There are over 20 states that currently have legal sports betting in the United States, and that number could get close to doubling by the end of 2021. There are currently 21 states that have a legalized sports betting bill on the table now that Alaska and Wyoming have started the discussion.
Most sports fans don’t think of Wyoming or Alaska when thinking about sports, but that doesn’t mean that their state lawmakers aren’t paying attention to what is going on around the country.
States continue to legalize sports betting since the Supreme Court lifted a federal ban on sports betting in 2018. There were several states that were pushing to get the ban lifted, and they were ready to launch in a matter of weeks.
Other states were able to get things up and running in 2019, and a number of other states are meeting on the issue in 2020. Let’s take a closer look at what the sports betting bills in both Alaska and Wyoming would look like.
Alaska Sports Betting a Part of Lottery
Governor Mike Dunleavy is leading the charge in Alaska, and he has put sports betting in with a much larger plan for a state lottery. Alaska currently doesn’t have a lottery in place, but this new proposal would create one, which would also allow video lottery, scratch-off tickets, and sports betting to be legalized statewide.
There is also a proposal on the table from House Majority Leader Steve Thompson, but his plan does not include sports betting. Alaska is looking for a way to generate some revenue, and they have been studying plans from other states throughout the country.
Financial experts have estimated that Alaska could bring in close to $100 million in revenue by implementing Dunleavy’s plan, with a vast majority of this money coming from legalized sports betting.
Both proposals are still in the very early stages, and it will be interesting to see what proposal takes hold.
Wyoming Opening Sports Betting Marketplace
Wyoming has been discussing the idea of legalizing sports betting for a few months, but a formal proposal has been submitted, and will now be discussed by lawmakers. Representative Tom Walters and Senator Ogden Driskill introduced House Bill 0225 last week, and that bill would legalize mobile and online sports betting throughout the state.
There is nothing in the plan to open retail sportsbooks in Wyoming, and they are hoping to create an online sports betting marketplace and have it launched by January 1, 2021.
Lawmakers in Wyoming are hoping to bring in some quality sports betting operators, and they are going to have some of the cheapest license fees in the country. Wyoming would charge just $20,000 for an initial license, and then a renewal would cost just $10,000 a year.
Sports betting revenue would be taxed at a rate of 16 percent, which is a little higher than the national average. Now that an official bill has been submitted, it will be debated by lawmakers over the next few weeks.