US lawmakers want federal government to wrestle control of sports betting

Two lawmakers of the federal government of the United States are trying to prize control away from states after the overturning of PASPA in 2018 laid bare the path for states to regulate the sports betting industry on their own terms.

This, though, must change argue Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Paul Tonko, two staunch supporters of the idea that it should be the federal government that calls the shots in the United States when it comes to sports betting.

US lawmakers want the DOJ to regulate sports gambling

Their proposal, the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act or SAFE Bet Act wants every bit of sports betting activity shuttered in the United States while companies and states reapply to the US Department of Justice for permission to proceed.

The SAFE Bet Act is a pure figment as of right now, as 38 states have passed comprehensive laws on sports betting and have tied their local budgets to the expected windfall from gambling tax.

The call for banning the activity while reorganizing it does not help the SAFE Bet Act’s authors' case. Should the SAFE Bet Act pass, however, the onus would be on the US Attorney General’s office to decide which applicant can run sports betting operations.

There will be a three-year expiry date on every new license. Commenting on the SAFE Bet Act, Blumenthal said:

"State regulation is faint-hearted and half-baked. That's why we need a national standard to ban gambling but simply to take back control over an industry that is out of bounds."

The American Gaming Association’s Chris Cylke was quick to respond on behalf of the industry, arguing that enacting such a law would be a significant step back from the six years of consensus-making and regulation efforts that are still ongoing.

It would be a "slap in the face," Cylke explained, critical of the whole concept. Although the SAFE Bet Act is itself somewhat radical, it tilts at some more plausible changes to existing sports betting laws, offering to introduce guardrails the likes of which are heavily debated in other jurisdictions.

For example, the SAFE Bet Act contains language that seeks to ban gambling operators from advertising gambling between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm. The language of the draft law also contains points that even the AGA has agreed to and championed more or less.

Affordability checks, national self-exclusion, and more

There will be no irresponsible phrasing of bonuses and other incentives, such as "risk-free" or "no sweat bets." A far more ambitious part of the bill has to do with self-exclusion programs, which will effectively ban players from gambling nationwide, encompassing land-based and online activities.

Affordability checks should also be imposed but they are distinctly American, pointing to a deeper cultural difference between the way Europe, Australia and the United States do things.

The lawmakers are suggesting that anyone who wagers more than $1,000 within 24 hours should be subject to a background check to verify that they can afford to spend that much money in the first place.

The bill is unlikely to pass in its current form, but some of its suggestions are generally aligned with what is emerging to be best practices in protecting consumers worldwide.

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