Michigan Could Become First State to Pay Leagues Sports Betting ‘Integrity Fee’

So far the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and PGA Tour are 0-for-7 in persuading state lawmakers to mandate payment of an off-the-top “integrity fee” or “royalty,” putting a percentage of legal sports bets into league coffers.

Now, a key lawmaker in Michigan sponsoring a bill that would legalize sports betting and iGaming in the state could give a win to the leagues.

According to a report from Reuters, following a U.S. Sports Betting Policy Summit in Washington D.C. this week, Michigan state representative Brandt Iden (R-District 61) changed his mind on the fees after “spending significant time with the leagues.”

 

Ohio Lawmakers Hold Meetings in Preparation of Drafting Sports Betting Bill

Ohio lawmakers on Tuesday hosted two meetings as the first step to crafting passable sports betting legislation. The meetings, hosted by senators John Eklund and Sean O’Brien (D-District 32), left Eklund feeling like lawmakers are on the right path.

“We’re taking the information we gathered at these meetings and the sponsors will get together and see if we can put some meat on the bones,” he said. “We’ll draft a bill and then entertain comments and suggestions, and I’d hope we might have a substantive bill ready to go. If not, we might need some more meetings.”

Eklund is aiming to have an outline done in a couple of weeks and, with any luck, a bill drafted shortly after that. Both the Ohio Senate and House have up to six sessions on the calendar in November and up to seven each in December. The goal would be to pass legislation before the end of 2018, otherwise, a new bill would need to be introduced at the start of the 2019 session.

 

Read more Ohio Lawmakers Hold Meetings in Preparation of Drafting Sports Betting Bill  on SportsHandle.

AGA to Schumer: Sports Betting Doesn’t Need Federal Oversight

The post AGA to Schumer: Sports Betting Doesn’t Need Federal Oversight appeared first on SportsHandle.

“Additional federal engagement is not warranted at this time.”

Those words close the first paragraph of the American Gaming Association‘s latest volley in the discussion about the creation of federal sports betting regulation. The AGA, a national trade group, has been on the front lines in working with stakeholders to streamline the legislative process as sports betting becomes legal in more and more states.

On Thursday, it released a letter sent to Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer (New York), in response to Schumer’s call for a federal framework that would, among other things, require sportsbooks to use “official” league data and would allow the professional sports leagues a voice in determining what kinds of bets could be placed. The letter is intended as a reply to Schumer’s staff, which requested additional information from the AGA following an Aug. 2 meeting.

Read more of AGA to Schumer: Sports Betting Doesn’t Need Federal Oversight  on SportsHandle.