The Department of Liquor and Lottery announced Tuesday that three online sports betting companies will be allowed to operate in Vermont starting next month.
The department selected DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook through a competitive bidding process, according to a press release. Both companies can now market and pre-register players in Vermont ahead of the January 11 start date, chosen to coincide with the start of the NFL playoffs.
Governor Phil Scott signed a bill legalizing sports betting in June. The law authorized the Liquor and Lottery Authority to establish gambling systems with up to six state-owned companies.
“I first proposed legalizing sports betting in Vermont several years ago, and I’m happy to see it happen,” Scott said in a written statement Tuesday. “Vermonters and visitors alike will soon have access to a regulated sports betting market that will provide important consumer protections and generate revenue for the state.”
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The state expects to generate up to $7 million in revenue in the first year of legalized sports betting. The law requires each company to pay the state at least 20% of its profits, plus a $550,000 operating fee.
All three companies will pay more than the minimum revenue share of 20%, with DraftKings and Fanatics Sportsbook each paying 31% and FanDuel 33%, according to Liquor and Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight. He says he will have to pay.
“Frankly, we’re excited about the revenue sharing we’ve been able to secure with the carriers,” Knight said. “It’s much higher than the actual tax rate.”
Representatives for FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook declined to comment Tuesday.
DraftKings Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel Griffin Finnan said in a written statement that the company is “expanding its presence in New England and bringing DraftKings to eligible customers in the state with a wealth of betting options.”・We look forward to introducing the sportsbook.” A robust suite of options and responsible gaming tools. ”
Mr Knight said businesses were required to put guardrails in place to curb problem gambling.
“They set wagering limits. They set deposit limits and time-out periods,” Knight said. “We have a self-exclusion list, so if a player feels they want to stop betting for a period of time, they can put themselves on the self-exclusion list.”
The law also requires $250,000 of this year’s revenue to be donated to the state’s Problem Gambling Fund. The Department of Liquor and Lotteries will recommend that Congress put an additional $250,000 into the fund in fiscal year 2025, Knight said.
Five companies applied to operate in Vermont, including three that won contracts. Knight said the department rejected applications from BetMGM and Penn Sports Interactive.
Penn Sports Interactive had missing filings, and BetMGM proposed a revenue-sharing model that would vary based on the number of sportsbook operators licensed in Vermont. That revenue-sharing model is “unacceptable,” Knight said.
Online sports betting has become a booming industry in the five years since a Supreme Court ruling paved the way for legalized gambling. Thirty-eight states allow gambling, including Vermont and Washington, D.C., and sports betting brought in $7.5 billion in revenue last year, according to the American Gaming Association.
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