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After a whole year of stalemate, at the end of 2024, three gambling bills in the U.S. will expire. However, new wagering bills pre-filed in 2025 have been launched, particularly in South Carolina and Texas.
Bills to Run out
Gaming legislation in both Michigan and Ohio will die with the stroke of midnight on December 31. In the Great Lakes State, two pieces of legislation were introduced—both to raise taxes on sports betting and igaming revenue—but neither will carry over into the next session. Senate Bill 1193 would increase the tax imposed on the adjusted gross receipts of non-tribal wagering operators from 8.4% to 8.5%. Senate Bill 1194 would provide for a 1% igaming tax at various thresholds.
Ohio wasn’t immune from attempts to legalise gaming online, either. Senate Bill 312 had been filed through state senator Niraj Antani. Due to the fact of term limits on Antani, that bill wasn’t pre-filed for 2025. Yet a different plan to cut the tax on sports betting from 20% back down to 10% didn’t advance.
New Proposals for 2025
On the bright side, both South Carolina and Texas are making gestures towards the possibility of changing their current gambling laws. Each of their legislatures has filed two bills as indications of most likely legalising or authorising sports betting.
The Moves By South Carolina
The 14th January commencement of the legislature had two necessary proposals pre-filed:
- HJR 3353 Constitutional amendment; provides voters with the opportunity to decide whether to legally authorize in-person pari-mutuel betting on greyhound or horse racing, sports wagering, and casino games. Revenue to be used to fund infrastructure projects maintaining the state’s roads.
- HB 3625: This, for all intents and purposes, legally restricts sports wagering to no more than eight platforms, with a 12.5% tax on the gross gaming revenue levied by some quite significant application and licensing fees for operators.
Texas’s Big Ambition
The Omnibus Gaming bill would legalise sports betting in Texas while authorising seven destination-resort casinos. After heavy lobbying-more than $13 million was spent for gambling expansion by, among others, Miriam Adelson-its prospects are cloudy amidst a political minefield. Democratic senator Carol Alvarado has SJR 16, too, with a constitutional amendment that permits gaming at destination resorts and allows for a state gaming commission.
The legal landscape in U.S. sports betting will continue to be in flux into the new year, both challenging and promising. A number of bills will expire, but the new proposals filed in South Carolina and Texas mean debate over legal sports betting will spill into 2025.
Source: igamingbusiness.com
