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So far the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and PGA Tour are 0-for-7 in persuading state lawmakers to mandate payment of an off-the-top “integrity fee” or “royalty,” putting a percentage of legal sports bets into league coffers.
Now, a key lawmaker in Michigan sponsoring a bill that would legalize Sports Betting and iGaming in the state could give a win to the leagues.
According to a report from Reuters, following a U.S. Sports Betting Policy Summit in Washington D.C. this week, Michigan state representative Brandt Iden (R-District 61) changed his mind on the fees after “spending significant time with the leagues.”
In a conversation with Sports Handle on Friday afternoon, Iden expanded on his position:
“I believe that there’s an opportunity to have a holistic discussion to ensure we are coming up with the best policy where all parties involved feel they have a fair shake in the policy discussion. We’re still having conversations to ensure all voices are heard.”
“Whether [a fee is] off-the-top or otherwise, my goal is to take 2019 to put the best policy together we can, while having everyone’s voices heard,” he said. “My goal to spend 2019 on this.”
What’s unusual here is that the leagues have abandoned the “integrity” argument. An MLB official at an October industry conference explicitly asked moderator Scott Van Pelt of ESPN to have a panelist not call it an “integrity fee.”
“There is a lot of misinformation, starting with the name,” said Kenny Gersh, a Major League Baseball executive vice president. “We don’t call it an integrity fee. I’ll call it essentially what it is, which is a royalty. Also, 1 percent [of the total amount wagered] is not anything we’ve been asking for since the very beginning, since we realized that was not the correct amount. So we have been talking about a quarter point.”
So is Michigan looking to kick in a percentage of dollars that otherwise could benefit the state — in the name of integrity, or compensation for “intellectual property,” as NBA officials have put it. Or some other purpose?
In any case, it would be a very welcome victory for the leagues, which have expended significant energy and travel dollars fighting for an “integrity” fee or “royalty.”
There’s no guarantee at this point the final version of Iden’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act (House Bill 4926) will mandate such a payment, or that Iden’s bill is the one that crosses the finish line this year or in 2019, given additional moving parts in the gaming picture overall. There is also disagreement as to whether or not the state constitution requires voter approval for gaming expansion.
So far the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and PGA Tour are 0-for-7 in persuading state lawmakers to mandate payment of an off-the-top “integrity fee” or “royalty,” putting a percentage of legal sports bets into league coffers.
Now, a key lawmaker in Michigan sponsoring a bill that would legalize Sports Betting and iGaming in the state could give a win to the leagues.
According to a report from Reuters, following a U.S. Sports Betting Policy Summit in Washington D.C. this week, Michigan state representative Brandt Iden (R-District 61) changed his mind on the fees after “spending significant time with the leagues.”
In a conversation with Sports Handle on Friday afternoon, Iden expanded on his position:
“I believe that there’s an opportunity to have a holistic discussion to ensure we are coming up with the best policy where all parties involved feel they have a fair shake in the policy discussion. We’re still having conversations to ensure all voices are heard.”
“Whether [a fee is] off-the-top or otherwise, my goal is to take 2019 to put the best policy together we can, while having everyone’s voices heard,” he said. “My goal to spend 2019 on this.”
What’s unusual here is that the leagues have abandoned the “integrity” argument. An MLB official at an October industry conference explicitly asked moderator Scott Van Pelt of ESPN to have a panelist not call it an “integrity fee.”
“There is a lot of misinformation, starting with the name,” said Kenny Gersh, a Major League Baseball executive vice president. “We don’t call it an integrity fee. I’ll call it essentially what it is, which is a royalty. Also, 1 percent [of the total amount wagered] is not anything we’ve been asking for since the very beginning, since we realized that was not the correct amount. So we have been talking about a quarter point.”
So is Michigan looking to kick in a percentage of dollars that otherwise could benefit the state — in the name of integrity, or compensation for “intellectual property,” as NBA officials have put it. Or some other purpose?
In any case, it would be a very welcome victory for the leagues, which have expended significant energy and travel dollars fighting for an “integrity” fee or “royalty.”
There’s no guarantee at this point the final version of Iden’s Lawful Internet Gaming Act (House Bill 4926) will mandate such a payment, or that Iden’s bill is the one that crosses the finish line this year or in 2019, given additional moving parts in the gaming picture overall. There is also disagreement as to whether or not the state constitution requires voter approval for gaming expansion.
