It’s looking more and more like 2025 will pass without a single U.S. jurisdiction adding or expanding gambling. The latest state to shelve the idea is Nebraska, where Sen. Eliot Bostar requested that his digital sports betting bill be tabled in the middle of a Senate filibuster attempt Wednesday. LR 20CA is a constitutional amendment that would have sent the decision about whether to add digital sports betting in the state to voters.
The only other state seriously considering adding sports betting is Hawaii. There, HB 1308 would legalize digital betting only with a minimum of four platforms.
The deadline for all non-fiscal bills to get out of the legislature was Thursday. But it appears that lawmakers are considering the bill to be fiscal in nature, as a conference committee is scheduled to discuss it Friday. Should the committee come to a compromise — key issues are the tax rate and application and renewal fees — the legislature would have until next Friday (when adjournment is set) to send it to Gov. Josh Green.
Here’s a look at what else is going in state legislatures and at regulatory agencies across the country.
Illinois
The gaming board Wednesday banned the use of credit cards to fund sports betting accounts in a move Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter said is a “justified and impactful advancement in Illinois sports wagering.” Problem and responsible gambling advocates lobby against allowing credit cards as a way to fund accounts, and at least seven other U.S. jurisdictions with live betting ban it.
“There is a growing body of recent research showing that restrictions on credit card usage to fund wagering accounts encourages responsible gaming and mitigates the harms of compulsive gambling,” Fruchter wrote in press release. “Problem gamblers are particularly at risk and studies have shown an often problematic willingness for compulsive gamblers to use credit cards to place bets.”
Colorado
Colorado’s House Appropriations Committee Friday advanced an amended bill that will ultimately require promotional bets to be taxed. HB 1311 was amended to change the date that a step-down will occur to January 2026, and beginning July 1, 2026, operators would no longer be able to deduct promos for tax purposes. The committee approved the measure, 8-3, and it will now move to the Committee on the Whole.
Under current law, operators in FY 2025-26 can deduct 2% of all bets and that number would step down to 1.75% of all bets for FY 2026-27. Should HB 1311 pass out of the legislature, this structure would be defunct and all promotional bets would be taxable.
According a fiscal note, the new tax would generate more than $11 million in additional revenue for the state per year. Colorado is among a dozen states that currently allow wagering operators to deduct all or some percentage of promotional bets from gross gaming revenue before paying taxes.
Dylan Rogers, who is carrying a similar bill in the state Senate, told the Colorado Sun, “The thought with this bill is that it’s time to make this change. It’s a great way to generate more funding.”
Gambling tax rates have been a key topic across the U.S. in recent years, with lawmakers in Ohio and Illinois raising the tax rate in their states. Several other states, including North Carolina, have considered increases.
Missouri
The Missouri Gaming Commission (MGC) confirmed to InGame that it sent its final draft rules to Gov. Mike Kehoe for approval. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in February rejected the MGC’s proposed emergency rules, saying a gambling launch does not constitute an emergency. The MGC had been aiming to launch digital betting this summer, but now says the standard timeline means it will launch by the Dec. 1 deadline.
An MGC spokesperson Wednesday also confirmed that the agency is on target to open a window for sports betting applications May 15. The applications will be posted on the MGC website.
Voters narrowly approved legal retail and digital sports betting last November. Per that decision, the state’s casinos and professional sports teams will be able to apply for licenses, and two stand-alone mobile licenses will also be available.
In a set of draft regulations, the MGC set the retail application and renewal fees at $250,000 and the digital application and renewal fees at $500,000. Once licenses are issued, they will be valid for five years.
Missouri will be the only state to launch sports betting in 2025, the lowest number in a calendar year since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) that essentially prohibited sports betting nationwide was overturned in 2018.
Minnesota
Months after legal sports betting was left for dead, a pair of Minnesota senators Tuesday filed another attempt. At first look, SB 3414 is laden with consumer protections, including allowing the state to set limits on how often and how much a bettor gambles. It also addresses two key hurdles to previous deals: sending funds to the ailing horse-racing industry and creating tax relief for charitable gaming.
The bill has been referred to the Senate State and Local Affairs Committee. Thursday, lawmakers failed to pull it from that committee and send it to the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.
The bill sets the legal gambling age at 21, would allow for 11 licenses tethered to the state’s tribes, bans push notifications from operators when a betting app is not in use, mandates several recurring studies, and calls for a universal launch date.
Lawmakers will have about a month to consider the bill before adjournment, which is set for May 19. Bills can be carried over from this session to 2026.
South Carolina
Gov. Henry McMaster remains opposed to legalized sports betting, but a subcommittee earlier this week heard testimony on H3625. According to 7 News, House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford called legalization a “no brainer” because South Carolinians already have access to black-market sites and the state is not benefiting. But Rep. John McCravy said he fears “unintended consequences” of legalization, including a rise in gambling addiction. There was no vote.
The bill would allow for those 18 and older to place bets online and would set the tax rate at 12.25%. South Carolina is one of 10 states that do not offer legal sports betting. South Carolina’s legislative session is scheduled to adjourn May 8.
Mississippi
Multiple digital sports betting expansion proposals died in committee in Mississippi in February and March even as, according to Mississippi Today, DraftKings treated House Speaker Jason White and other legislators to a Super Bowl trip.
The media outlet reported Wednesday that White and others “mingled in a luxury box suite at the Superdome, private spaces that cost between $750,000 and $2 million. They took photographs with celebrities such as former Today show host Hoda Kotb and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. And there were pregame drinks at what appeared to be Brennan’s, the famed New Orleans Creole restaurant that served as the weekend stomping ground for guests of DraftKings.”
Mississippi in 2018 was among the first states to begin offering in-person betting after PASPA fell. But digital expansion efforts have failed for at least the last four sessions. Some casino properties offer on-site digital betting, but statewide online wagering remains prohibited.
