The West Virginia legislature on Friday passed a sports betting bill, and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said that the league would urge Gov. Jim Justice to veto the bill "if provisions recognizing sports leagues' interests were not put in place," according to David Purdum of ESPN.com. Manfred said, "We hope the House and the Senate reconsider the bill, delay the vote, take an opportunity to put together a better bill, and if that fails, we will continue to urge the governor to veto the bill." Manfred said that the current bill is "flawed and does not take into account the interests of all parties, 'only the gaming industry.'" He also "expressed concerns that the bill does not protect young people from getting involved in sports betting and lacks protections for problem gambling," as the bill "sets the minimum age to place a bet at 21." Manfred said, "We are not opposed to the idea of West Virginia passing a sports betting bill. We'd just like them to pass one that creates a framework that protects the integrity, recognizes the variety of interests at play here and quite frankly puts the state in a position to maximize the revenue return from it" (ESPN.com, 3/2).
MONEY TALKS: In West Virginia, Phil Kabler noted neither chamber of the West Virginia legislature added a proposed 1% “integrity tax” to the bill, leading Manfred to declare the bill “fatally flawed.” State Lottery officials "opposed the proposal," noting that the 1% fee on gross wagers would "far exceed the state’s revenue" from the bill’s proposed 10% tax on casino profits from sports betting. Although "conservatively estimated to produce" about $5M in revenue for the state in its first year, a study has projected that the state’s 10% tax on gross profits "could bring" in $18M to more than $30M a year (CHARLESTON GAZETTE-MAIL, 3/3).
