Six months after Montana lawmakers signed into law a bill legalizing sports betting, Big Sky Country is poised to launch live wagering by the end of the year.
Sports betting will take place under the authorization of the Montana Lottery, which recently dubbed the product Sports Bet Montana.
Late last week, the five-person Lottery Commission voted on rules that outline the
implementation of sports wagering in Montana.
The vote came after a 30-day public comment period that including a public hearing.
Montana Lottery spokesperson Jennifer McKee told Gaming America : “When the law passed that created sports wagering in Montana, there were some parts of the law that needed to be defined further in official state rule. In Montana, the way that’s handled is that if a state agency has to write official rules, there’s a whole public process to make sure the public has a right to be involved and has an opportunity to weigh in before any rule becomes permanent.”
Lottery officials listened to concerns, questions and recommendations from citizens and then implemented public advice into their rule book.
The next step is formally publishing language into law.
McKee said: “That (vote) was a big milestone for us, but the rules still won’t be completely final until they’re published in the Montana Administrative Registrar. That’s expected in sometime early December. When that happens we will start accepting licenses for sports wagering and that will sort of be our launch. We’ll be open for business for then.”
The law and Montana Lottery rules state businesses with the proper liquor license will be
eligible for gambling operator’s licenses.
Up to 1,400 establishments will be able to apply for a gambling operator’s license.
The Lottery is still sorting out the parameters of sports betting before a vote is held at a public hearing in early December.
McKee said: “What we do know now is that we expect it to, and we’re designing it, to be very much like sports wagering is experienced in Las Vegas in any other place where it’s been legal.
There won’t be high school sports, of course, but there will be collegiate and professional sports of a wide variety.”
Sports bettors in Montana will be able to wager at land-based venues and bet online.
Mobile betting will be limited to the parameters of authorized betting venues.
Montana Lottery will serve as the sole providing of sports betting in the state. Unlike other states where sports betting is legal, Montana won’t bring in outside operators like DraftKings or FanDuel.
While it’s too early to predict the profitability of sports betting in Montana, lottery officials are optimistic.
McKee said: “Really and truly, we think sports betting will be popular and well received in
Montana.”
