HB 787 revises Montana law governing gambling route operators, with a particular focus on route operators that also hold alcoholic beverage licenses. The bill creates a new section in Title 23, chapter 5, part 6, that bars such route operators from using nonpublic financial data to gain an unfair competitive advantage in acquiring, administering, or selling an alcohol license. It also prohibits them from using that data as leverage in license transactions and from restricting access to video gambling machines or games available to other alcohol licensees.
The bill defines “financial data” broadly to include nonpublic information about alcohol licensees, gambling locations, consumer gambling patterns by location, a licensed location’s gambling-related financial information, and other data available only to the route operator through its business. It also amends existing law to allow the Department of Justice or other licensing authority to refuse renewal or revoke a route operator license if the operator violates the new restrictions. In addition, it makes a conforming change to the video gambling machine statute to require that machines on premises licensed for on-premises alcohol consumption be available to the alcohol licensee under the new section, if applicable.
Impact
HB 787 would add new regulatory limits on route operators who participate in both the gambling and alcohol-license markets, and it would create a new basis for license denial, nonrenewal, or revocation. It amends sections 23-5-129 and 23-5-603, MCA, and integrates the new provisions into Title 23’s gambling framework. The practical effect is to restrict the use of proprietary business information in alcohol-license transactions and to prevent route operators from using their gambling operations to disadvantage competing alcohol licensees or control machine access in a way the bill deems unfair.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the bill initially received favorable committee treatment, as the House Business and Labor Committee voted 16-0 to table the bill. However, the bill ultimately died in process, indicating it did not advance to enactment. With no committee transcript available, the record shows procedural support at the committee vote level but no evidence of broader floor debate or final legislative momentum.
Contention
The central point of contention appears to be the bill’s attempt to regulate how route operators use business information across two related industries: gambling and alcohol licensing. Supporters likely viewed the measure as an anti-competitive safeguard to prevent route operators from leveraging confidential gambling and location data to gain control over alcohol licenses or machine placement. Potential opponents would be route operators and others in the gaming or beverage industries who may have viewed the bill as overbroad, intrusive into private business practices, or creating new compliance and enforcement burdens. The absence of transcripts limits certainty, but the structure of the bill suggests the dispute centered on competition, access to machines, and the use of proprietary data.