New Version Of Indiana Sports Betting Bill Includes ‘Integrity Fee’
The NBA and Major League Baseball are asking for a piece of the action in an Indiana bill that aims to legalize sports betting, according to an Indiana lawmaker.
House Bill 1325, introduced Monday by Indiana Rep. Alan Morrison, would authorize sports wagering at the state’s riverboats, racinos and satellite facilities, if federal law changes.
Morrison told said that he received input on the bill from NBA and Major League Baseball regarding an “integrity fee” that sports betting operators would have to pay to the sports leagues. The fee is “1 percent of the amount wagered on the sport’s governing body’s events” and would be required to be submitted on a quarterly basis.
The Indiana bill is a long ways away from passing and would only go into effect if the federal ban on state-sponsored sports betting is lifted. The United States Supreme Court is reviewing the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the federal prohibition on state-sponsored sports betting, which restricts legal sports betting to Nevada and a handful of other states.
The Supreme Court is expected to release what could potentially be a landmark decision sometime in the next six months.
The NBA and Major League Baseball are taking pre-emptive steps ahead of the decision. In addition to the integrity fee, Morrison’s bill would give the leagues rights over what types of wagers are offered and require operators to use official league data in some cases.
The NBA has been the most outspoken proponent of expanding legal sports betting in the U.S. Until now, the NBA and Major League Baseball had only publicly supported a federal approach to sports betting.