On Tuesday, the Indiana Senate approved a comprehensive gambling expansion bill with a vote of 38-11.
The bill, titled SB 552, will now be passed to the House for consideration.
SB 552 is a combination of gambling bills and is sponsored by Senator Mark Messmer and Senator Jon Ford.
If successful, the bill will authorize sports betting at Indiana’s riverboat casinos, satellite facilities, racinos and on mobile devices.
On Tuesday, Messmer told his fellow senators that this is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
looking closer at the bill, bettors will be able to register accounts with mobile sports betting platforms from anywhere within the state, place wagers on college games and place live bets. However, the legislation will prohibit wagering on esports events.
The bill does not include integrity fees but does require the use of official league data for live betting. There is no set tax rate in the bill, suggesting the tax structure for sports betting in Indiana will be finalized once the bill makes it through the House.
Although the bill does not include an integrity fee, it does give the sports leagues some power over what kinds of bets could be placed.
The bill states the Indiana Gaming Commission, “may act upon information received from a sports governing body in considering requests to prohibit wagering on particular events or to prohibit making wagers of a specific type.”
The Indiana legislative session ends on 29 April 2019, so it is possible that sports betting in Indiana could go live by the end of the year.
