Indiana May Leapfrog Iowa To Become 9th State To Legalize Sports Wagering

It is a race to the finish line as to which state will become the ninth to legalize and regulate sports betting within its borders. Will it be Iowa, which has now put an agreed upon bill in front of its governor for execution? Or will it be Indiana, which also has legislation that is sitting in front of its governor, waiting to be signed?

In February, we actually said that Indiana was close to becoming the ninth state to offer sports betting. However, it has been a rather quiet couple of months within the state that calls itself the Crossroads of America.

Indiana seemed to have a much stronger chance of adopting a new sports betting law than Iowa at the start of 2019. In January, the Eilers & Krejcik Gaming research group suggested that Indiana is part of a small group of states that have a “strong chance” of passing legislation to enable or expand sports betting this year. Now, it seems as though that suggestion may be correct.

The Indiana sports wagering proposal would allow wagers to be placed on both professional and college sports, the latter being a controversial subject in some states. If the governor signs the bill, then sports betting may be on the table for people within state lines by September 1.

Indiana seeks to tax sports betting a bit higher than Iowa’s plan, with a 9.5% tax rate currently placed in the proposal. The plan does allow for mobile wagering, which is an important feature for states to consider if they truly want to be a competitor to offshore, illegal betting options.

And yet again, no integrity fee/data fee is included in this particular piece of legislation, leading to another loss for sports leagues that have been lobbying for inclusion of such language.