Digital Wager Wire highlights the most significant events affecting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industries each week throughout the year.
Are the Bears Moving to Indiana?
Late last year, the Kansas City Chiefs announced they would be vacating their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, for a $3.5 billion domed stadium in nearby Kansas City, Kansas.
As if that wasn’t enough football culture shock, the Chicago Bears recently revealed they may also be making the trek from Chicago’s Soldier Field to their own stadium a half hour south of Chicago to Hammond, Indiana.
Both alternative stadiums may be located in different states, but they are both close enough to the teams’ current homes that neither the Chiefs’ nor the Bears’ rabid fanbase will be unreasonably inconvenienced should they wish to attend games in the state-of-the-art stadiums.
Indiana’s House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-0 to approve State Bill 27, which would authorize an agency to formulate a plan to build a domed stadium in Hammond, Indiana.
The Bears had been working with state and local authorities for approval of their own stadium, reported to be a half north in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The new venue was to be built at the team’s expense, approximately $2 billion, but with $885 million in public funding for infrastructure and a property-tax freeze on large-scale construction projects.
The city of Chicago, and not the Bears franchise, owns Soldier Field, and the team’s current lease runs through 2033. Although the Bears’ exodus from Illinois is not a fait accompli, the recent efforts by the Indiana legislature have provided the team with a significant alternative.
Virginia Senate Passes iGaming Bill
Virginia Senator Mamie Locke’s SB 118, a measure that would bring online casino gaming to the Old Dominion, did not pass on the first vote, as it was defeated 20-19.
However, Senator Schuyler VanValkenberg, who initially voted against the bill, moved to recall the debate, invoking a procedural rule that allows anyone who voted in the majority, in this case against the proposal, to reconsider the measure and call for another vote.
This time, three of the senators who voted against the bill initially, including VanValkenberg, abstained from voting, breathing new life into the bill by a vote of 19-17, which included an amendment to delay the launch until July 1, 2027.
Senator Locke’s iGaming bill includes the following key provisions:
- iGaming operator licenses available to existing Virginia casino operators
- $500,000 initial operator license (five-year term), $250,000 renewal
- Up to three platforms per operator (15 in total), each requiring a $2 million platform fee
- A 20% tax on adjusted gross iGaming revenue
- An additional 6% economic development fee
Opposition Mounts
There is also a separate bill, HB 161, in the House, but both that measure and Senator Locke’s bill await a floor vote from the lower chamber. Therefore, the promise of online casino gaming in Virginia is far from certain, particularly given the growing opposition to introducing iGaming to the general public in the state.
Although Virginia launched mobile sports betting in 2021, online casino gambling has been less welcomed by legislatures across the nation, citing the addictive nature of allowing a 24-hour casino to be available on mobile devices or PCs.
According to analysts, iGaming in Virginia could generate $845 million in annual revenue by 2032, which includes some cannibalization of the iLottery revenue.
