(INDIANAPOLIS) – You might be able to place bets on the Colts or the Boilermakers next year, but there are a lot of details left to work out.
A legislative study committee gave a unanimous green light to keep working toward legalized sports betting. House Public Policy Chairman Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) says he doesn’t see it as an expansion of gambling, but the equivalent of a new machine at a casino.
But Smaltz says he does have concerns about details like where you can bet and on what. Some states have allowed sports wagers via mobile phone, while others require you to be at a casino. There are also differences on whether you can bet on college sports, or on in-state teams. The study panel is purposely leaving those questions open for examination by the full legislature.
Six states have begun taking sports bets since May, when the Supreme Court threw out a federal law banning all but a few states from allowing sports books. The Indianapolis-based NCAA was on the losing side of the long effort to preserve that law. Now, the NCAA is dropping its opposition, but urging legislators to make sure betting is tightly regulated, including age limits and licensing requirements.
And both the NCAA and NBA want a ban on in-game “prop bets” like who will commit the first foul. They warn those bets could be manipulated too easily and warp the integrity of the games.
Indiana Gaming Commission executive director Sara Tait says the commission won’t take a position on legalization, but will enforce whatever legislators come up with. The commission is already conferring with counterparts in Nevada, New Jersey and Mississippi on how they’ve overseen sports books there.
The commission estimates sports wagering would generate $225 million a year in revenue, but cautions that figure could be drastically different depending on what rules legislators lay down.
(Photo: Thomas Northcut/Thinkstock)
