After a vote was approved in November 2020, sports betting has still not yet been launched in the state of South Dakota. That could change soon, and sports betting could be launched in South Dakota in a matter of months.
On Thursday, Senate Bill 44 was approved by the House of Representatives by a whopping margin. The official vote was 58-8-4 vote, and that came after SB 44 quickly advanced through the South Dakota Senate.
Governor Kristi Noem will now be left to sign the bill into law, something that she is expected to do in a short amount of time. Since a large majority of voters expressed their desire for sports betting, it put pressure on lawmakers to get a bill passed quickly.
All of the sports betting will be limited to the small town of Deadwood, the home of the entire casino industry in the state. This town was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and sports betting could provide a huge boost in revenue.
Online Not an Option
The news of potential sports betting was not all positive, as it was announced that online sports betting would not be included. This will limit all of the betting to in-person at the Deadwood Casinos, which might limit the potential of handle and revenue.
The final decision came up to the lawmakers in the state, and there just was not enough support to allow for online sports betting. There have been two recent attempts to allow for online sports betting, but both bills have failed quickly.
The Dakota Gaming Group was formed to help push for online or mobile betting, citing a statistic that more than $30 million each year was wagered illegally online in the state. Casinos wanted to keep all betting to in-person, and lawmakers ultimately allied with those properties.
Popular Teams in South Dakota
South Dakota doesn’t have any professional teams of its own, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t popular options in the state. Football is extremely popular in South Dakota, and the Minnesota Vikings are a fan-favorite with residents.
The sports betting law prohibits betting on in-state college teams, but college football and basketball are still on the table. The NCAA Tournament and the Super Bowl will be two of the biggest sporting events that bring in plenty of action.
Other states that don’t have any professional teams have still been successful when launching sports betting, and South Dakota should see the same thing happen.
North Dakota Looking at Mobile
Last week, a pair of resolutions were passed by the North Dakota House of Representatives that could eventually allow for online sports betting in that state. If these measures are passed by the legislature, it would be up to the voters in the state to make the final decision in November 2022.
Not only are lawmakers hoping to legalize online sports betting, but online poker could be included as well. There aren’t any casinos in the state of North Dakota, but it would be easy for the state to set up online forms of gambling.
North Dakota would also have a chance to steal some business and revenue from South Dakota if online betting became an option in the state.
