 Wait for Calvin kind of dial things in All right, everybody good to go Well, good morning everyone First I want to thank the many Vermonters who have submitted nominations for a ray of kindness in the last week As a reminder each December for the past four years We put out a call to Vermonters to nominate people in their community for their acts of kindness and goodwill. I Think it's important with all the negativity we see out there to remind ourselves is far more good in the world That happens every single day and we should call attention to it So again, no act of kindness is too small if you've seen someone who should be recognized for going above and beyond Let us know at governor.vermont.gov slash kindness Next as you may know this week we announced the launch date for online sports wagering in Vermont, January 11th Right before the NFL playoffs begin As a result, there's been a lot of interest So I asked mr. Knight to join us today to go with the process how it will work and answer any questions you might have as a reminder in 2018 the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban that was in place and States began to move forward. I first proposed a legalizing sports wagering in 2019 and the legislature finally agreed this year and I signed it into law We know many Vermonters already have been involved in sports betting for Quite a few years. We also know every one of our neighboring states has already legalized And as a state with a lot of tourism Many visitors come to Vermont and would have placed bets, but couldn't Leading to loss revenue for our state by legalizing it and bringing it above board not only does it Allow the state to gain revenue But it also allows us to put consumer protections in place and support addiction prevention initiatives The Department of liquor and lottery is partnering with the Department of Mental Health on this important work So I want to thank Commissioner Knight and her team for their efforts to stand this up and the legislature For their partnership in getting this across the finish line and with that I'll turn over to Thank you governor. Good morning everyone. I know this is a departure from my normal role Of being the sound check for these press conference So it's nice to be here to talk about online sports wagering. First I would like to thank the governor for his leadership on this issue and his commitment to seeing that Sports wagering is legalized. I echo the governor's Appreciation for the legislature that worked with us collaboratively to create a legal framework for sports betting I want to give a special shout out to senator Dix years He was one of my colleagues on the sports betting study committee And he has probably been advocating for legalized sports betting as long as the governor. So thank you senator We did it. I am grateful to all of the operators who are interested in Vermont And who took the time to submit bids. I am especially thankful for draft Kings Fanduil fanatic sportsbook for their responsiveness Expertise and patience as we negotiated the contracts and set up this framework Excuse me the last two months We are really looking forward to a strong and successful partnership over the next few years So how is this going to work? The act authorizes the department to set up mobile sports wet wagering and that's done through apps on our phone It's not offered at this point in retail locations or through Vermont lottery agents Beginning today players will be able to download the apps from from draft Kings and Fanduils to set up their accounts learn about sports betting in Vermont Responsible gaming and be ready to wager when we go live July July Good Lord January 11th 1924 Fanatics sportsbook will launch shortly thereafter They have been in the process of expanding across multiple states and did not want to commit to launching January 11 they wanted to be able to have a premier experience in Vermont So they're going to go shortly after we've been working closely with them on that date It would probably be the end of January beginning of February Essentially through these contract date arrangements We are allowing these companies to operate their mobile sports platforms in Vermont under our Specific rules and regulations in exchange for that privilege We earn a percentage of their revenue and they pay us an operator fee So let's talk a little bit about the safeguards So we've worked diligently to create these important safeguards to make this as safe and enjoyable as possible for players This includes limiting this to people 21 years and older Not permitting the use of credit cards not allowing wagers on Vermont collegiate sports unless they are in a tournament prohibiting operators from Depicting underage persons in their advertising Not permitting betting on sports whose participants are primarily under the age of 18 and not Describing bets as free bets unless they are in fact free these safeguards are in addition to the Established responsible gaming programs that operators have across the country That include player limits timeouts and responsible gaming resources As the governor said the Department of the current lottery is working closely with the Department of Mental Health To create a robust responsible gaming program here in Vermont aimed at Mitigating any potential risks this includes awareness in education educating players about what responsible gaming looks like the Responsible gaming practices such as setting limits allowing a self-exclusion list Identifying problem gambling so that we understand players Understand the signs that they might have a