Vermont Turns Corner, Steps Away From Sports Betting Legalization

• Vermont sports betting bill H 127 received Senate approval on Thursday.
• The measure heads back to the House for final approval.
• If the House approves the small amendments made, Governor Phil Scott holds the power.
• Governor Scott has shown a desire to bring legal sports betting to Vermont.

MONTPELIER, Vt. – With a week of major action on Vermont sports betting bill H 127, the measure heads back to House for concurrence. If approved with the Senate’s amendments, only the governor’s signature stands in the way of legal Vermont sports betting.

On Thursday, the Senate underwent the bill’s third reading and voted in approval, after seeing many amendments added since its first reading in late March.

Though much of the action for Vermont H 127 happened over the last two weeks, the House has plenty of time to get things lined up. The Senate’s changes were manageable and seemed to be more additions than any modifications.

Aside from adding a competitive bidding process setting the licensing costs on the number of sportsbooks, not too much changed the nature of the bill.

Vermont Sportsbook Licensing Cost

Number Of Sportsbooks:	Licensing Cost:
2	$412,500
3	$366,666
4	$343,750
5	$330,000
6	$320,833

Governor Scott’s Stance

Assuming the House agree to the changes, only Governor Phil Scott’s veto power would remove this bill from becoming law.

But Governor Scott has shown support for making sports betting in Vermont legal. Having been on board to “find a path forward“, Vermont shouldn’t see any issues with Governor Scott’s decision.

If all goes as planned in the final stages, Vermont will become only the second state to make sports betting legal in 2023. Still, regulated online sportsbooks in Vermont would launch as early as next year.

News tags: Phil Scott | Vermont | VT H 127