The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 31 : Recreation and Sports
Chapter 025 : Sports Wagering
Subchapter 001 : AUTHORITY OF THE DEPARTMENT
(Cite as: 31 V.S.A. § 1301)-
§ 1301. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Adjusted gross sports wagering revenue” means gross sports wagering receipts, excluding voided bets, less winnings paid to authorized participants and any federal excise tax.
(2) “Board” means the Board of Liquor and Lottery.
(3) “Collegiate sports event” means a sports or athletic event participated in or offered or sponsored by a public or private institution that offers educational services beyond the secondary level.
(4) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Liquor and Lottery or designee.
(5) “Department” means the Department of Liquor and Lottery.
(6) “High school sports event” means a sports or athletic event participated in or offered or sponsored by a public or private institution that offers educational services at the secondary level.
(7) “Mobile sports wagering platform” means the combination of hardware, software, and data networks that are used to manage, administer, record, or control sports wagers through mobile devices or the internet.
(8) “Operator” means a party who is authorized by contract or agreement with the Department to conduct a sportsbook.
(9) “Prohibited sports bettor” means:
(A) any member or employee of the Department and any spouse, child, sibling, or parent residing in the same household as a member or employee of the Department;
(B) any principal or employee of any operator;
(C) any contractor of the Department or its operators when the contract relates to the conduct of sports wagering;
(D) any contractor or employee of an entity that conducts sports wagering in another jurisdiction when the bettor, as a result of the bettor’s contract or employment, possesses confidential or nonpublic information relating to the wager being placed;
(E) any amateur or professional athlete if the sports wager is based in whole or part on a sport or athletic event overseen by the athlete’s governing sports body;
(F) any sports agent, owner, or employee of a team; player; umpire; referee; coach; union official; or official of a sport’s governing body if the sports wager is based in whole or in part on a sport or athletic event overseen by the governing body that oversees the individual’s sport;
(G) any individual placing a wager as an agent of or proxy for a prohibited sports bettor; or
(H) any person under 21 years of age.
(10)(A) “Prohibited sports event” means any:
(i) collegiate sports event in which one of the participants is a collegiate team of a college institution that is primarily located in Vermont, unless the collegiate sports event is subject to the provisions of subdivision (B) of this subdivision (10);
(ii) high school or collegiate sports event that takes place in Vermont; and
(iii) amateur or professional sports event where the participants are primarily under 18 years of age.
(B) “Prohibited sports event” does not mean the games of a collegiate sports tournament in which a Vermont college team participates, nor does it include any games of a collegiate sports tournament that occur outside Vermont even though some of the individual games or events are held in Vermont.
(11) “Sportsbook” means the business of accepting sports wagers on any sports event by any system or method of wagering.
(12) “Sports event” means an event at which two or more persons participate in a sports or athletic event. “Sports event” also means horse racing and equestrian events.
(13) “Sports governing body” means the organization that prescribes final rules and enforces codes of conduct with respect to a sporting event and the participants in a sporting event.
(14) “Sports wager” means cash or cash equivalent paid by an individual to participate in sports wagering.
(15)(A) “Sports wagering” means wagering on:
(i) sporting events or any portion of a sporting event; or
(ii) the individual performance statistics of athletes participating in a sports event or a combination of sports events.
(B) “Sports wagering” means wagering on the matters enumerated in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (15) by any system or method of wagering, including in-person communication and electronic communication through internet websites accessed via a mobile device or computer and mobile device applications.
(C) “Sports wagering” includes single game bets, teaser bets, parlays, over-under bets, money line bets, pools, exchange wagering, in-game wagering, in-play bets, proposition bets, and straight bets.
(D) “Sports wagering” does not mean participation in a fantasy sports contest pursuant to subchapter 3 of this chapter.
(16) “Type of wager” means the form of a wager offered by an operator, such as those described in subdivision (15)(C) of this section. (Added 2023, No. 63, § 1, eff. June 14, 2023.)
