The Montana Lottery and Sports Wagering Commission recently submitted a proposal that would allow betting on sports to take place at up to 1,400 locations around the state. This is equivalent to approximately one location to every 764 person in the Big Sky State.
On Thursday, the Commission approved rules to implement sports betting under the Sports Bet Montana brand name. The law will allow all licensed bars and restaurants to apply for licenses to offer sports betting from gambling kiosks or mobile apps within these establishments. The only technicality is to wait for the secretary of the state’s office to publish the administrative rules in the Montana Administrative Register in early December.
“We’ve been working hard since May to create and build Sports Bet Montana,” said Lottery director Angela Wong said in a press release.
In May this year, the communication manager for the Lottery, Jennifer McKee said: “What that means for Montana is you won’t be seeing sports wagering at every grocery store and gas station that currently sells Montana Lottery. It will be only locations get a sports wagering license, and it will only be in locations where it makes sense.”
Montana’s Governor Steve Bullock signed House Bill 725 into law in May this year, following the US Supreme Courts decision to allow states to take their betting industries into their own hands.
The Commission is still working out extra details relating to the new law, such as which types of bets can be placed (such as in-game bets, over-under and parlays). It is expected that all the details will be hammered out in the Commission’s next meeting.
Sports betting is expected to raise around $2 million in revenue for Montana’s general fund and up to $4 million for a school scholarship fund for science and technology education.
