13 March). Of the nine votes, four were “with reservations”.

The bill would allow four digital sports betting platforms and no retail locations. It does not have a tax rate or fees in it. Both were removed by a house committee that wanted to keep the issue alive. The bill has been passed in the house and now by one senate committee.

The senate committee members questioned witnesses about how much money legal sports betting would bring into the state and about the potential for gambling addiction.

It was somewhat surprising that the bill got out of committee, as the number of opponents far outnumbered supporters. Opponents included several government agencies as well a..

March 12, 2025

Mississippi house makes digital sports betting a political football, punts issue back to senate

The Mississippi house amended two senate bills in order to include legal sports betting along with a sweepstakes ban. Those bills are now back in the senate.

When the bills left the senate, neither was about legalising digital sports betting. But both passed the full house on Tuesday (11 March) and bill sponsor Casey Eure says it’s time to negotiate.

One of the bills originally addressed tidelands. The other addressed fines for platforms operating illegally in the state. Language from a dead house digital wagering bill was put into the tidelands bill.

Retail betting has been legal in Mississippi’s casinos since 2018, but attempts since then to add the type of mobile betting available in other states have been rebuffed.

“It’s a possibility” that tidelands will not get addressed this year if the senate fails to take up mobile sports betting, Eure said, according to the Clarion-Ledger. “But the house’s position is on mobile sports betting. We’re concerned about tidelands, but at this..

March 10, 2025

Many more testify against Nebraska digital sports betting than for it

Nebraska lawmakers heard three-plus hours of testimony during their first legal digital betting hearing. There was no vote, but opponents dominated the session.

On Monday (10 March) the Nebraska legislature’s general affairs committee heard from representatives from all sides of the issue concerning four legal sports betting bills.

The only thing proponents and opponents agreed on is that online wagering is already happening on the black market in Nebraska. Proponents say that legalising will give law enforcement the tools to tamp down the illegal market. Opponents counter that legalising will only increase the number of people gambling in total.

Retail betting has been available to Nebraskans in certain locations since 2023 and some lawmakers have been trying unsuccessfully for several years to add digital betting to the menu. Most recently, the issue failed to receive floor consideration during a summer special session.

Monday’s first committee hearing was for LR20CA, a constit..

March 10, 2025

SAFE Bet Act to be reintroduced in congress

In congress another attempt to push through a federal wagering framework targeting aspects of the sports betting industry is coming.

US congressman Paul Tonko and US senator Richard Blumenthal announced they will hold a press conference in Washington DC on Tuesday (11 March) to “reintroduce” the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act). The pair initially introduced the federal framework for digital sports betting on 12 September. It is one of two federal sports betting proposals circulating on Capitol Hill.

Families affected by gambling addiction and representatives from the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law will also be at the press conference, according to a Monday press release. They will “discuss this legislation and its impact addressing sports betting with a public health approach”.

The proposal calls for a nationwide self-exclusion list and a surgeon general’s report about “public health challenges asso..

March 7, 2025

Georgia sports betting hopes die without general assembly floor vote

After a harried week of late nights, hopes for legal sports betting in Georgia died late on Thursday (6 March) night without action by the house.

To a round of applause, Georgia general assembly speaker Jon Burns called the session to an end about an hour before the 11.59pm local legislative deadline on crossover day. A package of sports betting bills – a constitutional amendment and a framework bill – weren’t among those called for a vote Thursday.

A senate committee previously deferred its package of wagering bills. Because the issue didn’t get sent from one chamber to the other, it is dead for the 2025 session.

Nearly seven years after the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned, making legal sports betting a states’ rights issue, 39 US states have legalised. Still more are considering it this year.

The Hawaii house passed a digital-only sports betting bill on 4 March. The same day, house lawmakers in Mississippi, where retail sports betting has been live ..

March 6, 2025

Connecticut bill would set a bet cap on online wagers

A bill sponsored by the Connecticut house general law committee could seek to place a maximum amount on wagers for online sports betting.

SB01464 was introduced and referred to the senate joint committee on general law on Thursday (6 March). While the primary goal of the bill is to empower Connecticut to join the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) for online poker, farther down is a clause that reads: “The maximum sports wagers established for online sports wagering in regulations adopted pursuant to section 12-865, as amended by this act.”

In the “Statement of Purpose” at the bottom of the bill, the last two points read:

(C) disclose the maximum sports wagers established for online sports wagering; and (3) require the Commissioner of Consumer Protection to adopt regulations establishing maximum sports wagers
for online sports wagering.

