Numerous Online Gaming, Sports Betting Bills Headed To State LegislaturesOnline Poker Possible In Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana, And Illinois |
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The new year brings new legislative sessions for numerous states around the country. For a few, that has meant the filing of gambling-related bills. In some states, that could possibly include online casino gaming and poker.
Maryland and Virginia have both seen online gaming bills filed and other stats are considering casino expansion and adding sports betting. Here’s a quick look at the bills in each state.
Maryland
The Old Line State has flirted with online gaming legalization in the past. In 2024, a bill was passed by the house but died in the senate without a vote. Legislators appear to be reviving the issue this year.
State Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary (D) has already filed a bill to legalize online gaming. The proposal would legalize iGaming, including poker. When introducing the bill, Atterbeary pointed to additional tax revenue the state could receive as well as employment opportunities for the state.
“We’ve seen other states significantly boost their economies with online gaming,” she said. “This legislation will bring Maryland into the future while providing critical funding for education and other essential services.”
The bill would allow the state’s casinos and their online partners to apply for licenses and would tax the industry at 15% of gross gaming revenue. Maryland has a population of about 6.2 million, which could be a nice addition to the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA), which provides for a shared liquidity online poker. Pennsylvania is expected to join the MSIGA in the coming months as well.
Virginia
State Sen. Mamie Locke (D) has already filed a bill ahead of the legislative session, which kicks off on Jan. 8. Each of the state’s four live casinos would be allowed to partner with online operators and offer up to three online skins.
Casinos and their partners would pay a $1 million license fee with revenue taxed at 15%. The state already allows for online sports betting, which was legalized in 2020. Virginia has a population of 8.7 million and would be a nice boost to the MSIGA for poker.
Illinois
Facing a $3 billion budget shortfall, Gov. JB Pritzker (D) has noted that online gaming might help offset some of that financial impact. He may get support in the state legislature in the coming weeks.
State Sen. Cristina Castro (D) has introduced online gaming bills in the past, but those never came to fruition. She may be trying again this year.
“In a tough budget year, you’re looking at ways to increase revenue,” she recently told the Chicago Sun-Times. “This is one tool for that. And it’s something that could be more palatable to constituents.”
Backers of a bill estimate the state could collect $450 million per year in taxes and that could move to as high as $800 million annually. Pritzker has called iGaming “worthy of consideration” and if poker is included, that could add a state with a population of 12.6 million to the MSIGA, just below Pennsylvania.
Louisiana
Legislators have begun considering online gaming and hosted the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States’s winter conference in New Orleans in December.
The Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee also held a hearing to discuss the issue. Lawmakers noted the state’s lost revenue to online gaming at unregulated sites and the state senate passed a bill in 2024 to study the issue. It’s still unknown if a bill will be introduced this year. Louisiana has a population of 4.6 million.
Kentucky
Already known for a robust horse racing industry, the Bluegrass State may be considering adding live casinos and also legalizing fantasy sports. State Rep. Thomas Huff® has filed a bill to allow Kentucky voters to decide the issue.
The Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation would be in charge of regulating riverboat and land-based casinos as well as fantasy sports. A casino would only be allowed in counties with more than 30,000 residents and would require a petition of 25% of voters in the county.
Counties already with horse tracks could add slot machines regardless of county population to those facilities without a petition, but voters would still get to decide the issue.
Counties with smaller populations would be allowed to partner with neighboring counties. Under the proposed legislation, casino revenue would be taxed at 21% and properties would be required to charge $3 for each person admitted.
Minnesota
Every state surrounding Minnesota has legalized sports betting, and legislators continue considering the issue. Efforts to pass a bill over the last few years have failed, but legislators may be once again taking up the issue.
Last year, backers of a bill believed they had a plan that satisfied the state’s tribal casinos, horse tracks, and charitable gaming organizations, but that came together too late in the legislative session. They may be giving it another shot this year.
There are some bipartisan obstacles, however. A Senate Finance Committee hearing was held this week looking at the potential downfalls that can come from gambling addiction. But Sen. Matt Klein (D) believes his bill can pass this year while also addressing problem gambling.
“My bill has significant guardrails,” he said. “I could name more than 12 of them.”
The bill would tax revenue at 22% and Klein believes the bill has a 50/50 chance of getting approved.
Texas
The Texas state legislature meets every two years, and it looks like sports betting may be put forward again. The house approved a bill in the last session, which then died in the senate. The political winds may have shifted, however.
The Texas Sports Betting alliance has been lobbying to get the issue approved with backing from major gaming interests and many of the state’s professional sports betting teams also are in favor of legalization.
Former Texas Secretary of State John Scott® has been serving as the spokesman for the group and has also served as Gov. Greg Abbott’s® deputy attorney general. He believes this year that a bill could overcome opposition from Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick®, who sets the agenda in the state senate.
“He’s always made it clear that if there is a groundswell within the Senate from their constituents that they want this, then he’s open to it,” Scott said. "I think last time his biggest opposition was that he really hadn’t heard from his members, and the Senate hadn’t heard from constituents that they wanted online gambling.”
Sen. Carol Alvarado (D) has already introduced a bill and the legislative session begins on Jan. 14. She believes there is more support this year among legislators and Texans.
“Go to (casino parking lots in) Louisiana and Oklahoma and a lot of the license plates are from Texas,” Alvarado said recently. “So, we know that it’s something that Texans enjoy and spend money on. And I think we ought to take that robust passion that Texans have, and do it here and benefit our economy.”
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