South Dakota Takes Another Step Toward Legalizing Sports Betting

South Dakota’s state legislature has taken a significant step in its bid to legalize sports betting in the state. The Senate has approved Senate Joint Resolution 504 (SR504). The approval came via a 23-10 vote. Two Senators were excused from the vote.

SR504 calls for a public vote to be held in November as part of the state’s next general election. It would offer a yes-or-no proposition on whether to amend the South Dakota state constitution to allow online and mobile sports betting to be legalized in the state.

The primary co-sponsors of the bill are Senator Casey Crabtree and Rep. Greg Jamison. Both are members of the Republican Party. An interesting aspect of SR504 is that it does not require the approval of Governor Larry Rhoden to be placed on the November 2026 ballot.

It will, however, require approval from the State House for the bill to go forward.

Crabtree argued that South Dakotans already have access to online sports betting through neighboring states and illegal offshore betting sites, so why shouldn’t the state be reaping the tax revenue that is currently going elsewhere?

“Right now, today, on this floor … I can use my phone, I can download an app, and I can bet,” Crabtree told TV station KTIV.

Despite acknowledging that she knows someone who was the victim of a gambling addiction, Republican Senator Amber Hulse argued in favor of legalization. She believes that by controlling gambling in their own state, South Dakota can set up regulatory guardrails to offer protection and support to those who suffer from problem gambling.

“For someone who has a personal connection to someone who is addicted to gambling, I would rather that people have guardrails on the betting limits and have it be regulated rather than it be on the black market or the revenue leaving our state,” Hulse said.

Not everyone was willing to back moving ahead with SR504, however.

“It’s difficult for my conscience to expand gambling in our state, and that’s why I’m gonna be a no on this bill,” Republican Senator Greg Blanc said.

South Dakota already offers retail sports betting

A similar path was followed that led to the 2020 legalization of retail sports betting in South Dakota. A public vote authorized the approval of a constitutional change to legalize retail sports betting.

All retail sports betting is done through the state’s two commercial casinos in Deadwood and at South Dakota’s two tribal casinos.

Under SR504, all online and mobile sports betting would also be tethered to Deadwood’s land-based casinos. Online sports betting sites would be required to form partnerships with one of the state’s retail casinos to be eligible for an operating license.

If the measure is approved, the vast majority of tax revenue earned from online sports betting would be directed to property taxes. Ninety percent of the tax take would be for funding property tax relief.

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