HELENA – Within a year, sports betting on professional and collegiate athletics will be available in Montana.
Gov. Steve Bullock signed HB725, An Act Generally Revising Lottery Laws to Authorize Sports Wagering, into law on Friday.
The law allows the Montana State Lottery to arrange with its current contractor to offer sports betting at locations that already allow gambling.
Bettors will go to an establishment that has machines selling lottery tickets that offer various types of sports betting– usually a tavern or bar.
Sports betting is estimated to raise $1.5 million to $2 million in revenue to the state’s general fund and another $3 million to $4 million for a school scholarship fund for science and technology learning.
With the bill signed, the Montana Lottery has up to a year to implement it across the state.
Athletes, coaches, team staff, team owners, and referees are all prohibited from making wagers.
The governor vetoed a second bill, SB330, that would have put sports wagering under the Montana Department of Justice’s Gambling Control Division.
Story by John Riley, MTN News
