A Senate committee discussed the possibility of federal regulation of sports gambling in a hearing that lasted about two hours on Tuesday. This hearing focused on how widespread legalization of the industry across the United States would impact athletes, the public, and the integrity of amateur and professional sports.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said sports betting has become a public health concern since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling overturned a federal law that effectively banned sports betting outside of Nevada. Sports betting is currently legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia, with Missouri scheduled to become the 39th state in 2025. This was the first Senate hearing to focus on possible state regulation of the $10 billion sports betting industry.
“I think there is agreement on both sides that we need to resolve this issue,” Durbin said.
The fact that one of the most powerful Senate committees even discussed these issues during a lame duck session speaks volumes about the rapid growth of the sports betting industry in the United States. The exponential growth over the past six years has surprised even those in the gambling industry, and public officials are struggling to figure out how to keep up.
Americans legally bet more than $30 billion on sports last quarter, according to the American Gaming Association, an industry trade organization. Additionally, the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that 2.5 million adults have a serious gambling problem each year, and an additional 5 to 8 million have a mild or moderate gambling problem. But there is little agreement on who should be held accountable for problematic bettors.
The committee invited a list of witnesses approved by both majority and minority members. Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, told the committee that as legalized sports gambling spreads across the country, there has been an increase in reports of integrity issues and gambling-related harassment of college athletes and coaches. .
“I appreciated the fact that both Democrats and Republicans discussed the important role we could have in setting standards for prop betting and sports betting across the country,” Mr. Baker said after the hearing. “It’s really worth it.”
Under Mr. Baker’s leadership, the NCAA successfully lobbied several states to ban prop betting on college sports – bets that are not directly tied to the outcome of a game but are typically tied to the performance of individual athletes. Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at Northeastern University’s Institute for Public Health Advocacy and a recovering gambling addict, said the committee would consider in-game betting, deceptive marketing, and personalized offers and incentives that operators can allocate to frequent gamblers to keep them betting. Use VIP hosts to scale.
David L. Rebuck, a former New Jersey regulator and now a consultant to the gaming association, told the commission that federal oversight was “clearly not necessary.” He argued that state and tribal jurisdictions are best equipped to address the issues raised in the hearing, pointing to initiatives undertaken at the state level, such as self-exclusion lists and partnerships with addiction treatment providers.
Several federal laws related to sports betting have gained traction in recent years. In September, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Democratic Representative Paul Tonko of New York introduced the SAFE Bet Act, which includes limits on advertising, verification of affordability, and limits on the use of artificial intelligence to create bets and target bettors. .
The Gaming Association criticized the bill. AGA President Bill Miller told a meeting of the National Conference of Legislators of Gaming States last week that he expected the industry to face less federal scrutiny in the coming years.
“We have a Republican president, a Republican Senate and a Republican House of Representatives,” he said. “So what does this mean for the gaming industry? That probably means less pressure.”
Despite industry opposition, Mr. Durbin said after Tuesday’s hearing that he saw “openings and opportunities” for federal regulation. North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he was “very open” to an independent commission tasked with establishing guardrails under which the state would have to operate.
“Maybe we should start thinking about the rules of the road,” Mr. Tillis said. Otherwise, “the situation will get worse,” he added.
