Indiana Lawmakers Approve Sports Betting Bill, Governor Expected to Sign

For the third time this week, a governor received a sports betting bill to sign into law. First it was Montana, then it was Iowa, and on Wednesday evening, Indiana joined the fray.

Indiana State Senator Jon Ford told Legal Sports Report that Governor Eric Holcomb "will be good with the bill. He told me if we get it to him he will sign it."

The mobile aspects of Indiana's proposed law mirror those of New Jersey, which allows both residents and non-residents to wager on their phones as long as they're within the state's borders.

In the first nine-and-a-half months since becoming legal, New Jersey bettors placed $2.32 billion in bets, including at least $300 million in each of the last five months reported. That easily makes Jersey the second-biggest sports betting state in the country, behind Nevada.

Seventy-eight percent of that $2.32 billion betting handle has come via mobile devices.

Indiana's neighbor to the West, Illinois, is also considering a sports betting bill, perhaps indicating why Indiana, which was the final state to allow Sunday alcohol sales, moved so aggressively with this measure.

If Indiana beats Montana and Iowa to the punch, the Hoosier State would become the ninth state to legalize sports betting.

On May 14, 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled PASPA, the partial federal sports betting ban, was unconstitutional, allowing states outside of Nevada to legalize it if they so choose.