After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered 2020 legislative sessions (and much of the rest of society), elected officials returned to their respective statehouses with (mostly) uninterrupted sessions. For a handful of these states, the 2021 session gave elected officials enough time to pass legal sports betting bills.
Here are the best developments from four of these statehouses:
Arizona initiates quick market launch
Arizona’s sports betting bill was an impressive compromise between the state’s professional sports organizations and Native American gaming tribes, resulting in the nation’s first sports betting legislative framework that permitted an equal number of online sportsbook licenses for both entities. Many leading books including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM quickly partnered with a sports team and/or tribe, setting up a strong market for one of the nation’s largest (and fastest growing states).
More impressively, regulators saw the launch of statewide mobile wagering in less than six months after Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law, joining Iowa and Indiana in an exclusive club to go from bill signing to first bet in under half a year. The quick launch timeline didn’t come without hiccups, and the industry is still awaiting revenue reports from September, its first month with legal betting, but Arizona’s pre-NFL season launch is another highlight in what could be one of the nation’s largest per capita and gross sports betting markets.
With more online sportsbooks as well as retail casino and in-stadium books set to open, Arizona has a strong potential for growth.
Connecticut compromise breaks logjam
Connecticut had been a leading sports betting legalization candidate each year since the Supreme Court struck down the federal wagering ban in 2018. Instead, policymakers and the state’s two powerful gaming tribes couldn’t reach a deal, even as neighboring states including Rhode Island and New York began taking online and retail bets, respectively.
After months of negotiations, Gov. Ned Lamont as well as the state’s Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribe reached a groundbreaking deal that would allow the two tribes statewide mobile sports betting and online casino gaming while granting a third online sportsbook license to the state lottery as well as giving it the right to open 15 retail books statewide. The two tribes agreed to shelve plans for a joint casino as part of the deal, which had been a major sticking point, and gave the state’s leading OTB operator the chance to open retail books at its properties in partnership with the lottery.
The deal means Connecticut sports bettors will only have access to three legal online books, DraftKings, FanDuel and PlaySugarHouse, as well as only three daily fantasy sites. But, after years with little progress, the wide-ranging deal gave virtually every gaming entity some new options – and created the first legal online casino gaming and multi-operator sportsbook market in New England.
Wyoming enacts business-friendly market
The nation’s least populated state, Wyoming will likely be just a small fraction of the overall U.S. sports betting market. But Wyoming lawmakers passed a 2021 bill that will, at the very least, make it one of nation’s most friendly states for sportsbooks.
Wyoming joins Tennessee as the second state to permit an uncapped number of operators without having to partner with a brick-and-mortar facility beforehand. Unlike Tennessee, Wyoming doesn’t have an operator hold mandate. Wyoming is also the first state to explicitly allow crypto payments, among several other regulatory aspects of the bill that could make betting – and accepting bets – easier than in most other states.
Only two operators (DraftKings, BetMGM) have launched with a third (FanDuel) set to do so in early 2022, but multiple other operators have lauded Wyoming’s structure and will likely apply for licensure. Eventually, the nation’s least-populated state could have one of its larger array of wagering options.
Ohio finally passes bill
With its year-round legislative session, Ohio seemed like a good bet to pass online sports betting in 2018. 2019. And 2020. But it wasn’t until the final days of 2021 that Ohio finally got a sports betting bill across the legislative finish line.
For Ohio bettors, it could be worth the wait. Ohio’s 2021 legislation is one of the nation’s most expansive bills, allowing 25 (and possibly more) statewide mobile licenses. All major U.S. (and many foreign) operators are expected to be interested in the market, giving Ohio bettors plenty of legal betting options.
And while mobile wagering is expected to make up 90 percent or more of Ohio’s overall sports betting handle, there will be ample retail options. Ohio is set to be one of the first states with in-stadium sportsbooks and will also permit full-scale retail books at its 11 casinos. The bill also permits potentially thousands of betting kiosks statewide.
Ohio sports betting isn’t expected to begin until the later half of 2022, but the 2021 bill puts it in good position for a wide-ranging -and lucrative – legal betting market.
