The Week In Sports Betting: Montana Delay, Rhode Island Moves Ahead

It’s information overload everywhere, and there’s not time enough to sleep and eat and stay fully apprised of what’s happening on this crazy blue dot of ours (two out of three ain’t bad).

Here’s the weekend Sports Handle item, “Get a Grip,” recapping the week’s top stories and rounding up key stories in sports betting, gaming, and the world of sports at large. You may have missed them, and they are worth reading.

Montana mayhem?

When Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed a bill legalizing sports betting, he chose to ink only one of the two bills that landed on his desk. The law that makes sports betting legal in Montana, HB 725, makes the state lottery the regulator. The Lottery planned to use Intralot, its existing vendor, to run sports betting. But those plans have run into a bit of a snag, according to sources and the Missoulian.

While Lottery staff has argued that its current contract with Intralot would allow for the company to take on sports betting, but lawmakers aren’t so sure. And they’re obviously not too comfortable with the idea of Intralot getting the sports betting contract without going through a competitive process (unlike in Washington, D.C.)

Opposition to handing the contract to Intralot without a competitive bid process cropped up Tuesday at a meeting of the State Administrative and Veterans Affairs interim committee, according to the Missoulian.

“I think that we need to make a statement, and the statement being that we’re working in a new field, we expect the taxpayer and the people to get a sharp pencil out and we have a new (request for proposals),” Representative Dee Brown reportedly said.

The Montana Coin Machine Operators Association also opposes going with Intralot without an open bid process.

But state lottery chief Angela Wong believes it can more forward as the current Intralot contract “allows room for changes.”

The committee wasn’t able to vote on whether or not to mandate a Request for Proposal, but it seems clear that Montana sports betting won’t be up and running until state administrators and lawmakers can come to a consensus on how to move forward. When sports betting was legalized, bill sponsor Ryan Lynch had hoped to have live sports betting available by the start of the NFL season. The bill calls for sports betting to be offered through kiosks in approved locations, but not via mobile devices/online.

Rhode Island clear, for now

A lawsuit questioning whether or not it was unconstitutional for the state general assembly to legalize sports betting without going to the voters was dismissed on Monday by Judge Brian Stern. Stern ruled that plaintiff, former Providence mayoral candidate Daniel Harrop, didn’t have the proper standing to sue.

Rhode Island went live with its mobile sports betting app on Sept. 4, right after Stern delayed making a decision in the case. The launch came one day before the kick off of the 2019 NFL season.

But plaintiff isn’t resting just yet, as Stern did not rule on the merits of the case.

“We’ll be back,” said Joseph Larisa Jr., the lawyer who argued the case for Harrop, upon leaving the courtroom. “We just need to find a sports bettor who lost and wants his money back. So we’ll be doing that, and there is also the Town of Tiverton. We’ll see if they want to make their position a little stronger and become an actual plaintiff.”

In the wider world of sports

Feels like we are headed to another Andrew Luck situation with Cam. Cam is just so beat up. Doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself anymore. And if the Panthers don’t win this season, Tepper will clean house. Could make the decision easier for him

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 13, 2019

BROWN OUT: What should the Patriots — and the NFL — do with Antonio Brown? [SI]

BIG GROUP: Football HOF announces 122 potential new members. [NBCSports]

STADIUM PERK: Raiders stadium will have A Twitch lounge, livestreaming. [ReviewJournal]