problem with addictive Behavior or problem gambling and then those support services for problem gambling including a helpline and Referral services to treatment and to providers an important note that this is the first time the state Has created Dedicated funding for responsible gaming that is very a very good development Revenue okay, so the revenue source comes from two places one is the operator fee the operators each will pay us $550,000 that's not to be assessed more than once every three years That is designed to cover the cost to administer and regulate the program for the department Within 30 days of the contract execution we which happened on Friday December 8th We will receive one point six five Sorry one million six hundred fifty thousand dollars Adam will be happy for that Adam Grashen. Did you hear that Adam? Got some money coming So most of the revenue comes from the responsible of the revenue share, of course under the contracts that we've executed with the operators the state will earn a range of 31 to 33% of their adjusted gross sports wagering revenue that revenue is received monthly Through electronic transfer of funds much like the department through the Vermont lottery receives from our Vermont lottery vendor this revenue from the sports wagering goes directly to the general fund So based on the market analysis from what we received from the operators We are anticipating up to seven million dollars in revenue from this revenue share and the first full year of operations Obviously this will grow as we evolve and the market matures based on the information We've received from the operators they expect maturity to be in about five years and they're estimating that the marketplace in Vermont will be about fifty five million dollars So we can see our revenue from this program increasing in five years We could potentially see 16 18 million dollars in revenue from the revenue shares So this election process How did we get here? So the sports wagering RFP was sent out on July 19th the bids were received September 6th and The best and final offer revenue share was due on September 22nd We received five bids from established operators who are working across the country in multiple states bet MGM Draftkings Fandall fanatic sports book and Penn Sports Interactive known as ESP ESPN bet of the five Received bids one Penn Sports Interactive was deemed non-compliant and not accepted Because some of the required documents were not included in the proposal as requested The four remaining bids were evaluated by the department using the evaluation criteria That was approved by the board of liquor and lottery and with the guiding principles established by the sports betting study committee Which I chaired that in was included in the bill as the intent of the Legislature that gave the department priorities and that were to protect for monitors from problem gambling Convert the illegal market to the legal market and maximize revenue to the state Based on a rigorous evaluation of the technical and the revenue criteria the department selected the three operators that we have Revealed in our press release and we're talking about today draft Kings Fandall fanatic sports book Award letters were sent out on September 28th We entered into contract negotiations the following Monday, which was October 2nd and we executed contracts on December 8th Our intent in announcing the January launch today is to give operators the opportunity to pre-register Players right we want to let people know that Vermont is going to allow sports wagering January 1 And that is why we were here today announcing this Thank you Thank You commissioner with that we'll open up to questions Yes, how do you define revenue? But net or the gross is that what you're asking? No sales So it's the adjusted gross sports wagering revenue is the gross revenue less any voided bets Less the winnings paid out less federal excise tax Does not include their operating costs Pardon me it does not include their operating costs. I can give you the definition of that. That's right For apps mobile sports betting do you see five ten fifteen years down the road? Casinos or buildings or lobbies where people can go and pull the lever so to speak Yeah, I don't see us going in that direction, but that'll obviously be up to a future legislature But but I think this is a step forward and going with what is I think And more of customary in recent years across the country We as Vermont can control this but like how how big of a concern is Corruption in sports, you know with with side bets and people saying hey, you know if you miss this shot Or if you do this, you know what what do you think? I know that's kind of a little bit outside. Yeah, it really is outside, but but obviously a concern It's been it's probably nothing new either So I think we've had some some famous instances of corruption in sports but But obviously we're dependent on the organizations that oversee Sports because they don't want to to taint their image either So we're relying on them to make sure that they play by the rules Is this 24 7 worldwide? I'm sorry 24 7 worldwide sports like that on cricket. So we developed the department is responsible for developing a sports wagering Catalog and that outlines the Sports wagering events and the sporting events that are authorized and I'm happy to share that with you So essentially what we do is we look for to ensure that there's a governing body And we look at US integrity to make sure that these Sporting leagues and sports have been sanctioned and that that are deemed, you know to be operating