Daniel Borjas | SportsBettingInIndiana.com

Legalized Sports Betting Nearly At Finish Line In Indiana

Daniel Borjas — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 17:35:56 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS – Legal sports wagering is nearly a reality in Indiana as the State Senate passed a sports betting bill on Tuesday.

Indiana’s Senate voted on IN SB 552 on Tuesday and it passed with a 38-11 vote. Thanks to that, the bill is now being moved to the House where they will soon cast their vote on the bill. The main two sponsors of the bill are senators Mark Messmer and Jon Ford.

“Senate Bill 552 is a once in a generation opportunity to reset the casino industry in Indiana,” Messmer said.

Unrestricted Mobile Sports Betting

The bill carefully lays out what will and will not be allowed in regards to sports betting in Indiana. One of the main points that the bill says is that mobile sports betting will be included when this bill passes. The legislation states that people who wish to use their mobile device to bet on sports can either go to a facility to register in-person, or they just use their smartphone to register their account without having to go anywhere.

This is important it will have a huge effect on how much revenue the state will receive from sports wagering. New Jersey is one of the few states that currently have mobile wagering. It is also one of the few states that allow you to use your mobile device to place your bets without having to be in a gaming facility.

Thanks to mobile wagering, handle that New Jersey has received on sports bets is much higher compared to other states. A report from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement showed that 80 percent of the taxable money received from sports betting came from mobile wagering. This is good news for Indiana because the bill is planning to take the same path that New Jersey took for mobile wagering.

Esports Are Off The Books

IN SB 552 also has some rules in place on what you can and cannot bet on. The bill does not allow for bettors to wager on amateur games or eSports. Lawmakers also reserve the right to restrict other kinds of bets. An example of this is the state can ban bookmakers from having odds on Major League Baseball Spring Training games. There are also no integrity fees for sports leagues.

Now that the bill has passed, it will move on to the House to be voted on. There could be some trouble because House Speaker Brian Bosma has said that he sees the measure as an expansion of gambling. It could be possible that he could stop the bill from receiving a vote or the legislation will have to go to a statewide ballot. If neither happens, sportsbooks will soon open in Indiana.

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Mobile Betting Back In Indiana Sports Betting Bill

Daniel Borjas — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 17:21:35 +0000

Mobile sports wagering back in IN SB 552.
The finer details of the bill seem to have been worked out.
Sportsbooks expected to open before football season.

INDIANAPOLIS – Mobile sports betting was put back into a sports betting bill on Monday in Indiana.

The State House came together on Monday to propose one last round of amendments to IN SB 552. This allowed for mobile sports betting to have another chance in Indiana.

The Life Of Mobile Wagering

IN SB 552 originally started with mobile sports betting. The original bill went through the Senate without too many issues, and it passed with mobile sports betting intact. Once the bill moved toward the House, issues began to arise.

House Public Policy Committee Chairman Ben Smaltz almost killed the bill in its entirety. One of the main reasons is that he questioned the size of the black market for sports betting. Another is that he believed that someone who didn’t register for a sports betting account could end up using their friend's account, leading to underage gambling. The Committee ultimately amended the bill and removed mobile sports betting.

That has now changed thanks to new amendments. A conference was held between the chambers of Congress and mobile sports betting is back in the bill. If the bill were to pass as it is right now, mobile sports betting would be allowed to occur statewide in Indiana.

Other Sports Betting Details Hammered Out

Mobile sports betting isn’t the only detail that got finalized. The sports betting bill has also determined that there will be a 9.5 percent tax on sports betting revenue. Some of that money generated from sports betting will go into gambling addiction programs.

Not everything is going to be determined by the bill. Some rules and regulations will be decided by the Indiana Gaming Commission. In-play sports betting is also coming to Indiana as well. The details about how in-play betting will work will be determined by the Gaming Commission. But, IN SB 552 does seem like it will require for them to use official league data.

One Extra Hurdle To Clear

Indiana has a certain rule when it comes to changing state revenue. Since state revenue will be affected by sports betting, the House must approve of some provisions on their own. The House must pass IN HB 1015 which is a vehicle bill for these provisions.

