Digital Wager Wire highlights the most important events impacting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industry each week throughout the year.
New Jersey Ready to Outlaw College Player Props
New Jersey Senator Kristin Corrado’s S-3080 sports betting bill, banning Garden State sportsbooks from offering college player props, was unanimously voted, 5-0, through the Senate’s Government, Wagering, Tourism, and Historic Preservation Committee.
Senator Kristen Corrado introduced her bill in April after the NCAA advocated a nationwide ban, saying, “Proposition bets have led to a rise in the harassment of student-athletes and have threatened the integrity of college sports.
“I have heard about many individuals who have been the victim of online harassment because they didn’t perform to the expectations of a bettor who made a side wager. This legislation will ban player-specific prop betting in New Jersey, which will help curb that appalling behavior and make college athletic events safer for all participants,” Corrado added.
The bill will now advance to the Senate floor for a vote and further consideration. An identical bill, A4905, sponsored by Assemblyman Sterley Stanley, has yet to gain traction since its introduction in November. The bill awaits further scrutiny from the Senate before it is advanced to the Assembly, and ultimately signed by the governor.
It has been over a year since NCAA President Charlie Baker made his pitch to regulators, advocating for a ban on college player props due to the harassment of student athletes.
“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country, with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competitions and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed, said Baker. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats, and many are responding by banning college prop bets,” he added.
Ohio, Vermont, and Maryland have all banned college player props as a reaction to harassment of student athletes.
Wyoming Considering Hiking Sports Betting Taxes
Tax rates on sportsbooks’ revenues have been routinely discussed and enacted by several states during this legislative session. Wyoming is the latest state to consider doing the same, contemplating raising the rate from 10% to 20% while also increasing the tax on skill-based amusement games from 20% to 25%.
Parimutuel wagering has also come under scrutiny, as the legislature is considering boosting the tax from 1.5% to 2.5% on revenues, not including the 0.4% set aside for the state’s breeder fund. It is all part of a multi-pronged approach to generate more revenue for the state.
Wyoming’s Legislature’s Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments, led by Chairperson Tara Nethercott, has been at the vanguard of such efforts and stated that she believes the gambling industry in the Cowboy State “has benefitted from modest regulation and little oversight. As the industry has grown exponentially in recent years, Wyoming needs to establish enhanced oversight and revenues to match the growing needs from impacts in our communities.”
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), a gaming industry trade group consisting of members bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel, insisted that 90% of the money is already returned to the bettors, and a tax increase will only serve to fuel the unlicensed market.
“Customers in states that have raised sports betting taxes wind up with a more costly sports betting experience — from worse promotions to decreased payouts,” said SBA spokesperson Nathan Click. “These types of changes also make legal sports betting products less able to compete against illegal and offshore sports betting operators that pay zero in taxes but are widely available online to bettors in Wyoming.”
