{"id":72883,"date":"2018-03-14T14:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T21:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=72883"},"modified":"2018-03-14T10:53:50","modified_gmt":"2018-03-14T17:53:50","slug":"kansas-casinos-take-aim-at-mlb-and-nba-sports-betting-integrity-fee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/kansas-casinos-take-aim-at-mlb-and-nba-sports-betting-integrity-fee\/","title":{"rendered":"Kansas Casinos Take Aim at MLB and NBA Sports Betting Integrity Fee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kansas casino operators clashed with Major League Baseball at a hearing of the state House Federal and State Affairs Committee on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"Kansas
MBA senior VP of investigations and deputy general counsel Bryan Seeley said the league\u2019s number one concern is integrity, but casinos believe it\u2019s little more than a naked cash grab, arguing that integrity is best handled at state level. (Image: Mitchell Willets\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The committee had met to discuss and hear testimonies on HB 2752, legislation that would legalize sports betting at Kansas\u2019 casinos, should the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling<\/a> make it expedient to do so.<\/p>\n

Unlike a competing House bill, HB 2752 would include a controversial one percent \u201cintegrity fee\u201d<\/a> payable to the leagues from all bets taken on their sports. The integrity fee is beginning to shape sports betting debates in legislatures up and down the country.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s hearing showed casinos are beginning to unite to oppose what will in reality amount to roughly a 25 percent tax on gross gaming revenues on top of state and federal taxes.<\/p>\n

Objections to Integrity Fee<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The casinos argue that the integrity fee would strangle any new sports betting market before it had even got off the ground, and since Nevada pays none, why should any other state? They would prefer the money go to states rather than the leagues and they also believe that integrity is more effectively handled at state level.<\/p>\n

Batting for the MLB in Kansas was Bryan Seeley, the league\u2019s senior VP of investigations and deputy general counsel. Seeley told the hearing that protecting integrity was the key focus of MLB.<\/p>\n

“Anything that gives players an incentive to not perform at their absolute peak is a huge danger to our business and can cost us tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars,\u201d Seeley said, as reported by local radio station KCUR.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of most concern were proposition bets on single pitches or the first foul of a game. \u201cThat\u2019s why we want to have a say in whether casinos can offer those kinds of bets,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The leagues also want to the power to restrict or limit betting on a particular event, at their own discretion.<\/p>\n

Casinos Have Their Say<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Whitney Damron, representing\u00a0Hollywood Casino in Kansas City said while his company supported sports betting, it could not support HB 2752.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst and foremost is the integrity fee \u2026 is not done in any other jurisdiction, and we don\u2019t think it\u2019s appropriate in Kansas, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boyd Gaming\u00a0Director of Government Affairs\u00a0Richard Klemp, testifying on behalf of\u00a0Kansas Star in Mulvane, noted that sports books \u201chave been operating for decades in Nevada with a spotless record in terms of integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIf the integrity fee became part of the law, it\u2019s doubtful whether Kansas casinos would even put in a sports book,\u201d he said, as reported by Legal Sports Report<\/em>. \u201cIt takes the profit out of the picture. Again, we don\u2019t expect to make a lot of money, but we do like to do a little better than break even.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kansas casino operators clashed with Major League Baseball at a hearing of the state House Federal and State Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The committee had met to discuss and hear testimonies on HB 2752, legislation that would legalize sports betting at Kansas\u2019 casinos, should the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling make it expedient to do so. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":72886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKansas Casinos Take Aim at MLB and NBA Sports Betting Integrity Fee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kansas sports betting hearing listens to arguments from the MLB and representatives of state casino operators. 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