Lawmakers are not expecting this to take very long though. The legislative session ends next week, but lawmakers are expecting to adjourn this Wednesday. These bills are expected to pass before lawmakers go to recess for this legislative session. Sportsbooks are expected to open before football season this year with sports betting in Indiana.

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Mobile Wagering Removed From Indiana Sports Betting Bill

Daniel Borjas — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 17:31:03 +0000

IN SB 552 is heading to a House committee on Tuesday.
No plans to re-introduce mobile wagering to the bill during the meeting.
Senator Jon Ford wants mobile wagering will be back in before bill passes the House.

INDIANAPOLIS – Mobile wagering is still out of a sports betting bill heading to the House Ways and Means committee on Tuesday.

As IN SB 552 heads to the House committee on Tuesday, there are no plans to bringing back mobile wagering during the committee meeting.

Mobile Fight In Indiana

The original iteration of IN SB 552 had provisions that would allow people in Indiana to use their mobile device to place their bets. Senator Jon Ford who authored the bill said that having mobile wagering is necessary because it will help bring people out of black market sports betting.

But that part of the bill was removed by Public Policy Chairman Ben Smaltz. He said that he doesn’t see how having mobile sports betting would help reduce black market sports betting. Smaltz said that is especially true because he doesn’t believe that the black market is that big.

A report from the Indiana Gaming Commission said that between $50 billion and $60 billion is wagered through “illegal” channels. Ford said this report is proof enough that there is a large black market in Indiana for sports betting.

Ford believes that there is still a chance for mobile wagering to make a comeback. He thinks that there are plenty of representatives in the House that see the necessity of having mobile sports betting in Indiana.

Other Changes

Mobile sports betting was not the only change that IN SB 552 has been through. The original bill said that live betting odds were going to be dictated by official league data. That part of the bill has also been removed. Ford doesn’t expect that part to make it back in the bill.

One of the things that are going to be added to the bill is what the tax rate will be for Indiana sports betting. This will be an important step because if it’s too high, people might go to other channels for sports wagering. This will be decided on Tuesday in the Ways and Means Committee.

Ford is still feeling positive about sports betting in Indiana. He fully believes that sports betting will be legalized in Indiana despite the disagreements with mobile betting. There isn’t a lot of time left to pass the bill. The legislative session is expected to end April 25 in Indiana, leaving less than a month to pass the sports betting bill.

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Indiana Sports Betting Bill Moves Forward

Daniel Borjas — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 17:36:22 +0000

Indianapolis, IN - Though there are still additional hurdles to clear, sports betting in Indiana is one step closer to becoming a reality with the advancement of a new sports betting bill.

On Wednesday, the Indiana Senate Public Policy Committee voted unanimously to pass IN SB 552. IN SB 552 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that will not only allow wagering on sports to become legal in the state but can also potentially change existing gambling options in Indiana.

What’s Inside IN SB 552

Right now, there are two casinos in the town of Gary. Part of what IN SB 552 would do is it would move one of the casinos to Terre Haute and move the other one to Gary’s lakefront.

The bill also would remove the limit of two casino licenses per owner, which would allow for more casinos to set up shop in the state. Being that the proposed legislation aims to allow sportsbooks to be opened all across the state, that means there is potential for many different land-based sports gambling operations to be opened in the state.

SB 552 would also allow for Indiana’s many riverboat casinos to move their operations on land. This new piece of legislation could potentially have a big impact on the state, particularly in northern Indiana.

The Potential Impact Of SB 552

If multiple casinos are opened throughout Indiana and they are taxed by the government, revenue is expected to dramatically increase for the state. The goal that lawmakers are aiming for with this bill is that sports wagering would drive tourism to the state of Indiana rather than surrounding states such as Illinois. So instead of losing potential tourists to Chicago, which is only 40 minutes away from Gary, the new casinos would keep the profits in-state.

The bill still has a long way to go before it becomes law now that it has passed the subcommittee.

First, it has to pass the Senate Appropriations committee before it goes to the full Senate. After that, it needs to pass there and then it must also pass in the House before the governor can sign it into law.

But momentum is on the side of the bill, so it’s feasible that sports betting in Indiana could come later this year or early next.

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