Wayne Wintle opened issue #1: Online Sports Betting Bill Clears Another Vermo...

Wayne Wintle
2026-04-08T22:38:43Z

Sports betting sites are one action better to releasing in Vermont after pro-wagering legislation passed another Senate committee.

The Vermont Senate's finance committee met once again on Tuesday and authorized a changed version of House Bill 127, legislation that would bring legal sports wagering to the state by means of mobile apps and sites.

While Vermont is the only New England state that has not legalized sports wagering, H. 127 would alter that and put the state's Department of Liquor and Lottery in charge of event wagering as soon as Vermont sports betting is legislated. The department would carry out a competitive bidding procedure to choose two to 6 operators of mobile sportsbooks to take wagers in the state, although it might select one or no operators if there are insufficient worthy prospects.

Bookmakers would need to turn over a share of the income from sports betting to Vermont, and the costs needs that cut to be no less than 20% of adjusted invoices. Operators will also have to dish out a yearly cost.

Fee-faraw

The Senate financing committee had been playing with the idea of tweaking that fee structure. When H. 127 showed up in committee, the legislation proposed that a single operator would need to pay $550,000 a year, while two operators would prompt payments of $412,500, 3 would need $366,666, four $343,750, five $330,000, and six $320,833.

Senators then invested time last week considering other fee structures before settling Tuesday on an upfront payment of $550,000, which would cover the cost of regulating the market.

It will be up to the Department of Liquor and Lottery to negotiate with an operator over the length of their agreement and when they would need to pay the $550,000 once again. Nevertheless, the change approved Tuesday states bookmakers will not be charged more than once in any three-year duration.

Tracking changes

Other changes authorized by the financing committee on Tuesday include tweaking the name of a "Sports Wagering Fund," where the charges and profits from sports wagering will be transferred, to the "Sports Wagering Enterprise Fund."

Another modification the financing committee made was to guarantee earnings of sports wagering done within the state can be taxed, comparable to what's made with lottery payouts.

If H. 127 remains changed, it should go back to Vermont's House of Representatives when the Senate is completed, as the former has actually already passed the bill and would require to agree to the changes. That said, Tuesday's vote pushes the legal sports betting costs closer to the goal.