Episode 42: Bills bills bills as US legislative season gets under way
You want sports betting bills? You want some icasino bills? We’ve got them and more and there’s even an opportunity to stop over in New York for a look at the (down)state of the casino process and touch on tax hikes in Ohio (again) in the latest episode of the World Series of Politics.
Which states have sports betting bills in play?
It was an early mover in sports betting, but since 2018 Mississippi sports betting is only allowed in the state’s casinos. With a mobile betting bill sailing through the Magnolia State’s house, could 2025 finally be the year betting comes to citizens’ smartphones?
Meanwhile in Minnesota a legislative standoff seems to have resolved. Does this mean lawmakers can turn their attention to getting Minnesota sports betting out of the starting gates?
Oh no Ohio
Ohio was an early mover, but not the good kind, doubling its sports betting tax rate. Now for the second budget cycle in a row there’s a tax increase in the offing, as part of a wider hike for all ‘sin industries’. The golden goose is going to stop laying if this squeeze continues.
Where is US icasino looking likely?
Beyond sports betting, icasino bills are being shuffled across the US, including (another) push in New York. But with delays to the downstate casino process, unresolved agreements with the Seneca tribe AND an icasino pitch, will this create a legislative logjam?
Meanwhile Maryland online casino is in play, as the state faces a $2.3 billion budget deficit. It went to the wire without passing icasino last year, so the need for new revenue could push things forward in 2025… cannibalisation questions notwithstanding.
But on the flip side, the Indiana igaming debate is focused on whether the state actually needs to legalise. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen but it may not have the sort of urgency that could drive progress in Maryland.
We’ve got all this and more in another episode of the World Series of Politics, with your hosts Brandt Iden and Brendan Bussmann!