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South Dakota Jumps into the Bandwagon of Regulated Sports Betting
By Jeff Osienya Nov 09, 2020 LegalitySports betting fans in South Dakota could start betting on sports as soon as next year after over 58% of voters signed off on sports betting under Constitutional Amendment B in the just concluded November ballot.The November ballot has been a big win for the burgeoning sports betting industry in the USA. Alongside Maryland and Louisiana, voters in South Dakota said “Yes” to the state’s Constitutional Amendment B to formally give the state legislature mandate to authorize a regulated sports betting market. The Associated Press called the race late Tuesday night with 95% of the cast ballots counted, announcing that 216,673 (58.5%) residents signed off on the legal sports betting measure whereas 153,611 (41.5%) residents voted against it.
Presently, the only legal form of gambling in the Mount Rushmore State only occurs in the City of Deadwood, which is the only jurisdiction in the state where the constitution allows commercial gaming. As such, locals in the state have to go to Deadwood if they want to game on slot machines and table games such as craps, keno, roulette, and a limited range of card games.
Sports Betting Will Also Be Allowed in Tribal Gaming Facilities
For clarification purposes, it is crucial to note that the measure that was approved on Tuesday’s ballot, was to allow sports betting in Deadwood, on top of the games that are legally authorized in that specific city alone. Unlike the case of Maryland for instance, the ballot measure wasn’t giving a thumbs up to statewide authorization of sports betting.
But then, according to a statement from the state’s Attorney General, once lawmakers okay sports betting in Deadwood, the activity will also effectively be legal outside the city, though only in casinos that are operated by Native American tribes in the state. There are nine federally recognized tribes in the Mount Rushmore State and they are; the Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux, Lower Brule Sioux, Flandreau Santee Sioux, Yankton Sioux, and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux. Per the Attorney General’s statement, these tribes will be allowed to offer sports betting after amendment of their current tribal gaming compacts
So, what this means is that when the state legislature completes the framework process, sports betting will only be permitted in Deadwood, and across the 11 tribal casinos in the Mount Rushmore State.
How Soon Can Residents in South Dakota Start Betting on Sports?
From the look of things, the regulated sports betting market in South Dakota could debut sometime next year given that lawmakers will need time to draw and pass follow-up legislation that is crucial to a fruitful execution of a legal market. Working on factors such as tax rates and other regulatory measures will likely start early in 2021 after the legislators resume session, and if things proceed as smoothly as they should, locals in the state could be able to start betting on sports before the year ends.
For now, however, there’s no clear timeline. In case the introduction of mobile betting will be an option on the menu, the legislative process could take much longer, pushing the launch date of sports betting past 2021.
Whatever the case, this is a huge step forward for the state’s gaming industry which is trying to be somewhat progressive whenever there’s room to accrue more revenue for state coffers. Fantasy sports was approved by voters in 2018, but that is different as the activity isn’t really considered gambling. The subject of gaming has been pretty controversial in South Dakota granted that it is one of the most conservative states both politically and culturally. The last time real money gambling was expanded in South Dakota was years ago in 2015, when keno, craps, and roulette were added to Deadwood’s gaming slate, after 57% of voters agreed to gaming expansion on November 2014’s ballot.
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