Alaska would allow licensed mobile sports betting for adults

Alaska's revenue commissioner could license up to 10 mobile sports betting operators. Bettors would need to be physically in Alaska or a place covered by an Alaska betting agreement. Fantasy sports contests would fall outside this program. Applicants would need licenses in at least three other states, themselves or through a subsidiary, partner, or joint operating agreement. Applicants would need independently tested systems and background checks. A check from another state within the previous 12 months could qualify with certification of no material change. Initial and renewed licenses would cost $100,000, plus any processing fee. Each license would last one year and could not be transferred. If applicants outnumber available licenses, the commissioner would choose based on experience and expected betting and tax revenue. The proposal lists January 1, 2026, as its main effective date. Alaska's Department of Revenue would announce when betting could start at least 14 days in advance.

Operators would check bettors' identities, report suspicious activity, and display betting rules and gambling-help information. These rules would cover licensed betting apps and digital platforms. The commissioner or an operator could exclude people from betting or operating a betting business. Operators could not promote betting to people under 21. Operators, their employees, and operators' family members living in the same household could not bet through that operator's system. The commissioner could suspend, revoke, or restrict licenses and impose penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. Operators would need the commissioner's approval of their betting rules before starting operations.

Licensed operators would pay a 20% state tax on betting revenue after allowed deductions. The tax would cover licensed mobile sports betting operators. Their betting revenue would be exempt from taxes charged by local governments. The tax would apply to wagers received minus winnings, voided bets, and federal excise taxes. When monthly winnings exceed wagers received, operators could carry the negative amount forward for up to three years from that month's loss. They could not apply it to earlier months. Previously paid taxes could not be refunded unless an operator surrendered its license and its last return showed negative revenue after deductions. Operators would file electronic returns and pay each month's tax on or before the 15th day of the following month.