Vermont lawmakers are considering following in the footsteps of the Illinois legislature, as they consider a bill that would add a per-wager tax to online sports bets. The bill, H 913, also seeks to ban some prediction-market contracts from the second-smallest U.S. state by population. The bill was referred on Feb. 25 to the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs, but does not yet have a hearing date.
Vermont lawmakers legalized online sports betting in June 2023, and platforms went live the following January. The three operators there, DraftKings, Fanatics Sportsbook, and FanDuel, pay different tax rates, ranging from 31%-33%, depending on what each included in their bids to get a license.
With regard to prediction markets, the bill proposes to prohibit contracts “related to sports, contests, natural persons, politics and campaigns, disasters, war, all-hazards, or death,” and further calls for such contracts to be made “void and subject to civil action for recovery of money.” This would open the door for a Statue of Anne loss-recovery lawsuit.
On the sports betting front, the two-page bill proposes to add a 50-cents-per-wager tax to all bets. In Illinois, the per-wager tax is a sliding scale from 25-50 cents, depending on the number of bets that an operator takes in a 12-month period.
Since the Illinois law went into effect July 1, 2025, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proposed a similar tax, as did the Chicago City Council. In Michigan, Whitmer proposed a per-wager tax in her latest budget proposal, but the state legislature has not acted on it. In Chicago, the city council ultimately did not adopt a per-wager tax, but did impose a 10.25% tax on all bets placed within the city limits.
Operators in Illinois have passed the per-wager tax directly onto consumers, or have set bet minimums since it went into effect. In September, the first full month of the football season, the state took in $10 million in taxes related to the levy. Given the size of Vermont’s population — about 650,000 compared to Illinois’ $12.7 million — the benefit would be significantly smaller in Vermont.
In other news …
Here’s a look at the status of other active bills around the U.S.:
Illinois: Sen. Michael Hastings filed SB 4168, which would regulate and tax the platforms that offer sports event contracts. It is the second bill calling for regulation of prediction markets in the state — HB 5059 was filed in early February. SB 4168 would bring prediction markets under the purview of Illinois Gaming Board, charge a $1 million application and renewal fee, set the tax rate at 50%, set the legal age at 21, and require geofencing and anti-money laundering compliance, responsible gaming tools, and integrity monitoring. Prediction markets would be regulated separately from Class III gaming.
Also in Illinois, HB 5143, which would repeal the per-wager tax, was assigned to the Revenue and Finance Committee Wednesday.
Louisiana: With the state legislature set to open Monday, Louisiana lawmakers will have plenty of gambling bills to consider — at least 10 were pre-filed. The showiest one is SB 354, which would ban prop bets and microbetting. The bill text defines prop bets as “a side wager on a part of a
sport or athletic event that does not concern the final outcome of the sport or athletic event.” State law currently permits props on professional and college games, but not on college players. Among the other bills in play in Baton Rouge will be one that would allow the nine parishes that did not legalize wagering in November 2020 to hold special elections to do so. One lawmaker has already filed a bill that would allow voters in Sabine Parish a second chance at legalization.
Other bills consider creating an exclusion list for athletes and those involved in games, promotional deductions, and how sports betting tax revenue is spent. The Louisiana legislature is set to run through June 1, and bills must be introduced by March 31.
Mississippi: A House bill that would have allowed for statewide online sports betting died in the Senate’s Finance and Gaming Committee Tuesday. HB 1591 was sponsored by wagering champion Casey Eure. It passed the House Feb. 5, but the Senate committee opted not to call it for a vote. Tuesday was the deadline for committees to report bills out, and all of the gambling bills stalled.
Missouri: Less than four months after go-live, a Missouri lawmaker is proposing to increase the tax rate from 10% to 24%, in addition to eliminating all deductions for operators, including promos, canceled wagers, and the federal excise tax. HB 3533 would also require gambling boats to pay the state “a remote wagering access fee in lieu of an admission fee of one and one-half percent of the total amount of moneys wagered each month” for online sports betting and any future online gaming. In addition, the bill would increase the admission fee on gambling boats and the retail gaming tax.
Rhode Island: State lawmakers propose to open the online sports betting market and entice a minimum of four and maximum of six operators. HB 8186, filed last Friday and sent to the House Finance Committee, would require operators to pay the state 51% of revenue through the end of FY 2025 and 12% thereafter, and 8.5% of revenue to host facilities “provided that, the host facilities have received four million five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000).” The bill would require the state to “issue an open invitation” to potential operators by Jan. 1, 2027. No hearing date has been set.
South Dakota: Voters won’t get to decide whether or not to expand sports betting online, after a House committee late last week rejected a constitutional amendment. SJR 504, which passed the senate Feb. 11, didn’t get past its first House committee. The Committee on State Affairs voted 7-6 against the bill, and then 11-2 to defer it to the 41st legislative day, which is one day after the session is set to adjourn March 30.
