Indiana Sports Betting Caught Up In Wider Net Of Casino Politics

• SB 552 would legalize professional and collegiate sports betting in Indiana.
• Sports betting will be offered online via mobile betting apps and in person at participating gambling venues.
• The bill has both support and opposition from all sectors of the existing IN gambling industry.

INDIANAPOLIS – After a five-hour hearing on Wednesday, Indiana’s sports betting legalization efforts are proving controversial. The proposed bill would formally legalize sports wagering in the Hoosier State, but its casino-based regulations could derail the opportunity altogether.

Sponsored by Sen. Mark Messmer (R-48), Senate Bill 552 is an extremely comprehensive, bipartisan bill. Comprising 128 pages, the law is effectively a complete rewrite of Indiana’s existing gambling laws. But despite legalizing sports wagering, the proposal changes so much about the industry that it’s meeting resistance from all sides.

Some major gaming brands that advocate for sports wagering elsewhere are even taking an oppositional stance due to the wider scope of the bill. One such brand is Penn National Gaming (PNG).

Penn National, operator of the first legal sportsbook in Pennsylvania, is normally an unflinching advocate of expanded Indiana sports betting. However, because SB 552 allows for Gary, Indiana, to become the new home of a relocated Majestic Star casino, they do not support this legislation.

As a result of SB 552, PNG – which owns the Ameristar Casino East Chicago just 8 miles from downtown Gary – would suddenly have major competition in the region. The company does not believe sports wagering will help them offset potential lost business.

Additionally, the Senate proposal would move up the launch date for live dealer table games to at two Caesars racinos (Indiana Grand Casino and Hoosier Park). Table games are scheduled to go live at these venues in 2021, but SB 552 would move launch up to 2020.

According to PNG, allowing table games at these Indianapolis-area racinos will cut into their Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg revenues, to the tune of some $7 million per year.

“Official” Data Use Required

Another sticking point for existing Indiana gambling operators is the fact that SB 552 requires all sports wagering vendors to use only “official” league data. The casino venues would have to purchase data rights from all the leagues with games offered on their odds boards.

Matt Bell, president and CEO of the Casino Association of Indiana, represents 10 of the state’s 13 casinos. He is unimpressed by this requirement.

“One [aspect that we] cannot support, is on the issue of official data. You’re being asked as a body to be in the first jurisdiction to create a monopoly-data situation for [the leagues].”

In effect, “official” data mandates amount to the much-derided “integrity fee” concept that pays sports leagues a portion of revenue or handle to help them “prevent” various nondescript and theoretical abuses. To those in the gambling industry, the implications are offensive.

“As operators, we have a profound interest in making sure that any data that we use is accurate and reliable. We don’t simply sit people in garages and call them to ask them what the score was.”

Online Sports Betting Allowed

Under Article 38, Chapter 5, Section 10 of SB 552, legal sports betting will be able to be enjoyed via mobile applications, provided those applications are offered by a licensed vendor.

“A certificate holder or vendor may accept wagers placed using a mobile device from a patron if the patron registers with the certificate holder or vendor as a mobile device user and acquires any necessary mobile device applications from the certificate holder.”

This means that sports wagering will be accessible statewide over the Internet. Further, Indiana would not require users to register their accounts in person at the associated brick-and-mortar venues.

“A patron may register under this section in person at the certificate holder’s licensed facility or online using an Internet form approved by the [state gaming] commission.”

College Sports Betting Allowed

The Senate bill would also approve collegiate sports wagering with no apparent limitations on in-state teams or contests. As Indiana has only two major professional teams (the NFL’s Colts and the NBA’s Pacers), this is a positive boon for the state’s millions of Hoosier, Boilermaker, and Fighting Irish fans.

Per Chapter 5, Section 4(a), a certificate holder or betting operator “may accept wagers on professional and collegiate sporting events approved for sports wagering by the commission…”

The law further allows for in-play and in-game wagering (aka “live betting”), though non-collegiate amateur sports are barred from wagering action in the state. E-Sports is also barred from action per SB 552.

Analysts and insiders closely following the Indiana legislature are giving SB 552 a 50-50 chance of passing, characterizing the bill as being completely up in the air at this time.

News tags: IN SB 552 | Indiana | Indiana sports betting | sports betting