Integrate in sporting events with integrity It's just American sports. No, no not at all. Yeah, worldwide sports. Correct So we don't we have not allowed in our sports wagering category Leagues for example In world conflicts. So you won't find the hockey Federation of Russia on the list, for example you won't find Leagues where most of the participants are primarily under the age of 18 So you won't see Olympic skateboarding for example or gymnastics because most of those competitors are under 18 You won't see Whitewater kayaking for example Because they don't have a governing body that's been deemed, you know operating with the level of Organization and integrity that US integrity has Hockey and basketball championships Yes, all of those are on the sports That's correct. So Wagering on Vermont collegiate sports teams is not permitted unless they are in a tournament So if your example of UVM men's basketball or women's basketball for that matter We're in the NCAA tournament We would as Vermonters be able to bet on that team in the tournament Governor right now the state is earning revenue from over this anyway liquor marijuana and gambling The legislature has looked at prostitution and fentanyl and heroin Decrim or legalization. Where are you on repealing vice laws in those areas as possible revenue earners? Yeah, I'm a pretty firm. No on that. I think to to compare the two legalization of heroin and Sports betting I think are two different animals and I'm a firm. No I'm interested in what's your favorite cricket team though, James So that's what comes around my Did you say you can only do three bets at a time? No, I didn't say that. Okay No, okay, then I misunderstood whatever you said Yes, you can bet on out-of-state collegiate sports, so your Penn State, Nittany lines you could bet on in Vermont That Yeah, I think and this is a question for the legislature, right so they they Drafted the bill with our assistance and they wanted to ensure The integrity of Vermont sports and didn't want I guess the idea is it because it's such a small state if we had people wagering on UVM or St. Mike's or whoever there might be an opportunity to sway the outcome of the sport But that's really a question for the legislature It's verified through identity Identity verification processes So one of the things that we have in the bill and in our enhanced procedures is a photo identification process And so the operators will use Platforms like ID me that the IRS uses For one reason one of these sports books by some drastic reason had a shutter and I guess closed down I guess we're the liability line to pay out the customers and people that use the sports books I'm sorry. What is your question Stephen? So say it for some reason a sports book whether it's maybe some federal investigation They buy happens chance to go bang for up something happens where they can no longer operate But people have their money in their balance accounts. Who's kind of liability where would that fall and who's in charge of paying those? Yes, yes, there are Measures in place. So we have a performance bond. We have a litigation bond We have a certificate of compliance and I'm happy to give you those details After because I don't have that in this brain right now Oh, yes, that's a great question They are and I don't have the right language, but we did talk about this in statue and Commissioner Bolio did Clarified that they are required to report their winnings if you go on some of the apps You will see the forms there for them to submit. It's on the player's responsibility to submit their winnings I don't know that question. I don't know the answer to that question Do you know the Racial thing to file any of some states you have to file if you win over 600 I'm sorry. I don't have that answer, but Commissioner Bolio probably does I'm not putting him on the spot, but we will get you that answer. I just don't happen to happen to have it About the unemployment system seems like this week There's maybe past few days there's been folks that haven't been able to get through Haven't been able to file their their weekly claims. Can you shed a little light on what's happening? Yeah, it's a you know a product of the Probably 60 year old legacy system that we have right now and we're modernizing, but it's one more piece, you know they've used a lot of different software Type situations to to prop it up to keep it going and one of those apparently failed, but I might let Commissioner Harrington Give us some more details on that. Commissioner Harrington Thank you, and thanks for the question. It's a good opportunity for us to be able to share an update with the public so we noticed coming into this week that claimants speaking and calling our call center because When they went into the claimant portal, they couldn't click the link to file for the previous week like they would typically do That caused us to continue to do a review and investigation of the system And what we found is that a subset or portion of our claimant population Are experiencing this issue? So we're working hand-in-hand with the agency of digital services to troubleshoot the issue and make sure that claimants can file But in the interim what's happening also, and I know this is causing a lot of frustration for folks is that When the claimants are figuring out that they can't file the calling our claimant assistant center Which is overloading our lines and causing extreme hold time. So I know that's just adding to the frustration I think what I would just want to Reassure folks is that we are reviewing the situation Folks won't