Buried deep in Vermont Senate Bill 11 is a provision creating a committee to examine the feasibility of bringing legal sports betting to the Green Mountain State.
Gov. Phil Scott signed the legislation Wednesday.
Vermont is surrounded by states that have legalized sports betting, including New Hampshire, New York, and most recently Maine.
Details Of Vermont Sports Betting Study Committee
The committee will be made up of nine members:
- Attorney General;
- Commissioner of liquor and lottery;
- Commissioner of taxes;
- Secretary of State;
- Secretary of Commerce and Community Development;
- Two current members of each the House and Senate.
The committee is tasked with examining the sports betting study commissioned earlier by the Office of Legislative Council and the Joint Fiscal Office.
Members must meet for the first time no later than September 1. They are allowed to meet no more than four times and must submit a written report to the House Committee on General, Housing, and Military Affairs and the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs no later than Dec. 15.
The committee will cease to exist after Dec. 30.
Neighboring States Have Sports Betting
Vermont is almost entirely surrounded by states where sports betting is legal. Massachusetts doesn’t have it yet but has been considering legalization for more than a year.
In fact, a conference committee comprised of members of the Massachusetts House and Senate was scheduled to meet on Thursday to work toward ironing out the differences between bills passed by each chamber.
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