The last week has been quite busy when it comes to sports betting legalization. This Wednesday night was no different, as both the Indiana state Senate and House voted to approve a sports betting bill. In New Hampshire, the state Senate discussed another sports betting bill, although a vote may still be a few weeks away. Here’s what both Indiana and New Hampshire are up to!
Indiana
Last week, lawmakers were contemplating the ramifications of legalizing a sports betting bill for the state of Indiana. A point of heavy contention was whether or not mobile betting should be allowed.
The bill originally included language to allow mobile betting, but it was eventually removed amidst discussions. On Monday, the bill was once amended to re-include and permit mobile bets to be placed.
This certainly sparked some disagreement over the bill, which led to a delay in voting. Both the Senate and House eventually voted on Wednesday night, with both parties approving the bill despite some objection. The Senate was fairly confident with their 37-12 vote, but the House only passed the bill by a vote of 59-36.
The approved bill, SB 1015, will have its fate decided by Indiana’s governor, Eric Holcomb. Although he can ultimately decide to veto it now, news sources located within Indiana reported earlier in the year than the governor stated that he wouldn’t “stand in the way” of sports betting legislation.
Assuming Governor Holcomb signs off on the bill as he indicated he would in January, the state could approve licenses for Indiana sportsbooks as early as July. With both of the deciding votes from the Senate and House being cast on Wednesday night, legal sports betting is just one signature away from making its way to Indiana!
New Hampshire
Lawmakers within New Hampshire have also turned their attention to sports betting. The Committee for the state’s Senate had a hearing on Wednesday night regarding sports betting bill, HB 480.
A sponsor of the bill, Timothy Lang, has mentioned that the Senate is likely to vote sometime in the next three weeks. One thing that is definitely a good sign for the bill is that the House approved it last month nearly unanimously. The final vote was 269-82 in the New Hampshire House.
Although the bill does allow mobile sports betting, the Committee met on Wednesday to discuss how many online sportsbooks will be allowed to partner with. They also talked about limiting the number of physical locations that would accept bets.
It appears that HB 480 may look a little different by the time it is voted on, but it does look likely that it will be approved considering how well it did in the state House.
