South Dakota May See Mobile Sports Betting Thanks To New Bill

by | Feb 10, 2022 11:29 am | Regulatory | 0 comments

South Dakota May See Mobile Sports Betting Thanks To New Bill

South Dakota Senate

  • A bill to amend South Dakota’s constitution and allow mobile sports betting passed the Senate.
  • The bill passed by a narrow margin of only 18 to 17.
  • It must still go through South Dakota’s House of Representatives to pass.

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota lawmakers recently voted on a bill to provide South Dakota residents with regulated online sports betting options.

Narrow Advancement

The South Dakota State Senate recently put the status of SJR 502 to a vote, a bill that proposed amending the state constitution to allow mobile sports wagering operator licenses.

SJR 502 did advance through the Senate (albeit barely) by a vote of 18 to 17 and is on track to potentially bring regulated sports betting in South Dakota.

“Anyone in South Dakota right now can spend thousands of dollars building fantasy sports line-ups without breaking the law,” said Senator Kyle Schoenfish (R-Scotland), the resolution’s sponsor. “Fantasy sports apps have been up and running for years and those proceeds are not subject to South Dakota laws governing sports wagering.”

Previous Vote

Before it reached the South Dakota Senate, SJR 502 passed through the Senate Commerce and Energy committee by a 6 to 5 vote. 

The path to regulated mobile sports betting has been rough so far, with SJR 502 just barley passing its votes so far, and it’s not over yet as the bill still faces opposition from those who believe legislation is not the right way to go about opening the mobile legal sports betting market.

“The backers of this resolution have adequate resources to accomplish their goal,” said Senator Jim Bolin “They are not small operators, but multi-million dollar gambling companies. They could easily kick start a campaign to get the needed signatures for a resolution by petition.”

The bill will have to make it through South Dakota’s House of Representatives, and it could potential die there.

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