lose out on their benefits if we get they have until Traditionally they have until the end of the week to file for the prior week if for some reason this issue isn't resolved by Friday We'll certainly extend the filing so that folks can continue to file and receive their benefits I think that the unfortunate piece is that Folks who traditionally file early in the week may not receive their benefits as timely as they typically would But we'll ensure that the benefits get paid out and again I also recognize that you know this it truly is a technical issue as the governor said it's related to our age Old system and the processing that it goes through on a daily basis But it's lead into also an overwhelming number of calls coming into our call center and people having to remain on hold for You know many in some cases multiple hours, so Certainly trying to address each one of these as we go forward and and looking forward to the day we have a modern system Sure, do you know how many people aren't able to get through like how long is this this backlog or how many people are running into this issue? I don't have the the total number But what I can tell you is that we typically have anywhere at this point 2,000 to 2,500 individuals filing for benefits I can get you the most recent number, but obviously it changes each week and right now It looks like it probably is around the you know 10 to 20 percent range of that population again Some of it's hard to tell because we don't know until the individual Calls and says they're running into an issue, but we are doing a review of the the different Accounts to see if we can get a better idea of exactly how many people are impacted, but it's in the it's in the hundreds It's not the the total population governor after the tsunami of unemployment claims during the pandemic it clogged things up There was a reckoning if you will of like hey, we need to invest in in state it I think in your budget a few years ago you would put in sort of ongoing Um on money to to put toward it systems. I know you mentioned labor has been Investing we're doing redid the dmv computer But but why are we still running into these issues? I mean what what is it about? it or why why Why are this is still an issue? Well, we're so reliant on it at this point in time and When you look at how long it takes to build the system like dmv for instance dmv We've we put money forward back when I was in the in the senate And some of those systems never came to fruition for one reason or another I think the uh one one company went bankrupt or sold to another or something happened And we never did build the system back 15 20 years ago when we should have So resurrecting that uh getting back With this agency of digital services like I said last week. I think it's one of our You know proudest accomplishments over the last seven years creating that that uh agency Because now someone is focused on this And so we put a lot of money in place with with the help of the legislature But we have a long ways to go because we are so far behind previous to that this again this this labor situation Has been kicked down the can has been kicked down the road for decades Um, and then we've even since we've been in we've we've asked for money And and the legislature hasn't opted to to put money into the system But after the pandemic we all saw what could happen And uh and I think that we came to the conclusion that we needed to do something I think there was hope that uh because the the u.s. Department of Labor Overseas this that they would be putting money into place and We tried different scenarios uh to uh to accomplish that and just Never worked. So again, we're we're moving forward at this point And another flood of money COVID money could be spent on that Um, there I I don't know what buckets The money that we appropriated. It's certainly the ARPA money. I think is being utilized for some of that So whatever we could use we were using because they're expensive systems What are some of the other Yeah, it's just across the board and every I mean The shelf life of any it system is not extended For a long period of time and we have Some legacy systems. I probably should have abs is abs on at that point is You know, yes, Denise. Denise. Do you have um, did you hear the question? I mean, how many other systems are we working on and how many do we have? To on our plate at this point in time For major modernization projects, we are tracking Six major modernization projects right now just coming into this fiscal year The number of systems that are outdated And need replacing exist in every single one of the department's agencies today And so we are looking to prioritize those and it's not as simple as just replacing tech and replacing the technology system there is a A hand-in-hand effort that goes alongside our Partners in state government as well because it's impacts for monitors So we need to make sure that we can manage the pace of that but also the funding behind Um, those systems too. So we're it's a balancing act and as you can see I'm I am Speaking as a commissioner Harrington because I am in his office right now focus very heavily on Resolving this UI situation Those six major Modernization projects that you said number one. What are they and two? Do you mean that they're already funded or that you don't have the funding yet? I'm I'm thinking of the uh, the current IT modernization funds that have been new into this fiscal year And we have a enterprise project management office website with on the agency digital services public website that shows all of our