NEWS UPDATE: Indiana General Assembly Receives Recommendation to Legalize Sports Betting

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in Murphy v. NCAA, the Indiana Interim Study Committee on Public Policy voted unanimously last month to recommend the legalization of sports betting to the 2019 General Assembly.

The recommendation has already garnered initial support from the Indiana Gaming Commission, the Casino Association of Indiana, and the NBA.  And while the eventual legalization of sports betting in Indiana appears all but inevitable, questions remains as to what extent legislation should regulate such an industry.

Daniel Carden, the Statehouse Bureau Chief for the Times of Northwest Indiana, reports, “most members of the General Assembly’s Interim Study Committee on Public Policy appeared to favor allowing sports bets to be placed at casinos, at home, or anywhere in the state, using a secure mobile phone application.”[1]

As far as the bottom line for the state, a study conducted by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a California-based market research firm focusing on the gaming equipment and technology, and digital and interactive gaming sector within the casino gaming industry, found that “within five years, in-person and mobile sports bets in Indiana are likely to total $256 million a year, which translates to 2,281 direct and indirect new jobs and $38 million in annual new state tax revenue.”[2]

That said, the long-term economic benefits associated with legalization remains in dispute.  According to a 2016 report from the Rockefeller Institute, “while legalized sports gambling has often brought an initial revenue boost … in the long run, growth in state revenues from gambling activities slows or even reverses and declines.”

Nevertheless, while it appears sports betting in Indiana is on track to be legalized, the issues surrounding how and to what extent the industry should be regulated remain unclear.  We’re keeping a close watch as this situation unfolds.

 

[1] Daniel Carden, Odds looking good for legal sports betting next year in Indiana (Updated October 22, 2018), https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/odds-looking-good-for-legal-sports-betting-next-year-in/article_22bee61a-5657-54ba-a33e-189291edbcb7.html

[2] Id.

About the Author

Photo of Indiana attorney J.R. Trockman, KDDK
J.R. Trockman, Attorney

J.R. Trockman, an attorney at Kahn, Dees, Donovan & Kahn, LLP (KDDK), in Evansville, Indiana, is a proactive attorney who often serves clients in the business, construction, healthcare, insurance and real estate industries with matters including contract review, business formation, public design-build contracts, debt collection and subrogation. His strong research and time management skills benefit clients, as do his responsiveness, consistency and fair-mindedness. 

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