Set Up For Federal Legalization Of Online Sports Betting
Added: Jan. 19, 2015
That is the word coming from the great state of Indiana. As you may remember from last year, the state of online gambling in the United States has been an up and down affair. On hand you have progressive states like New Jersey who are literally pushing the envelope and trying to bring in online casinos, sports betting and most everything else. On the other hand you have the naysayers, the one who follow the gospel according to Sheldon Adelson who proclaim that any expansion of online casino activity is a very bad idea.
So with that in mind, it is actually refreshing to hear from one state legislator who actually gets it, who understands what this is really all about. His name is Alan Morrison, State Representative Alan Morrison to be exact. And to his credit, Mr. Morrison is apparently not afraid to stand up and state the facts.
Representative Morrison made headline news when it was revealed that he has filed not one, but two separate bills that address sports betting within the state of Indiana. Interestingly, the first bill is worded such that it would legalize state racinos to set up and conduct fantasy sports leagues. Just for the record, to make sure everyone is on the same page here, a racino is nothing more than a combined race track and land based casino. Also you probably recall from last year that Fantasy Sports are one of the fastest growing online gambling activities in the United States.
The other bill filed by Rrepresentative Morrison is all about sports betting. This bill has specific language to legalize and regulate sports betting at so-=called betting houses, racinos or even riverboats with the very important caveat that is is contingent upon action being taken at the Federal level.
When queried about his proposed legislation, Representative Morrison was quick to respond. He was quoted as saying “…All I’m trying to do with this is basically set up the infrastructure so that when the Feds say ‘Ok” and the Indiana Gaming Commission also says that it is okay to proceed, that we’re kind of first to the table with it and not stuck on the sideline waiting on our opportunity.
Well played, Mr. Morrison. If nothing else you must credit Mr. Morrison for stacking the deck in Indiana’s favor. It will be most interesting to see what other states follow this move ahead of the Feds.