Weekly News – 03/23/2021

Chris Altman Sports Betting Expert

7 minute read

THIS WEEK IN LEGAL SPORTS BETTING - KANSAS AND SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTS BETTING

March 23rd, 2021 Weekly Report

It is time for an especially exciting edition of this week in legal sports betting — March Madness edition! March Madness has officially launched in the United States, and it is known for being one of the biggest sports betting times of the year. So, it stands to reason that there would be some new and interesting sports betting news as a result! Keep reading to see which states have made moves around March Madness 2021.

If you want to find our more on some major topics not covered in this article you can check out the rest of VegasInsider with our exclusive bet365 bonus code, BetMGM bonus code or PointsBet promo code for example!

CONTENTS

• Tennessee 1st Sportsbook Suspension
• South Dakota Finally Moving Forward
• Kansas Continues Moving Forward
• Final Thoughts

TENNESSEE FORCED TO ISSUE FIRST US SPORTSBOOK LICENSE SUSPENSION

It has finally happened — the first US sportsbook to receive a license suspension occurred recently in the state of Tennessee. The Tennessee sports betting license was suspended for Action 24/7. The charges against Action 24/7 allege that the company failed to prevent suspected credit fraud in multiple occurrences as well as money laundering.

The Tennessee Education Lottery released that information. The entire board voted this past Friday to uphold the temporary suspension given to Action 24/7’s license that had been handed down on Thursday evening. However, Action 24/7 is allowed to appeal the temporary suspension and it has been reported that the company has already obtained lawyers to look into the process.

SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTS BETTING IS FINALLY MOVING FORWARD

Finally, South Dakota sports betting is legally coming to the state very soon! Back in November, voters in South Dakota approved legal sports betting at the ballot box. Now, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on last Thursday signed Senate Bill 44 (SB 44) into law.

Now, the question on everyone’s minds is, when will sports betting officially open in the state of South Dakota. As of this writing, South Dakota sports betting has a target launch date of September 1st, 2021. It would launch in the city of Deadwood, South Dakota, which is where sports betting is legalized in the bill.

One aspect of the sports betting legalization in the bill is the fact that there is a requirement for in-person registration. Those who are interested in placing their sports bets will need to register in person at a Deadwood, South Dakota casino. Then, registered bettors are able to place mobile bets when they are on location in a Deadwood casino.

The in-person requirement has been derided as too restrictive. This is especially true when you consider the fact that Deadwood, South Dakota is a six hour drive from South Dakota’s largest city, Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls, South Dakota is actually located close to Iowa, a state which does not require in-person registration in order to place sports bets.

The state of South Dakota will not allow bets on:

• High School sports
• Minor League sports
• College sports for colleges located in the state of South Dakota
• Prop bets on individual college athletes

It is still unclear whether mobile sports betting will be limited to within the city of Deadwood. The language of the bill does not prohibit a casino maintaining a server on-premise in the city of Deadwood, yet allowing for mobile bets across the state of South Dakota. However, it is still not certain whether the bill allows for such a practice. Geolocation may be implemented to limit sports betting to on-premises in Deadwood casinos only.

Like was written before, South Dakota was able to legalize sports betting after voters approved a ballot measure in November 2020. The ballot measure was to amend the South Dakota state constitution to legalize betting in Deadwood. SB 44 was able to pass the South Dakota state Senate by a vote of 32-2. It was then able to pass the South Dakota state House by a vote of 58-8.

By law, tribal casinos are able to offer the same betting options as commercial properties. So, South Dakota sports betting is likely to also take place at the eleven tribal casinos that are located throughout the state.

As mentioned before, neighboring state Iowa does not have an in-person registration requirement and is closer to some cities in the state than Deadwood. So, there is a large chance that Iowa will continue to steal away potential revenue from South Dakota when it comes to sports bets.

Also, another neighbor, the state of Wyoming, is also looking towards legalizing sports betting. This is in addition to other neighbors, North Dakota and Nebraska, also looking into their own sports betting futures.

KANSAS SPORTS BETTING CONTINUES ITS LEGALIZATION JOURNEY

This past Thursday, there was a Kansas House Federal and State Affairs Committee meeting. During this meeting, Kansas representatives talked about Senate Bill 84 (SB 84). SB 84 made it through the Senate earlier this month by a vote of 26-12. Officials and the Kansas Lottery hope bettors could bring in more than $600 million each year in wagers.

SB 44 would allow the four casinos in the state of Kansas would be able to open retail sportsbooks. The four casinos would also be able to partner with up to three mobile Kansas sportsbooks. In addition, sports venues like Sporting Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park as well as Kansas Speedway would be able to partner for an online sports betting area.

In a departure from the sports betting bills in many other states, wagers would be able to be placed on in-state college sporting events in SB 44. The bill proposes a 5.5% tax rate on in-person bets. The bill also proposes an 8% tax rate on online bets. SB 44 also allows the Kansas tribes that are operating casinos to renegotiate their pacts to allow for the inclusion of Kansas sports betting.

There has been some opposition to the bill. Kansas state Representative Francis Awerkamp voiced his opposition to SB 44. His issue with the bill is the lack of money that would end up in the Kansas state funds. However, he did not cite any attributed evidence in this opposition. The bill does not include dog races, so greyhound race proponents have also voiced their opposition.

House Bill 2199 (HB 2199) hit an impasse within House committees. HB 2199 would allow for Kansas sports betting to take place outside of casinos. Convenience stores and other venues that sell lottery tickets would be able to offer sports betting.

Retail bets would be limited to simple outcome bets, casinos would still be where you would need to go for in-game wagering. The House bill would set the tax rate for Kansas retail bets at 14%. The tax rate for online bets in the House bill would be 22%.

CONCLUSION

As you can see, more states than ever before are looking to legalize sports betting. Each and every week, it seems like a new state is throwing their hat into the ring. So, even if your state does not allow sports betting at this time, that could change in the blink of an eye.

Many online sports betting operators are supporting the legalization of sports betting in many states. Sports betting is gaining traction as states seek new avenues to bring in revenue to their state’s budgets and funds. Keep checking back every week for the latest in sports betting legalization news.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise.

Chris Altman

Chris Altman is a sports betting writer and content expert with almost a decade of experience. He's covered everything, but his current focus is on reviewing sportsbooks and online casinos and keeping tabs on sports betting legislation. Chris has been with VegasInsider since 2019 and has freelanced in the sports betting content industry for years. More from Chris Altman