Lawmakers in the state of Vermont are being urged to pursue legalized sports betting through a state-controlled market, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier this year, the Vermont legislature created the nine-member 2022 Sports Betting Study Committee to decide if sports betting should be legalized, as lawmakers felt sports wagering already had a strong presence in the Green Mountain State.
That same committee has now completed a draft report where it has unanimously concluded that a regulated market would bring in state revenue, but it failed to provide an estimate regarding how much money the industry could produce.
The report added that a legal market would also serve its state residents with a safer and more secure product, including providing responsible gaming funds and resources.
As a result, the committee has recommended that the state’s regulatory authority should be the Department of Liquor and Lottery, as well as managed by a private operator(s) selected through a competitive bidding process.
The department would also have the Department of Mental Health provide support of and a study into problem gambling.
As for how Vermont should launch its sports betting market, the committee stated that the best pathway, to begin with, would be mobile and online wagering, before deciding if retail wagering would be viable in selected locations.
With the committee’s report now filed, the Vermont legislature will come together early next month to decide if a regulated sports betting market should be created in the state.
While the Green Mountain State doesn’t have regulated gaming of any kind, it is present in its neighboring states of New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, with the latter currently in the process of regulating its own sports betting market.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is in the process of handing out licenses to operators, as it recently awarded its first temporary online sports betting license to WynnBet, as well as a retail license to the Wynn Resorts-operated Encore Boston Harbor.
The Bay State is expected to launch its regulated sports betting market in January.
