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Up until now, the sweetest things to come out of Vermont were its maple syrup and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
For sports bettors, that will change next month when the state launches online sports betting on Jan. 11, 2024. This week, the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL), the group that will oversee sports wagering, announced the go-live date and the three operators that will provide a gambling platform.
Vermont chooses DraftKings, Fanatics and FanDuel sportsbooks
This past spring, Vermont’s House and Senate approved an online sports betting bill that Scott signed into law in June.
At the time, Vermont planned to accept bids for sports betting licenses in the summer, then review them and select winners through a process that ran from September to this month.
In September, the DLL revealed that five prominent sportsbooks submitted bids for a sports betting license:
- BetMGM
- DraftKings
- Fanatics
- FanDuel
- ESPN Bet (Penn Sports Interactive)
And, this week, the DLL revealed the three companies it chose to offer sports betting: DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel.
Sports betting should bring the state up to $7 million in revenue in 2024, the DLL projected.
Gov. Phil Scott said he’s happy to see online sports betting become a reality in Vermont. Scott said in a statement on the Vermont DLL website:
“I first proposed Vermont legalize sports wagering several years ago, and it’s good to see it come to fruition. Vermonters and visitors alike will soon be able to access a regulated sports wagering marketplace, which will come with important consumer protections and generate revenue for the State.”
“We are excited to offer sports enthusiasts the ability to engage in sports wagering in Vermont with three of the industry’s top companies,” DLL Commissioner Wendy Knight said.
How to place a sports bet in Vermont
Over the next few weeks, bettors in Vermont should have the chance to sign up with DraftKings, Fanatics, and FanDuel by downloading each operator’s app.
The sign-up process is relatively simple and requires a set of personal information that the sportsbook can use to verify a new customer’s identity.
From there, each sportsbook will likely offer promotions that provide its new users with one of two promotions:
- Deposit match: The sportsbook adds a dollar amount to the user’s balance that’s equal to the user’s first deposit
- “No sweat” first bet: The sportsbook adds a dollar amount to the user’s balance equal to the user’s first bet if the bet loses.
Each promotion will likely have restrictions and rules that dictate the type of bet that qualifies for the promotion when the bonus balance or no-sweat bet needs to be used, and what the maximum promotion amount is.
New England sports betting empire is now complete
While not an official distinction, it’s worth noting that, when sports wagering launches in Vermont next month, New England will be the first region in the United States in which every state offers some form of legal sports betting.
Other regions are close, but each one has at least one state holding it back:
- West Coast: California
- Midwest: Missouri
- Southwest: Texas
- Southeast: Georgia
Missouri has been hammering away at sports betting legislation but has yet to find a solution that works. Among the four states listed above, Missouri is the most likely to legalize sports betting first.
