Sports Betting and Online Casino Legislation Update: March 15
The Closing Line will aggregate efforts to legalize sports betting and online casino (and other gambling bills) in this space on Fridays, as long as the legislative season is still active.
Maryland
An online casino bill was amended and advanced to the House floor. Time is short for the bill to get to the Senate, with a vote possibly happening this weekend, if it happens at all. The House is also outlining a state budget that includes revenue from online casinos.
Georgia
A bill to legalize sports betting was discussed in committee this week, but the chances of the bill becoming law this session continue to dwindle. There is still some chance that the legalization of daily fantasy sports will be added to the legislation.
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Missouri
A poll shows voter support of legal sports betting as efforts to get a measure on the November ballot continue.
Alabama
Efforts to legalize sports betting in Alabama appear to be dead after language was removed from a larger gambling expansion package earlier this month.
Minnesota
A sports betting bill advanced, but the chairman of the committee in which the legislation sits is opposed to it. Op-ed from that lawmaker here. The bill was amended earlier to prohibit in-game wagering.
Other gambling law updates
North Carolina launched online sports betting without a hitch this week. The biggest operators by downloads in the early days are FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM.
A Pennsylvania lawmaker introduced a bill that would prohibit the use of credit cards to fund online gambling accounts. PA has both online sports betting and casinos.
A legislative committee in Colorado will determine if fantasy parlays vs. the house are legal fantasy contests next week.
A bill that aims to curtail harassment of athletes by bettors in West Virginia is now on the desk of the governor.
An effort to legalize online casino in New York is not gaining traction for this year.
Rhode Island online casino launched.
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