Kristi Noemi, governor of South Dakota, has penned her signature to Senate Bill 44, a piece of legislation that will allow sports betting options in the state.
The bill has been a year in the pipelines but will finally become official in July. There is no scheduled launch date for sports betting in South Dakota but it’s expected that residents will be able to start betting on the 2021 NFL season.
How will South Dakota sports betting look?
- The city of Deadwood will play a key part in the future of sports betting in the state.
- Sportsbooks will be limited to Deadwood as well as tribal casinos, as per the South Dakota constitution.
- Sportsbooks will be available on the casinos’ premises through unique sports betting windows, kiosks or via a mobile app.
- Most Deadwood casinos already have plans to offer sports betting on their properties. Several of them have already begun renovating and expanding.
September 1st Objective
The SD Gaming Commission will have a preliminary set of rules completed by June 16th, which will then head to a special legislative committee for approval.
According to the Deadwood Gaming Association Executive Director, Mike Rodman: “It’s a big day for Deadwood and our next step now is to work with the South Dakota Commission on Gaming to promulgate the rules. We’ll be working through the process with the hope that we will be able to offer sports wagering by Sept. 1.”
Rodman added that the gaming commission reiterated their commitment to work to get the preliminary set of rules in place as quickly as possible, but want to make sure they are the right rules to have the appropriate sports wagering for South Dakota.
Sports wagering is expected to provide over $20 million in additional annual revenue to the state, with around $2.2 million coming in through extra gaming taxes. Sports betting should create 150 direct gaming jobs.
