Monthly Gaming Roundup - March

 This past month, lawmakers have been eager to introduce legislation expanding their state's sports betting and iGaming markets. Simultaneously, the nationwide crackdown on sweepstakes casinos continues, with some of the largest states in the country introducing legislation to ban its operations. 

With March Madness approaching, we are also eager to see how bettors and sports book operators fare this season. 

Here is the latest in gaming: 

Sports Betting 

• Georgia lawmakers introduced HB686 on February 28, which would legalize sports betting in the state and allow up to 16 online licenses. Similar legislation has been presented in the last two legislative sessions and failed. 

  
  

• HB1308 passed out of committee in Hawaii on March 13, making it the farthest a sports betting bill has made it in the legislature. 

• The quest to legalize mobile sports betting in Mississippi hit a roadblock earlier this month when the Senate Gaming Committee declined to consider HB1302. However, a procedural maneuver kept the bill alive to be considered at a later date. 

• Connecticut lawmakers introduced HB1464, which would set a maximum for online sports betting wagers. Currently, the bill does not mention what a potential maximum amount would be. 

• On March 11th, the Safe Bet Act was reintroduced in Congress. Key provisions of the act include setting national advertising standards, banning college prop bets, and limiting the use of AI in targeting bettors. 

  
  

• Rhode Island lawmakers introduced SB748, which would expand mobile sports betting in the state by awarding up to five licenses in 2026. Currently, Bally’s Entertainment holds a monopoly on sports betting in the state. 

Online Gaming 

• In the last week of February, Florida lawmakers introduced two bills, HB953 and S1404, to expand the state’s ban on online gaming, including sweepstakes casinos and online sports betting. Currently, the Seminole Tribe has a monopoly on the sports betting industry in the Sunshine State. 

  
  

• New York and Florida lawmakers introduced legislation this month to ban sweepstakes casinos, a trend spreading through statehouses across the country. 

  
  

• The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) issued a cease and desist order to the betting and prediction platform Kalshi to halt all operations in the state. 

Revenue and Taxes 

• North Carolina inched closer to allowing gamblers to deduct losses on their state income tax filings, with HB14 clearing the Commerce and Economic Development Committee. It will now move to the Committee on Finance for a vote. 

  
  

• For the second straight month in a row, New Jersey casinos fell short of iGaming revenues in the state - with Atlantic City operators taking home $203.5 million in February versus $207.8 million for their online counterparts.