Professional sports leagues are pushing Indiana lawmakers to "require that official data be used to determine the outcome of all sports betting if it is legalized" in the state, according to Lindsey Erdody of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. SB 552, which was already passed in the state Senate, would "legalize sports wagering, but the bill only requires that official league data be used to determine winners for so-called in-game bets." However, reps from the NFL, NBA, MLB IndyCar and PGA Tour "argued in favor of requiring official league data be used for all gambling." Indiana casino officials said that they "oppose a mandate because it will give the leagues a monopoly over the data." SB 552 would "legalize wagering on professional and college sports, but prohibits it on e-sports, high school sports or amateur sports." The bill does not "impose an integrity or royalty fee that would be paid to professional sports leagues." Colts Chief Legal Officer Dan Emerson said that officials from various leagues are "concerned without using official data, two different observers could come to two different conclusions about in-game actions." Indiana state Rep. Sean Eberhart pointed out that no other state that has legalized sports betting has "required official league data to be used for any bets." Emerson said that the leagues are "looking for Indiana to be the model" (IBJ.com, 3/20).
OPTIONS ABOUND: In Chicago, Dan Petrella noted some Illinois state representatives are "laying out four potential paths for legalizing sports betting in the state, with options ranging from creating a limited number of licenses for existing casinos and horse tracks to allowing gamblers to place bets wherever lottery tickets are sold." Gov. J.B. Pritzker "wants lawmakers to get it done before the legislative session wraps up at the end of May." In Pritzker's spending plan for the budget year beginning July 1, he is "counting on" $200M in "upfront revenue from selling 20 sports betting licenses." However, he "hasn't specified who he thinks should be eligible." Three of the four proposed plans follow "some of Pritzker's guidelines, creating a limited number of sports betting licenses" that would be sold for $10M apiece. But the plans "vary on who would be eligible for a license and what the state's cut would be." The fourth plan would put sports betting "under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of the Lottery, potentially creating thousands of betting sites across the state." None of the proposals would "make it possible for customers to place bets on sporting events at the nearly 7,000 restaurants, bars and other establishments across the state that have licensed video gambling terminals, although terminal operators could apply to run online platforms" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/22).
