Indiana Sports Betting Legislation Restores Mobile Wagering

• Senate Bill 552 scuttled mobile betting two weeks ago, but the activity has been reinserted into the legislation.
• SB 552 would allow for both legal land-based and online sports wagering.
• Legal IA sports betting could be live in time for the start of this year’s NFL season.

INDIANAPOLIS – Just two weeks ago, Indiana’s omnibus sports wagering bill, SB 552, scuttled plans to allow for mobile sports betting over the Internet.

That, as expected by many in the state legislature, has changed. Mobile wagering is officially back in the plans for legal Indiana sports betting.

On Monday, bill sponsor Sen. Mark Messmer (R-48) sold his colleagues on the need for online-based sports wagering in such a competitive marketplace.

“If you have sports betting without a mobile app platform, you don’t really have a very usable tool,” said Messmer.

Given the preponderance of offshore betting that already takes place over the Internet in Indiana, the argument has merit. The state’s casinos are not going to win over bettors throughout Indiana by requiring physical visits to place sports wagers.

However, opponents of the bill’s reinsertion of mobile betting believe that such ubiquity could cannibalize those casinos’ traditional gaming customers, reducing casino traffic and revenue.

This would be particularly true if those traditional games – like blackjack, poker, roulette, and slots – are also allowed to be enjoyed for real money over the Internet via mobile apps.

However, there are no provisions in SB 552 to allow for such gambling expansion.

The amended bill is expected to receive a vote sometime this week, perhaps even as early as Wednesday morning.

If the legislation is approved, the Indiana Gaming Commission would have full oversight of the industry, including all license dispersal and venue selection rights.

The Commission would also set the rules and regulations governing legal sports betting in the state.

Messmer is optimistic that things will move quickly, with the Commission able to start the approval process for sports wagering venues as early as July 1. This would put legal Indiana sportsbooks on track to open for the industry’s most lucrative time of the year.

“[The Gaming Commission was] optimistic they could have rules ready in time for the NFL season. That’s really up to the Commission on how fast they roll [the rules] out and get them into effect,” said Messmer.

If bettors are going to see legal Indiana sports betting this year, consider this the two-minute warning.

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