WHEELING — Republicans and Democrats in the West Virginia Legislature agree no changes are needed to sports betting legislation passed during the recent legislative session, and there is no need for Gov. Jim Justice to call a special session to amend it.
Representatives of the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball had been lobbying for a 1 percent “integrity tax” on the handle taken in by sports betting in the state, meaning they would get $1 for every $100 bet in the state. This provision was not in the bill that passed.
Justice indicated this week the sports organizations would be interested in a lesser tax, and that he would “absolutely” call a special session to address the sports betting legislation he has already signed into law. The organizations say the tax revenue would help them to monitor their games for corruption, and to maintain the “integrity” of their sports.
No other state has implemented a similar “integrity tax,” according to lawmakers.
West Virginia’s sports betting law was achieved by legislators working with State Lottery Commission officials, and it won’t go into effect until sports betting is approved at the federal level. The bill would limit sports betting operations at the state’s four racetracks and the casino at the Greenbrier Resort.
Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, championed sports betting measures in the House during recent sessions, and said he was happy with the measure approved.
“It was two years in the making to see it come full circle,” he said. “By building the interest since I first introduced it, we were able to get everyone on board and gather bi-partisan support. It passed the House with 77 votes. We do not need a special session, nor do we need changes.
“The governor is being pressured by the leagues to include an integrity fee. It is absurd to think we will send money out of West Virginia and to billionaire leagues. There’s no support in the legislature for it. If anything, an integrity fee should go directly to our universities, and not out of state leagues.”
Republican leadership in the Senate also said it was “highly unlikely” there will be a special session to make changes to the sports betting measure.
“There is zero interest in integrity fees or anything else associated with professional sports in the Legislature,” said Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio. “I think major league sports were late to the game. The bill had already worked its way through committee before they had even started talking to anybody…. It wasn’t a partisan issue, I just don’t think there was any support for it.
“(The sports organizations) recognize and admit that there is hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal betting taking place right now. Whether that betting is legal or illegal, major league sports should already be protecting the integrity of the game regardless of how the bets are being placed.”
Nobody at the Legislature felt the state owed the NBA or MLB 1 percent of the handle, said Senate Majority Whip Ryan Weld, R-Brooke.
He explained implementation of the sports betting bill is predicated on the U.S. Supreme Court rendering a ruling to permit sports betting on a national level, and that’s expected in the late spring or early summer.
“If that happens, we have put ourselves in the perfect position,” Weld said. “The legislation is ready to go, and the Lottery Commission is making rules for rolling this out. I think we’re going to be in a good position over our neighbors when it comes.”
As currently written, the bill would give the state 10 percent of the net profits casinos take in on sports betting, and the lawmakers said this could be revisited in the coming years to determine if the state’s share of the revenue is fair. Nevada’s take is 16 percent.
Ferns said it was within Justice’s purview to call a special session, but this effort would be “futile”because there is so little support.
http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2018/03/west-virginia-lawmakers-say-special-session-on-sports-betting-unnecessary/