For months, the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) has been crafting model legislation. They’ve been working to put a national framework in place for any legislator in the US that wants to move forward and expand to online gaming after 2025. Last week, the NCLGS was in Pittsburgh and they spoke with former Florida State Senator, Steve Geller. He outlined what lawmakers believe will be part of the model legal iGaming legislation. Additionally, Mr.Geller led a hearing-style discussion about what the stakeholders believe their priorities should be.
The panelists during this discussion included regulators and stakeholders. All of whom were deeply involved in the conversations. Stever Geller noted that their current draft suggests a 15%-25% tax rate. Of the seven legal iGaming states in the US, their average tax rate is 19%. Geller said revenue generation, responsible gaming, advertising guidelines, and data sharing are all areas that the proposed legislation aims to cover.
A draft for this legislation could be on the horizon
Shawn Fluharty is the President of the NCLGS. Recently, he said their goal is to release a draft of the legislation to NCLGS membership by August 1. If Fluharty sticks to his word, that means a draft of this legislation would be available by the end of next Thursday. For the next 30 days after its release to NCLGS membership, it will be available to the public to read. That gives lawmakers a chance to hear the comments and concerns of the people and make the necessary changes. Once the bill is close to being finalized, they will present it at their December meeting in New Orleans.
According to Fluharty, they want to have legislation that would work in nearly every US state. In June 2024, 40 states have legalized some form of sports betting. However, only seven states have legal iGaming available, They include West Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Online gambling revenue is far superior to digital sports betting in the US. However, it’s proved to be harder to get iGaming legalized. Lee Copello is the iGaming Compliance Director at the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. He had this to say about the difference between iGaming and digital sports betting.
“It’s a different audience,” said Copello “I look at sports betting more as an amenity while casino has more set numbers coming out. Sports betting is up and down. Sportsbook on top of online casino just means that you will bring in more people who might not have played.”
Money will always be a key factor playing into this situation
With 2024 being an election year, stakeholders are hoping that the landscape in 2025 will make it easier for iGaming legislation to be passed. Lawmakers are not fans of moving potentially controversial issues forward with the election looming in the fall. Additionally, many states will run out of Covid funding. States could then need money and legalizing iGaming could be an answer to that problem. We’ve seen the revenue that iGaming can create and states without legal iGaming are missing out. According to databases maintained by US Bets and Sports Handle, tax revenue for online gambling is three to five times as much as that for sports betting. For now, NCLGS President Shawn Fluharty will continue working on getting a national framework in place for iGaming in the United States.