A Senate committee voted Friday to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that would ask South Dakota voters whether to allow sports wagering through a mobile or electronic platform.
The Senate Taxation Committee voted 4-3 to give a do-pass recommendation to Senate Joint Resolution 504, sending the measure to the Senate floor.
SJR 504 proposes putting a constitutional amendment question on the general election ballot. This amendment would permit sports betting via mobile or electronic means. The proposal stipulates that mobile betting must be provided by or in collaboration with licensed Deadwood casinos, and servers must reside in Deadwood. The proposal dedicates ninety percent of tax revenue from mobile sports betting to property tax relief.
WHY IT MATTERS
This resolution promises to broaden legal sports betting significantly, extending it beyond current physical locations. It also reopens a long-standing argument concerning gambling growth, addiction hazards, and the idea of using gaming income for property tax relief.
Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison, the prime sponsor, said the proposal will allow voters to decide the issue while giving the Legislature control over future regulations.
“In front of you is a proposal that provides for some real property tax relief. It ultimately puts more money in the pockets of hard-working South Dakotans and that’s the bottom line of what we’re doing here today,” Crabtree told the committee.
Opponents warned that mobile betting will increase addiction and create new social costs.
Norman Woods, with Family Voice Action, argued that tying state revenue to gambling losses creates a conflict for the government.
“Do you want there to be a state interest in that activity? Do you want to be bringing in state revenue from it?” Woods said. “We would suggest it’s a poor way to fund state government and a poor way to reduce property taxes.”
Committee chair Sen. Sue Peterson, R-Sioux Falls, said the state already profits from gambling without fully accounting for its human costs.
“I do think that we have significant problems with gambling and I think we, the state, make money off of gambling, but we don’t really realize the full cost and we don’t fund the help for those human costs very well, if at all,” Peterson said.
If approved by the full Legislature, the constitutional amendment would go before voters at the next general election.
