Guide to 2024 US Legal Online Gambling Developments
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Nearly three-fourths of the states and Washington D.C. are offering some form of legal sports betting. The biggest question now is when the remaining states jump on board. Several states have bills introduced in current legislative sessions. Others are still at least a year away. Even those states that pass bills may want to put the matter before voters. So any 2024 US legal online gambling additions will most likely occur late in the year.
Georgia looks to be the state most likely to legalize sports betting in 2024, with Oklahoma and Missouri possibilities. Minnesota lawmakers are pushing for sports betting. The remaining states have little chance of seeing anything done on the 2024 US legal online gambling front.
Georgia
The Peach State currently has several different gambling bills it is looking at. The primary bill is Senate Bill 386, which has already been passed. It still needs approval by the House. Even if the bill were to pass both chambers, it would go before voters as a Constitutional amendment. SB 386 would legalize sports betting through the Georgia Lottery and would tax sports betting revenue at 20%.
Political bickering has doomed Georgia sports betting for the past three years and prevented the best gambling sites from being able to offer sports bets in the state. It could be more of the same this year. Last year, Democrats pulled their support after Republicans passed a measure to limit treatments for transgender children.
The House is currently exploring legislation regarding fantasy sports. PrizePicks, which has been thrown out of several states for offering pick’em games, is based in Georgia. It’s possible the House and Senate compromise on the bills and pass both. Unless anything changes, the voters could decide the fate of sports betting in the state. That’s if they get the chance to vote on it.
Oklahoma
It’s no secret Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wants legalized sports betting in the state. That’s been easier said than done. He has tried in the past and has been dealt setbacks. The key for Oklahoma to be able to offer Vegas betting odds at sportsbooks is going to be getting Oklahoma’s Native American tribes on board. Under compacts with the state, the tribes have the exclusive right to gaming activities in the state. The governor’s latest sports betting proposal removes that right. As a result, he’s getting pushback from those within his party.
“The compacts are simply written and very plain that he cannot do that,” Rep. Ken Luttrell, R-Ponca City, said. “We’ve granted exclusivity to the tribes to operate gaming, and sports betting, by definition, is gaming.”
As California has seen in the past, sports betting measures that don’t have the support of the tribes are usually doomed for failure. The state has some key people in favor of sports betting. It needs them all to come together and hash out a plan everybody can agree on.
Alabama
Alabama is another state that some some heavy hitters behind legalizing sports betting. It still could face a tough road to becoming law. The current legislation will leave it up to voters to pass a Constitutional amendment. That’s only if the matter makes it before them.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is in support of legalized sports betting, which can only help. Supporters say there was $2 billion wagered illegally in the state in 2023. That, along with neighboring states offering legalized sports betting, it’s time for Alabama to get on board. The current bills would allow for a state lottery, sports betting, and casinos. Sports betting could be done in person or online. There would be no gambling casinos online, at least for the immediate future. Residents in the state haven’t voted on a gambling bill since defeating a lottery proposal in 1999.
Alabama did legalize daily fantasy games in 2019. That includes the pick’em games, which many say are merely prop bet parlays. So there is some interest there. The Senate hasn’t been so quick to want to see expanded gambling in the state. Still, Gov. Ivey’s Study Group on Gambling Policy, which was created in 2020, states the state could see up to $800 million annually with a lottery, sports betting, and casinos. Lawmakers may not be able to resist such a windfall.
Missouri
Missouri residents must be frustrated by the legislative stalemate regarding sports betting. Both the House and the Senate have bills in favor. Sen. Denny Hoskins effectively killed a sports betting bill last year because it did not include a video lottery terminal provision.
The state’s residents are now taking matters into their own hands. The Winning for Missouri Education ballot initiative looks to put the matter in front of voters in the form of a Constitutional amendment. FanDuel and DraftKings have donated $2 million to help collect the 180,000 signatures needed by May 1. The group announced Wednesday it had more than 100,000 and has a goal of 300,000. Some signatures will be invalidated, so signature collectors always aim for more than the minimum required. If voters can vote on legalized sports betting, it will be in the November general election.
Minnesota
Several bills are advancing in the state legislature. The primary difference between the two is one will allow just the state’s 11 tribes to offer sports betting. The other offers the tribes, along with horse racing tracks and professional sports stadiums, to offer in-person sports betting.
The bill that gives tribes the exclusive control over sports betting (HF2000), does have the blessing of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association. That’s provided it stays as written.
“Were HF2000, as currently drafted, to become law, MIGA tribes believe the resulting mobile and retail markets operated by Minnesota’s Tribal Nations would not only support tribes, but would also provide a well-regulated and accessible market for the state’s sports bettors and a competitive market that is important to our state’s professional sports teams and market partners,” MIGA Executive Director Andy Platto stated.
The 2024 US legal online gambling battles will occur throughout the year. With some political wheeling and dealing, it won’t be a huge surprise to see more states join the fray in 2024.
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