It’s been just over a year since online sports betting went live in Vermont — and by at least one metric, things seem to have been paying off for many of the Vermonters who play.

Wendy Knight, Vermont’s commissioner of liquor and lottery, told the House Government Operations Committee Thursday that the state is now set to bring in less revenue from sports betting during the 2025 fiscal year — which ends in June — than it was before. Previously, officials were projecting state coffers would receive $7 million from the three companies that operate online sportsbooks in the state. Now, they think they’ll rake in about $6.1 million.

But the state’s loss, Knight said, has in fact been gamblers’ gain.

Some six months after the market launched, state regulators realized those companies — DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook — were starting to pay out more for winning bets, she said. With more of the gaming operators’ revenue going to players, she said, there’s less for the companies to share with the state, per the amounts laid out in their contracts.

“People are wagering — and they’re winning their bets,” Knight told the House Appropriations Committee earlier on Thursday. “Great for the players, right?”

Since lawmakers wrote the 2025 budget with the $7 million projection in mind, Gov. Phil Scott’s administration is now proposing to plug the projected gap — which totals about $860,000 — in its annual mid-year budget tuneup, which House Approps is wading through this week.

Location data collected on sports betting app users shows that most of the bets placed in Vermont are by people who live here, and Knight said the state could still benefit from money going to those people. 

“They’re going to pay income tax on what they’ve won. They’re going to go out to dinner more. They’re going to take a vacation. They’re going to buy a new rug,” Knight said. (Perhaps this one?) “The winning payouts would circulate into the economy.” 

“More chicken wings for everybody,” added Rep. Matt Birong, D-Vergennes, the House Gov Ops chair. Probably true!

While the state is slated to bring in slightly less from sports wagering this year, it has also been slowly building up the infrastructure, required in law, to support people whose sports betting becomes problematic. A report published Tuesday by the state’s Department of Mental Health, which runs the state’s problem gaming program, says officials spent about $35,000 — of  $250,000 total available — on the program in the 2024 fiscal year, which ended last June.

The department has set up a problem gambling helpline and website, and developed a list of treatment providers, the report states. It adds that the department has “a clear trajectory” toward using its $500,000 appropriation for problem gambling programs in the 2025 fiscal year. 

“We started from the ground up,” Emily Hawes, the department’s commissioner, wrote in an email Thursday. “Research and insights from other states demonstrate that problem gambling behaviors often take time to develop.”

— Shaun Robinson

In the know

State Treasurer Mike Pieciak announced Thursday that his office has created a task force to “assess the economic impact of the incoming Trump administration’s anticipated policy changes” and, possibly, make recommendations on how to respond to them.

Pieciak is co-chairing the task force with fellow Democrat Sue Minter, a former gubernatorial candidate and cabinet secretary. 

The treasurer’s office said the task force would focus, among other areas, on possible changes to federal funding for key state programs and flood recovery, changes to immigration and border policies and their impact on the state’s farms, and whether new tariffs would increase costs for badly-needed housing construction.

— Shaun Robinson

Implementing the controversial clean heat standard policy could cost significantly less than others have previously suggested, the chair of the state’s Public Utility Commission told lawmakers Thursday while presenting a long-awaited report. But he concluded by saying the commission recommends that the state does not move forward with it.

Debate about the proposed program, which is designed to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions that come from heating and cooling buildings in Vermont, has almost entirely focused on its potential cost to consumers. 

The commission’s report, which Ed McNamara — the commission’s chair — said contained gaps, estimated that a clean heat standard would likely increase the cost of a gallon of fuel oil by less than 10 cents in 2026, and that price could increase by another 45 cents by 2035. That’s far less than other per-gallon cost estimates, including a $4 per gallon estimate often cited by Gov. Phil Scott.  Read more later at VTDigger.org. 

— Emma Cotton

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas unveiled the state’s new civic health index, a tool designed to evaluate how Vermonters engage with their communities and participate in democratic processes.

As the 36th state to adopt a civic health metric, Vermont joins a growing national effort to better understand the dynamics of community involvement in state government. 

Among the findings, Vermont ranks second nationwide for public meeting attendance, with 17% of residents reporting they have ever attended a public meeting. That’s significantly above the national average of 10%. The state also ranks second for collaborating with neighbors and discussing political, social or local issues. 

According to Copeland Hanzas, one of the more concerning findings was Vermont’s low level of youth engagement in voter registration. A striking 59% of young people indicated they have no intention of registering to vote when they become eligible.  Read more here. 

— Klara Bauters

The hand that feeds

Free food in the Statehouse cafeteria Thursday celebrated a new art exhibition called Thresholds. The exhibit, by Chelsea artist Carrie Caouette Delallo, features drawings of — you guessed it — thresholds.

Introducing the well-attended occasion, Vermont State Curator David Schutz joked that the “entire town of Chelsea” was present. Elected officials were also spotted indulging in free cookies. 

— Ethan Weinstein