There is no mention in the bill of a potential maximum amount.

Connecticut handle trending up

Connecticut has three online sportsbooks..

March 5, 2025

Hawaii house sends legal digital sports betting bill to senate

Despite some reservations offered about legal sports betting, Hawaii's house sent a bill that would allow for digital platforms to the senate for consideration.

After HB 1308 moved through Hawaii house committees with some lawmakers voting yes “with reservations,” it passed the house on Tuesday (4 March) with 16 no votes. The vote beat the 6 March crossover deadline.

Ahead of the vote, legislators in opposition voiced concern about local dollars being diverted to out-of-state operators; the growth of gambling addiction; and harm to the purity of sports. They compared wagering to heroin and fentanyl with one lawmaker contending any revenue the state would get from legal sports betting would be “dirty” money.

A companion bill, SB 1569, was deferred by the senate consumer protection/ways and means committee on 26 February without discussion. It is unclear if that decision will set the tone in the senate for other wagering bills such as HB 1308.

Sponsor Daniel Holt has carried sp..

March 5, 2025

Amended digital-only sports betting legislation moves forward in Georgia

A Georgia house committee moved digital-only sports betting legislation forward on Wednesday (5 March) with an increased tax rate. The rules committee is next with the goal of getting to the house floor before Thursday's crossover deadline.

Legislation must be sent to the opposite chamber by the end of Thursday in order for it to be considered this session. According to the Georgia general assembly website, the rules committee will convene at 9am local time.

The package of bills – a constitutional amendment and a framework bill – both passed the higher education committee via voice vote. An amendment to bump the proposed tax rate in HB 686 to 24% from 20% also passed. The committee defeated an amendment to HR 450 that would have added igaming to the referendum that will go before voters.

The package of bills would legalise only digital sports betting. It would be on the November 2026 ballot and the go-live date would be 31 July 2027. Should the legislation pass, it would cre..

March 5, 2025

Georgia house committee hears some inaccuracies from wagering opponent

Forty-eight hours before the crossover deadline, a Georgia house committee heard testimony about sports betting. However, some of it was inaccurate.

On Tuesday (4 March) the Georgia higher education committee listened to testimony from six witnesses about sports betting as the issue begins its last-minute march through the chamber.

There was no vote on Tuesday, while Thursday is the crossover deadline. Committee chair Chuck Martin said that while Wednesday is a legislative workday, the committee will meet again in the afternoon. Sports betting could land on that agenda and, if not, it would move to the Thursday agenda. The committee – like others in Atlanta – is working extra hours ahead of the crossover deadline.

Should the committee advance the proposal, which would allow for statewide mobile sports betting, the full house would have to approve it to keep it alive. However, a senate committee has already rejected a legalisation measure.

HB 686 is part of a package of bills and..

March 3, 2025

Time short, but Georgia house now has sports betting bills to consider

A pair of Georgia house bills that would allow pro sports teams wagering licences dropped late last week. Time, however, is running short.

The Georgia general assembly’s crossover deadline for a bill to be sent to the opposite chamber is 6 March. HB 686, a framework for online sports betting, and HR 450, a constitutional amendment, were filed on 28 February. As of Monday, they had not been assigned to a committee.

Similar legislation was filed earlier in the session in the senate. Fox 5 Atlanta reported that the senate regulated industries and utilities committee did not advance the constitutional amendment on 27 February.

In the house, the package of bills would legalise only digital sports betting and send voters the decision on whether to do so by referendum. Should the legislation pass, it would create an open, competitive marketplace with the Georgia Lottery Corporation as the regulator. The lottery would also be able to have a digital betting platform.

One unusual line in ..

February 27, 2025

Hawaii senate committee defers digital betting bill as legalisation hopes fade

A Hawaii senate committee deferred a version of a digital sports betting bill that was sent to the house floor, leaving the issue all but dead.

Up until Wednesday (26 February) afternoon, Hawaii looked like the state with the best shot to legalise digital sports betting in 2025. But the senate commerce and consumer protection/ways and means committee opted instead to defer the bill.

Its companion, HB 1308, got through the house finance committee two days earlier. But without a taste for the issue in the senate, any further action by the house will likely be academic.

SB 1569 did not get any discussion on Wednesday. “After reviewing the testimony, the recommendation is to defer,” said Donovan M Dela Cruz, the chairman of the senate committee.

Written testimony revealed that multiple state government agencies oppose the measure, including the department of the prosecuting attorney; the department of business, economic development and tourism; and the attorney general. All cited co..

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Tag: sports betting legislation