Vermont is keeping its word that mobile sports betting will launch in January.
On Dec. 12, Gov. Phil Scott and Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL) Commissioner Wendy Knight announced online sports wagering will launch in Vermont on Jan. 11. The announcement came from the Office of the Governor.
“I first proposed Vermont legalize sports wagering several years ago, and it’s good to see it come to fruition,” Gov, Scott said in a press release. “Vermonters and visitors alike will soon be able to access a regulated sports wagering marketplace, which will come with important consumer protections and generate revenue for the state.”
Scott signed House Bill 127 in June legalizing online sports wagering making it available to the state’s 645,570 residents who are 21 years of age or older. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper also signed legislation the same day as Scott that will launch online/mobile sports betting in the Tar Hill state.
Additional resources to enhance Vermont’s responsible gaming services were included in the piece of legislation.
Vermont will establish a problem gambling program to be administered by the Department of Mental Health to provide education, assistance, awareness, treatment, and recovery services to people having trouble arising from addictive or problematic gambling.
As is the norm in other states, Vermont will receive a percentage of each operator’s Adjusted Gross Sports Wagering Revenue, in addition to an operator fee. The new online sportsbook operation is expected to bring in up to $7 million in new revenue to the state during the first full year of operations.
House Bill, H 127, legalized sports wagering in the state and authorized the Vermont DLL to operate and regulate sports wagering.
The DLL was tasked with negotiating and contracting with up to six online/mobile sportsbook operators. Through a competitive bid process, the DLL announced on Dec. 12 that as of now only three operators were selected, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook, to operate mobile sports wagering in the state.
Vermont will also establish a problem gambling program to be administered by the Department of Mental Health to provide education, assistance, awareness, treatment, and recovery services to people having trouble arising from addictive or problematic gambling.
The bill has a lot of guardrails, Senator Alison Clarkson told legislators during committee meetings leading up to the governor’s signing in June.
“A lot of attention has been paid to ensure responsible gaming and problem gambling,” Clarkson said. Sportsbook operators must submit an annual responsible gaming plan to DLL and the Department of Mental Health.
In addition, many states have put tight restrictions on where sportsbooks will be able to advertise, namely around schools. Vermont will be no different.
Responding to concerns about advertising, Clarkson said, “The effort will be made to restrict and have no advertising on secondary schools or on university campuses. The effort really is underscored many times in this bill to limit the impact and the enticement to anyone under 21.”
Clarkson said the hope was always to launch in January, “and then we’ll have a whole year of revenue to see it in action.”
With contracts fully executed, a pre-registration period opened on Dec. 12 allowing sports betting operators to market their brand and pre-register players before the Jan. 11 launch date.
“We are excited to offer sports enthusiasts the ability to engage in sports wagering in Vermont with three of the industry’s top companies,” said Knight.
Since 2018, over 36 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have approved sports betting in some form, either in-person betting at a sportsbook facility or online through a computer or smartphone app.
