New Bill Wants To Re-Regulate Sports Betting

A New York politician is leading the charge against legalized sports betting. New York Representative Paul Tonk unveiled the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act, or SAFE Bet Act. He was joined by Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) in the bill.

Legalized sports betting in the United States has been feeling the sting for a while now. Public perception has slowly turned into negativity as more and more critics have come out of the woodwork. But this new act is the first that actually attempts to do something about it. Let’s detail everything that’s included.

What Does SAFE Bet Act Want To Do?

For starters, this is a federal bill that wants to impact the entire country. It’s being led in New York, but the ramifications will extend far beyond the Empire State. Here are the big details worth knowing.

First of all, the proposal wants to restrict sportsbook advertising between 8 am and 10 pm and during live sports events. It would also prohibit betting on individual college athletes and in-game wagers for both professional and college sports — a measure the NCAA has backed heavily (and many states have obliged with so far).

Other things the bill calls to stop are advertising terms like “bonus bets” and “no sweat bets” or the use of credit cards to fund posting accounts. Bettors will also be limited to five deposits within a 24-hour period and be subject to “welfare checks” from operators if they wager more than $1,000 in a single day.

If enacted, the bill would mandate the 38 states with legalized sports betting to reapply for authorization under new federal regulations, supervised by the U.S. Department of Justice. States would need approval from the Attorney General, with each approval being valid for three years before requiring renewal.

“We need a national standard — not to ban gambling but to regain control over an industry that is out of bounds,” said Senator Blumenthal when he announced the bill on Capitol Hill.

Sports Leagues Respond To SAFE Bet Act

One of the key stakeholders in this issue are the sports leagues themselves — the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and so forth. On one hand, they’ve found a new and lucrative revenue windfall from betting. But on the other, they’ve also created a new issue: pro players betting on their own league. Suspensions have been handed down to players betting, but it’s still happening.

ESPN reported that the act drew a mixed response from league bigwigs. They went on to write that two sticking points in the bill were the de-facto ban on TV advertising and the effective ban on live betting. In two weeks of the NFL season, sport operators spent an estimated $22.9 million on 66 minutes of national linear TV ads — that’s dollars these networks are justifying in paying the leagues billions for TV rights. Live betting is also believed to help keep TV ratings up, which again, is what ultimately funds these leagues above everything else.

An NBA source informed ESPN that the league is keeping an eye on the legislation, viewing it as “the starting point to a very lengthy process.” Specifically, NBA commissioner Adam Silver openly quipped that state-by-state regulations are a “hodgepodge”, making it tough to monitor situations.

Silver is not wrong. Including legalized betting in New York, there are 38 states with legal sports gambling, plus Washington DC too. All of these locations have their own set of rules. We write about this stuff for a living, and even we find it hard to juggle what’s legal and what’s not in certain places.

Other Lawmakers Lash Out At The Bill

Don’t think there’s a massive amount of politicians coming out in favor of the SAFE Bet Act. In fact, more have made their opposition be heard loud and clear.

Nevada Rep. Dina Titus straight up said the SAFE Bet Act had “a misguided approach.” Being out of Nevada, these words carry weight since they’ve been at the forefront of legal sports betting long before everyone else. In fact, Nevada consulted with many states when they first legalized sports betting. Here is what Titus had to say:

“I certainly support responsible gaming and the industry does, they’ve taken bold steps going back to the ’90s to regulate themselves. I think that’s better; to have self-regulation or state regulation, not have the federal government get involved at this level.”

Former New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck isn’t a lawmaker, but definitely a key figure since New Jersey betting paved the way for legalization nationwide. Rebuck didn’t mince words when he mentioned, “it’s mind-boggling to me the arrogance of saying ‘we know more than you do’ without working on things.” It seems Rebuck might have a point of we’re being honest.

We don’t anticipate this bill getting passed — not right now and in this exact form, at least. Could the bill be reworked with some provisions taken out and others added in? Certainly. But it’s important to realize this call for regulation is even happening. It could create a domino effect or be a complete flash in the pan — only time will tell.