Legal sports betting launched in Vermont about a month ago, but some lawmakers may have already had enough of the advertising.
That’s at least the impression one gets reading H.857, "An act relating to prohibiting advertisements for State-run gambling operations."
The stated purpose of the legislation, which was introduced Wednesday with 39 sponsors from the 150-member House of Representatives, is cracking down on the promotion of various types of gaming.
“This bill,” it says, “proposes to amend the provisions of 31 [Vermont Statutes Annotated] chapter 25 (sports wagering) that govern the advertising plan in the agreement between the Department of Liquor and Lottery and its sports wagering operators; and to prohibit advertisements for the State Lottery, sports wagering, and any other State-run gambling operation.”
Too soon?
No other details are provided in the "short-form" bill, which is two pages long, and no debate on the proposed legislation has happened yet.
On Wednesday, H.857 was merely introduced, read for the first time, and referred to the House's Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs.
The bill might not go much further, and there is no guarantee it ever becomes law. However, its introduction means there is legislation in the Vermont legislature proposing to ban advertising for sports betting just a month after the state launched online sports betting. Furthermore, it hasn't even been a year since lawmakers passed the bill authorizing that wagering.
Nevertheless, advertising has been an issue for the still-growing legal sports betting industry. The seemingly ubiquitous marketing of online sports betting sites in and around sporting events can grate on viewers, and the promotion of operators has been a popular target for legislators and regulators.
So far so good
Vermont is one of the smaller wagering markets in the U.S. by both population and number of authorized operators. Currently, there are just three legal online sportsbooks in the New England state: DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel.
Those three operators were chosen through a competitive bidding process and signed contracts with the state governing their responsibilities, such as the share of revenue they must give to the government.
Liquor and Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight reported recently that approximately $20 million was wagered in Vermont during January, which translated into around $1.1 million in revenue for the state.
The average bet size in the state was $23.50 last month, but, interestingly enough, 53% of activity was attributed to out-of-state players who were in Vermont when they wagered.
"We're doing well,” Knight said during a meeting of the Vermont Board of Liquor and Lottery on Wednesday. “The thing to keep in mind is this is cyclical. The reason we're seeing such strong numbers right now is because we launched during the NFL playoff season.”
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