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The 101st Legislative session is now over halfway finished with the completion of week five. A number of property tax bills have been discussed. Senate Joint Resolution 504 would explicitly allow wagering on sporting events on mobile and electronic platforms. The best time to do this would have been even right after the Supreme Court ruling allowing wagering on sports in 2018. The next best time would be right now. Ninety percent of the proceeds from all taxes imposed on wagering on sports through a mobile platform would be used to reduce property taxes. Allowing Freedom is a better way to reduce property taxes than cutting services or raising taxes on others. The operation would have to run through a licensed casino in Deadwood or the Tribal Casinos just like any other gaming currently allowed in South Dakota. Deadwood is in favor of mobile sports wagering. A majority of states already have the mobile option, notably our neighboring states of Iowa and Wyoming. Some opponents claim SJR 502 expands gambling. That is a flawed argument as sports wagering is pretty easy to do already. The total wager on sports in Iowa is around three billion dollars and several hundred million dollars in Wyoming. A significant portion of these wagers come from South Dakotans as anyone can simply drive to nearby borders and take advantage of the freedom that Iowa and Wyoming have to offer. Prediction markets currently offer legal options to anyone in South Dakota wishing to wager on sports, politics, or other events but no tax dollars are collected on these platforms. It would seem that anyone concerned about potential problems associated with gaming would prefer that it is done in a regulated manner that benefits South Dakota. South Dakota is in a unique position to benefit from sports wagering due to the lack of state income tax and a thriving tourism industry. When people leave the State, our bars, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions and any business that benefits from having dollars flowing through South Dakota instead of other states will benefit from this legislation. The tourism coalition of South Dakota was a proponent of the Resolution. SJR 504 passed the Senate, 23 to 10; I voted in favor. If it passes the House, it will appear on the General Election ballot in 2026 where it is expected it would pass by a comfortable margin; then the Legislature would implement the rules for it in 2027. Four weeks remain in the Legislative session.