In a story June 23 about regional differences in sports betting legalization, The Associated Press reported erroneously that sports betting has been legalized in two states in the Deep South. It has been legalized in only one Deep South state, Mississippi. The story erroneously labeled Tennessee a Deep South state. Three other states in the South — Arkansas, West Virginia and Tennessee — have legalized sports betting. The article also erroneously reported there are five states that approved sports betting this year, but do not have any legal sports books running; the correct number of states in that category is six.
Additionally, a graphic accompanying the story erroneously showed Arkansas had not legalized sports betting. It has been corrected to show Arkansas has legalized sports betting, but it’s not yet happening in the state.
A corrected version of the story is below:
States’ push to legalize sports betting differs by region
An analysis of sports betting legislation by The Associated Press shows that legalization is largely following regional boundaries across the US, with states in the Deep South and far West generally reluctant to offer it
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) — In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for every state to legalize sports betting, a regional divide has opened as states decide whether to expand their gambling options.
By year’s end, legalization is possible in a dozen states in the Northeast and Midwest. But most states in the Deep South and far West — SEC and Pac-12 territory in college sports — are staying on the sidelines, at least for now.
State lawmakers are weighing the benefits of a slight boost in state revenue and the ability to add consumer protections against concerns about the morality of allowing another form of gambling. Sorting out complex business interests and opposition from some casino-operating tribes also has emerged as thorny challenges.
It’s not clear whether legalization will happen in all corners of the country over the next few years or if opposition will keep it concentrated in the regions where it’s already taken root.
With just three exceptions, the Deep South states have been among the most resistant to legalizing sports betting. In Louisiana, a legalization bill passed the Senate earlier this year but died in the House.
Republican state Sen. Danny Martiny favors legalization, saying Louisianans already are betting on sports through bookies, offshore websites and casinos in neighboring Mississippi. He said Louisiana should regulate and tax sport bets, with the receipts largely earmarked for early childhood education.
“We have all of the ills of gaming,” Martiny said during a committee hearing, “but none of the benefits.”
Opponents such as Rep. Valarie Hodges, also a Republican, said gambling preys on the poor and that the state should find a better way to pay for early education.
“What we legalize, we legitimize,” she said.
Hodges’ side prevailed in the legislative debate, aided by a dispute among gambling interests over whether sports betting should be limited to the state’s 16 casinos and four racetracks or also available at 2,800 truck stops and other locations with video poker terminals.
Before the May 2018 Supreme Court ruling that allowed sportsbooks across the country, full-service ones were running legally only in Nevada. Last year, they opened in seven more states. So far this year, sports books have been legalized but haven’t yet begun operating in another six, plus the District of Columbia. In one of those states, Arkansas, voters approved sports betting last year, the Racing Commission issued rules for it earlier this year and the first legal sportsbook has been authorized to open July 1.
Bills are awaiting signatures from the governors in Illinois, Maine and New Hampshire. Colorado voters will decide the matter for that state in November. In Oregon, the state lottery is working on regulations with the plan of launching sports betting under existing law in time for the start of the NFL season.
Four more states are considering legalization during their current legislative sessions, but most legislatures have wrapped up their work for the year. Lawmakers in 18 states rejected sports betting legalization bills for 2019, according to a tally of legislation by The Associated Press.