In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on sports betting, California Assembly member Adam Gray is "expected to hold public hearings to take testimony from the public and gambling businesses on how to proceed with his legislation, which probably won't make it onto a statewide ballot" until '20 at the earliest, according to Hugo Martin of the L.A. TIMES. California's tribal casinos noted that "state law gives them exclusive right to operate casino-type games, which they say, by definition, includes sports betting." They said that "allowing card clubs and horse tracks to run sports betting operations would violate that exclusivity." California "leads the nation with 63 tribes that run gambling operations" (LATIMES.com, 5/20).
WV CALLS SPECIAL SESSION: In West Virginia, Rusty Marks reported Gov. Jim Justice called a "special session of the state Legislature to convene during legislative interim meetings" over the weekend, but the call "does not include adding" an integrity fee to the state's sports betting law. The law was "passed by the Legislature" in March and "upheld as legal by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month." House Speaker Tim Armstead said, "If the racetracks and professional sports organizations reach some agreement privately between themselves, then that's something they can do on their own. But I do not see the Legislature getting involved in this matter." Armstead added, "I'm glad the governor's office has recognized that there's no interest in the Legislature for consideration of an integrity fee." Sports leagues had "proposed the fee while lawmakers were discussing Senate Bill 415, but the fee was not included when the final sports betting bill passed the Legislature." Justice previously had said that he "would revisit the integrity fee during a special session" (WVNEWS.com, 5/18).
SLOW RIDE: In Philadelphia, Justine McDaniel writes Pennsylvania "might take it a little slower" than other nearby states in legalizing sports betting, even though the state had "positioned itself in the front of the pack with a law allowing the Gaming Control Board to move forward immediately." Analysts in Pennsylvania said that sports betting "might be six months to a year away." Additional legislation "isn’t necessary," as the Gaming Control Board (GCB) is "free to authorize sports wagering once it has published a public notice; then it must craft regulations." GCB Dir of Communications Doug Harbach said that officials are "working on temporary regulations they hope to finish 'as soon as possible.'" Pennsylvania lawmakers "would only need to pass a new bill if they wanted to change something about the existing law," such as the 36% tax rate on "sports-betting revenues." Experts said that such a rate "could put the state at a competitive disadvantage," but lawmakers "aren’t indicating whether they’ll consider changing it." The GCB "does not yet have a timeline for the sports-gambling rollout." But Harbach said that "creating regulations should not take anywhere close to a year" (PHILLY.com, 5/21).
SPEEDING THINGS UP: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that state lawmakers "shouldn't waste any more time" legalizing sports betting. Christie said, "We should allow Monmouth Park to start taking bets on Memorial Day." In Newark, Matt Arco noted the comments "came after the state stumbled out of the gate" when the Supreme Court ruling "paved the way for expanded sports betting nationwide." The New Jersey Senate and General Assembly are "slated to send Gov. Phil Murphy a bill on June 7," and if that happens, it will "amount to a less than two-week delayed opening wait for Monmouth Park" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 5/21). A Syracuse POST-STANDARD editorial stated the New York state Legislature "needs to pass sports betting legislation this session, or risk getting left on the sidelines as other states" begin to profit. One would "think the New York State Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo would already have worked out betting legislation ahead of the Supreme Court decision." They had "plenty of time to prepare." The four major stick-and-ball leagues have their HQs in N.Y., and that "puts added pressure on the state to get its sports betting regulations right." The legislative session ends June 20 (SYRACUSE.com, 5/20).
