15%-to-25% tax rate range is part of proposed internet gambling template

December 15, 2024

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We’re heading into the home stretch, and playoff push, of the National Football League (NFL) season. It’s the most popular sport in the United States.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 okayed state-authorized sports betting, the NFL has gained new fans who are more interested in how the games can make them a few, or more, bucks. Currently, 38 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have legalized some form of sports betting, though not all have implemented it.

Now the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) wants to help states that are interested in expanding to internet gambling, or igaming as it is popularly known.

Template for internet gambling: The online gambling market is worth an estimated $66.7 billion per year, and is expected to grow significantly.

So far, however, just seven states currently offer legal online casino games. They are Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. Nevada offers internet poker, but not online casino games.

And expanding igaming is a hard sell. Opponents say it will just add to the national gambling addiction problem. Others fear it will cannibalize brick-and-mortar betting establishments.

"Many states have been discussing this, but were having a hard time getting it across the finish line," said Shaun Fluharty, a West Virginia Democratic state delegate who is the current NCLGS president. "We're trying to put together some best practices for them."

So NCLGS issued model internet gaming legislation at its recently concluded winter meeting in New Orleans.

The proposal would ban sweepstakes, limit deposits to $20,000 in any 24-hour period, and prohibit the use of credit cards to fund gambling accounts, as well as set 21 instead of 18 as the wagering age.

The NCLGS also suggests states should limit the number of operators within their jurisdictions, as well has have the power to set bet limits.

Suggested igaming tax rates: And, oh yeah, it recommends a tax rate of 15 percent to 25 percent of gross gaming revenue for new states adopting internet gambling. Those proposed tax rate range also is this weekend’s By the Numbers figure.

The tax rates are just a starting point for discussions. The 15-to-25 percent range is more than what some states charge, but far less than others. Pennsylvania, for example, taxes online sports betting at 36 percent and online slot machine games at 54 percent.

You can read the full Model Internet Gaming Act in its draft for public comment.

Will the proposal be the consolidating factor that igaming supporters say is necessary to advance the gambling option? Possibly. But it is more likely that it will be a starting point for a slow process to legalize a gambling activity, and its tax potential, that’s new to most legislators.

That, says NCLGS, is one of the main reasons for the igaming draft.

The group’s objective, according to its policy statement in the proposal, is to create a framework “that will foster public confidence and trust in the integrity of the regulatory process and the fairness of internet gaming operations.”

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