active projects right now And so that list is visible there on the things that we're working on We've got a few folks on the phone to go to then we'll come back to the room. We'll start with key throughout narrow Hi, so this question is about um, the state's social media presence. I understand it's uh Pretty decentralized, but I didn't wonder With some of the shake-ups and potential shake-ups in the social media landscape If it was anybody thinking about like a long-term strategy as far as what platforms say government uses Whether to adopt new ones or discard ones it's using or whatever the case may be I just don't know if it was like a a long-term deal with this service. It's just sort of uh Comes together organically or what? That would I don't know Denise. Would you have any input on that? Uh, we we do look to our engagement with both the um communication team as well as the chief marketing office for the type of information Uh, okay. Thank you. Tom Davis, compass Vermont Thanks Jason Governor, I was curious if you had a chance yet to look at the natural resources for necessary update stack P50 I have not um, I'm aware that it's out to this point in time. It's been I think a couple years in the making Long before we identified housing as you know a focus point So I'll take a look, but our focus as I've said over the last Year or so and certainly of Of recent recently That will be focusing on housing. So anything in the report That would expedite housing then we will Pull that in but we have some other ideas as well So this is this is a group that was has been working on this for at least a year or two and But I'll look at it and see if there's anything that we can utilize in our package to expedite housing Well, they didn't stuck out Among any things I'm sure depending what happens on the hearing was the the group wants uh Until 2026 to actually implement the changes given the housing crisis And the need to act immediately To try and make up some of the ground for the lack of housing in Vermont What's your sense of that timeline? Yeah to be fair their their charge was to look at Act 250 broadly again. This has been two years in the making or so But now we have a a critical crisis on our hands in terms of housing So you can Rest assured that we'll be putting forward some regulatory changes for the legislature to consider And if there are any is anything in that report that we can utilize we'll utilize them But we have some other ideas as well Thank you. No other questions Chris Roy new partner they express Chris Roy I know the sheriff association has asked him to step down And I'll I'm sure they'll be more adding to that I think it would be the best thing for everyone Maybe not for him personally, but for for everyone else to step down But it's his prerogative at this point and it's my understanding that he's not going to So we'll see what the legislature does. I know that there's still the impeachment hearings that are I believe still ongoing, but I haven't been following them either But but I would say You know, it's it's a high bar Impeachment is a high bar and it should be So we'll see whether this is an impeachable offense or not But we have to be careful with that No, I think the will of the voters comes first Um, they went in with their eyes wide open. I don't I can't believe there was Too many voters that hadn't seen the video of what happened and they still voted in it. So You know franklin's franklin county has made their choice. That's why I'm saying be careful In terms of we may not like somebody But that's not an impeachable impeachable offense um So we'll see what happens with the legislature, but Again, I think uh, maybe this decision will have to be made in the voters booth question about the Along i-91 in the upper valley, you've probably seen there's uh trailers that are parked at At one of those spots. Um, do you know what that rest area is being used for? That is the location for those temporary mobile units that will be going to Different parts of the state, but primarily for montpellier when that's completed No, right now. So those are no, there's just storage. It's just stored there in anticipation Because we've seen a number of of civilian looking cars normal cars traffic in and out of there I mean, do you have you seen what's what's going on there? Like why? What's that? No, uh, unless they're I don't know. Um, fema is Has utilized that area. Um, they're it's under their jurisdiction at this point in time. Um, so Might be a better question for them Are they paying state to use that time? They paid to upgrade the The area, which was a payment enough in some respects We'll be able to utilize that in the future for safety stops and so forth Well, as I say, well, what are those up the dmv? Oh, well paving They they reclaimed a lot of the area And uh, so It was an expensive project. I guess why? I know the montpellier Project has coming it's coming along very slowly even as of yesterday. There's no development up there I mean, why why does it seem like, you know, none of these trailers have been moved There's there's no movement to help for monters and in the yeah Well, again, I think you're putting they were hoping hoping to develop one park And like they've done in other states, and they just didn't find anything that was suitable That was out of the flood plain and had the infrastructure needed the water the sewer the storm water and so forth And so they came to the conclusion that montpellier the country club Land was best suited for that and now You know, we're in a we're in the season when it's going to be