The Legalization of Idaho Sports Betting Still Doesn't Seem to be a Priority

Can anybody predict the future of Idaho sports betting? It’s a question that reverberates throughout the industry and among sports betting fans in the region. After all, it’s that time of year.

As the 2023 calendar year inches closer toward a close, the spotlight is on states without legal sports betting. Most have green lit sports gambling in some form. That means everyone wants to know when the current holdouts will follow suit. 

For some states, it’s easy to predict their trajectory. Florida sports betting, for instance, is inevitable even though it’s gridlocked now. But sports betting in Idaho is among the toughest issues to forecast. The state’s interest in discussing the topic, let alone passing actual legislation, has so far been minimal to nonexistent. Some experts, in fact, think that Idaho could be the last state to legalize sports betting. Granted, that’s just speculation. And it’s not an issue that goes uncontested. At least a couple of other states have a similarly prevalent non-interest in legal gambling. As one example, very few people expect sports betting in Utah to ever be approved.

Still, the case of Idaho sports betting remains intriguing in part because of how little they seem to care about it. So many of the states around them have already legalized it. And most of them share Idaho’s historically conservative political leanings. The Gem State’s opposition to gambling also isn’t borne from religious reasons. That factors more into the discussions of Utah sports betting and Texas sports betting than it does Idaho sports betting.

To that end, can we even be sure Idahoans actually oppose sports betting? Conversations on the topic are so sparse it can be tough, if not impossible, to gauge the overarching sentiment. And with this in mind, let’s see if we can shed some light on why the legalization of sports betting in Idaho remains a long shot entering 2024.

When it Comes to Idaho Sports Betting, Mum’s the Word

If you’re expecting the discussion to pick up entering 2024, well, you’ll want to think again. As Legal Sports Report’s Dustin Gouker notes, Idaho never submitted a piece of sports betting legislation and doesn’t appear on the verge of changing that in the near future:

“Sports betting is not legal in Idaho, and there do not appear to be plans to change that anytime soon. None of Idaho’s legislators have submitted a bill to legalize sports betting since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA, was deemed unconstitutional in May 2018. It would be difficult to predict when sports betting might be legalized since there appears to be no appetite for it at the legislative level. Idaho likely is already losing tax dollars to its border states when it comes to sports betting, however. Five of its six border states–Montana, Nevada, Washington, Wyoming and Oregon–have legal sports betting.”

Officials from The Gem State seldom even comment on the subject, making it that much harder to discern when they might consider legal gambling. But as we previously outlined, there will likely be signs when Idaho is open to the sports betting discussion. 

These harbingers include the expansion of casino gaming, the acceptance of Daily Fantasy Sports and, of course, the formal proposal of an Idaho sports betting bill. As of now, none of these are on the 2024 legislative agenda. And frankly, it would be a legitimate shock if they suddenly popped up.

Indeed, legislative agendas for next year needn’t be locked in yet. But typically, we at least hear murmurings of what’s set to be debated. 

How is Legal Sports Betting Performing for States Bordering Idaho?

Unofficial arguments against sports betting in Idaho tend to focus on the region. As the thinking goes, there isn’t enough interest in states without numerous professional sports teams to go through the trouble of setting up a sports gambling infrastructure.

Yet, a handful of states surrounding Idaho with similarly sized markets clearly disagree. Sure, we can’t use sports betting in Nevada or sports betting in Washington as accurate parallels. Nevada features the gambling capital of the United States, Las Vegas, and Washington has a smattering of pro sports teams, including the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.

However, other states such as Montana, Wyoming and Oregon are a different story. They chose to legalize sports betting despite limited pro sports markets. And they all seem to be turning a sizable profit.

Oregon, in particular, serves as an interesting and potentially lucrative case study. They allow betting exclusively through online sportsbooks in the United States. And since rolling out legal gambling in October 2019, they have earned, in total, over $80 million in sports betting taxes.

That’s a hefty chunk of change. Even if Idaho believes their local budget doesn’t need a boost, can they really turn down even 25 percent of that sports betting profit? This is why many experts outside the state don’t quite understand why Idaho online sports betting has not become more of a priority among officials.

It’s a fair question. It’s also one to which we don’t have an answer. Idaho has been that silent on the subject. Perhaps that changes down the line. But entering 2024, the status quo remains intact. Idaho sports betting isn’t just unlikely. It’s not even on the radar.

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