Montana Introduces Rules Proposal, While Indiana Opens Online Sports Betting

The Montana Lottery opened a mandated public comment period for their new sports betting rules after the office released the proposal in the monthly Montana Administrative Register late last week.

Releasing the rules proposal to Montana residents is the first step the state can take before introducing sports wagering to bettors.

The Montana Lottery has estimated that over 1,400 vendors could make a play to become licensed operators to offer sports betting. Any vendor that has a gambling operators’ license, is licensed by the Lottery commission, or has an alcohol beverage license will be eligible to submit an application for review.

Montana’s sports betting will be different than your typical on-site wagering that most find in casinos. The state will offer kiosks that are regulated and approved by the Lottery commission instead of allowing for physical sportsbooks.

The state does have plans to introduce online sports betting as well for bettors within the state. This rule will help bettors who don’t have a kiosk near them due to the size of the state of Montana.

Montana, the first state in 2019 to legalize sports betting, will keeps wagering under tight wraps in the early months of operation as the Lottery will give bettors the opportunity to limit their bets via their app.

One of the proposed rules is that bettors can claim up to $600 in winnings from a claim agent because anything over that amount has to be claimed directly through the Lottery system by mail or in person.

A public hearing will take place on October 28th where residents can voice concerns or support for the rules, with an approval by the commission expected soon after allowing the Lottery to set a plan in place for the roll out of sports betting in the state.

How Did Indiana Introduce Sports Betting In The State This Week?

Indiana is readying their launch of online sports betting in the state this week with expectations high that the offering will significantly boost tax revenue for the state due to increased wagering.

The DraftKings Sportsbook has been given permission to start accepting online bets through their app starting this week. The daily fantasy powerhouse is teaming up with Penn National Gaming to offer sports betting to customers in the Hoosier State.

DraftKings will join Rush Street Interactive and French Lick Casino as the initial gaming operators to offer mobile sports betting on the legal launch date.

Sara Gonso Tait of the Indiana Gaming Commission told Legal Sports Report last week that the state is planning on one more mobile bookmaker to receive permission to operate in Indiana during the month of October.

“These are the two we’ve been spending our time on,” Tait said. “There will probably be one more likely to launch in October, but I think that’s still a few weeks off.”

Source: legalsportsreport.com

Creating an online account for Indiana bettors won’t be as difficult as in other states as they will be able to create an account via the app rather than having to walk into a casino and create an account physically.