INDIANAPOLIS (AP)
-- Indiana could join several states in legalizing sports betting following
a committee’s unanimous recommendation that lawmakers consider the change.
The Interim Study
Committee on Public Policy voted this month to recommend legislation to
bring legal sports betting to Indiana. The recommendation comes after the
U.S. Supreme Court in May struck down a federal wagering ban.
There are “many
perils down the pathway before it becomes law,” said Republican Rep. Ben
Smaltz, the panel chairman.
“My concern is the
regulations, the funding,” he said.
Indiana Gaming
Commission Executive Director Sara Tait said sports betting “is something
that has been successfully regulated (elsewhere) for years, so we’re not
going to have to reinvent the wheel.”
The commission
hired a consultant to study sports betting. Officials should move quickly to
prevent a black market from becoming entrenched, according to the report
from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.
“On balance, we
believe the risks associated with delaying sports betting beyond the 2019
(legislative) session clearly outweigh the rewards,” the report said.
The report
recommends offering mobile online betting and cautions against restricting
wagers on college sports or setting taxes too high. The state could see
in-person and mobile sports betting in Indiana reach $256 million in five
years, which would add about $38 million in annual state tax revenue, the
report said.
Nevada has had
sports betting since 1931. Delaware, New Jersey, West Virginia, Mississippi
and New Mexico have come on board since the Supreme Court’s decision in May.