difficult in terms of construction and And excavation and so forth, but they're they're supposedly going to start and we'll see See how they produce What's your confidence level of like if they're actually going to break ground on on that project? I'm I'm confident they're going to break ground on the project. I'm confident of that and I've been reassured by General Roy from FEMA and in fact I think because you should talk to him, but I but I believe that they've They've got a fairly aggressive schedule lined up. Maybe like seven days a week And maybe 12 hours a day something like that. So But these are these conditions as we know with frost and so forth and make it much more difficult much slower That it would take in the in the summer. That's why we don't do as much construction in the winter That's just a couple weeks ago. I think it was kevin maybe from seven days that asked about sort of what's the timeline You said two to three weeks and I guess we're here. We are letting any update. I think every day I expect them to break ground Or break frost or whatever they do As far as they were looking for one specific Park type area where all of these trailers could come on any Not to be a crash, but can anyone kind of look at the situation we've got going on in Vermont and say that that sort of location just did not exist Well, I I would have considered I would have thought that it would have been easier than it was to be honest with you I I would have I considered many other options, but But they have certain criteria that they live by and And being outside the floodplain was a big A big flag red flag in in some respects because we have so much of our infrastructure or water sewer and storm water and so forth Are in some of the the floodways And they won't put any units there. So that precluded all of that from being considered So then you move from there and you know, it's just it's much more difficult than you might think Okay Last week you said something like The cost per student was very high And you're going to have a huge bump in property taxes and you were going to expect improvement in schools But specifically do you have a plan to improve schools? No, I think what we need to do is we need to have this Take the politics out of this and have a real conversation with the legislature about moving forward How do we get a bigger bang for our buck? How do we reduce costs? And how do we give kids what they need to succeed in the world? So it's uh You know, that's what we should be doing ongoing. I understand that but we're locally controlled in terms of our education system And we have a funding mechanism that That doesn't have a give us a lot of control either I mean all the money all the budgets are produced and Then all the money, you know, all the all the bills come due it goes in one big pot And then we distribute from there So it it leads to an escalation. There's no cap on anything And then but there's no common curriculum Of what is needed for the kids to go out and prosper Well, I think it's it's if you look at the the reading and mass scores Of late, uh, they're not moving in the right direction. And that's what I'm getting at. Um, Some of the fundamentals, uh, I think we're missing in some respect and and that's the discussion we need to have holistically with the legislature Are there interested parties or just the legislature? Well, anybody else that has ideas, I think we should listen just like we normally would and any legislative process On the general public as well and the teachers and and we're all in this together. I think we all want the same thing How we get there is uh, is the question And uh, how do we how do we, um How can we afford? What what may be contemplated? What are we going to do without? But um, but I do know this. I mean when you look at the demographics in the state Things aren't really getting any better. Um, we're having and I use these Numbers before but the number if you look over the last 10 to 20 years Number of people over 65 now has increased dramatically And we're losing that the middle portion That the workforce and that's That's what we're struggling with as well. So the answer is as I've said many many times We need more taxpayers not more taxes And we need more people to actually do the work that we so desperately need So from my standpoint, that means we need a more affordable Vermont and Raising taxes isn't going to get us there Governor do you welcome the reassignment of judge justin gyron to family court? I think it's a separate branch of Government and I respect their role in that Did you offer any advice any thoughts of the matter to them? Was not asked for my opinion No, but we know we're going to have to at some point here I mean this december 1st letter. We didn't know what was coming either I saw the letter About the same time everyone else did maybe a couple days before but But it was a shock to me that it was that the increase was that high Do you think you should sit down with legislators before the session starts or Well, I think we I I think at this point in time I think we all have to contemplate where we go from here. So I'm sure that they're I mean, this is the second half of the biennium many committees are meeting I'm sure that they're talking about what they might be able to do to Accomplish the goals that we've set out at a price we can afford but So we're still this is a brand new session. This is just the second half of this Of this game I think they have to be included Yeah Everyone should be included because as I've said we're in this together. Thank you all very much