The vision for legal sports wagering in Vermont is still quite up in the air.

While Vermont's Sports Betting Study Committee prefers the legalization of event wagering in the state, it has yet to settle on what kind of betting should be permitted, including whether there ought to be online sports .

"We have not yet chose whether to suggest just online gaming, retail, or both," committee chair Wendy Knight said during a meeting on Tuesday. "I think that those concerns need to be addressed first before we can then actually comprehend whether we desire to advise [an] existing administrative structure or a new administrative structure."

Who desires what, where, and when?

The "when" of legal sports betting in Vermont is unsettled as well, although it appears to be trending towards next year's football season. The legislature is set to convene once again in January, and it's then that lawmakers will have another opportunity to craft a bill that would authorize betting in the state.

Another committee member, Rep. Matthew Birong, said they have yet to consider a perfect launch date.

"If this does pass next session, that's like a July 1, most likely, application date of everything," Birong stated throughout the meeting. "Are we, theoretically, best-case circumstance saying [we are] up and running [for the] kickoff [of] football season next year?"

Knight noted that research study has actually shown that the "prime" time for sports betting is in the fall with the National Football League and state colleges playing video games. However, the chair stated there is a looming concern about the possibility of a "staggered" launch for sports betting, too.

"Do we start with online gaming and after that assess to go to a retail market?" Knight asked. "Do we take it in stages?"

Much to think of

The questions still to be addressed about sports betting in Vermont come as it stays the only New England state without any authorized type of event betting. Maine and Massachusetts took steps this previous legal session to legalize sports betting, however Vermont political leaders only formed their committee, which continues to think about the matter.

The committee heard on Tuesday from the chair of the state's Cannabis Control panel, getting some perspective about the legalization of another formerly unlawful activity. Still, there are key distinctions in between weed and wagering, such as the fact that the previous stays prohibited at the federal level.

Sen. Dick Sears pointed out that Vermont does not have the exact same sort of gambling-related infrastructure as neighboring states. There are no casinos in Vermont, no horse-racing tracks, and no online gambling establishment gaming.