The gaming industry’s leading lobbyist told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that any federal framework to oversee the growing legal sports betting market in the U.S. was unnecessary because states and Indian tribes “have proven to be effective regulators.”
American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller, in prepared remarks to the committee – just five senators were in attendance – said sports wagering is subject to “the same level of rigorous licensing programs and regulatory oversight with which current commercial and tribal casino operators must comply.”
The two-hour hearing was called to delve into integrity issues surrounding college athletics and was primarily focused on possible federal legislation regarding student-athletes’ rights to use their name, image, and likeness (NIL) for purposes of compensation while playing college sports.
Sports wagering – chiefly, wagering on college athletics – appeared to be an afterthought.
The testimony involved just two witnesses, Miller and University of Pittsburgh Athletic Director Heather Lyke, who said the school and the Atlantic Coast Conference, of which it is a member, oppose gambling on intercollegiate sports.
“While we understand that gambling on professional sports is here to stay, we urge Congress to directly address gambling on intercollegiate athletics and prohibit it,” Lyke said. “The introduction of legal wagering on (college sports) will have a corrosive and detrimental impact on student-athletes and the general student body alike. Gambling creates pressures and temptations that should not exist.”
The committee did not suggest any recommendations or proposals, and the committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), hinted that nothing may be decided before the end of the year.
In 2000, Graham sponsored legislation that attempted to prohibit betting on college sports when Nevada was the only state with legal sports wagering. The measure failed when Nevada gaming leaders and lawmakers opposed the idea.
Sports betting is legally regulated in 18 states and Washington D.C., following the May 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. Four more states have sports betting laws in place and could launch later in 2020.
Miller indicated that it was too late for any federal oversight of sports betting, saying state and tribal gaming regulators oversee the activity with the same guidelines placed on casinos, including age restrictions, record-keeping requirements, and licensing and suitability determinations of businesses, officers, and employees, among others.
Miller did suggest Congress could consider “targeted measures” that would help regulated sports betting businesses, including increasing federal penalties for match-fixing and repealing the federal excise tax on sports wagers, which puts legal sportsbooks at a competitive disadvantage.
“Nobody has a greater vested interest in avoiding scandal than legal gaming operators,” Miller said. “In fact, licensed sportsbooks in Nevada have historically been the first to uncover match-fixing, identifying irregular betting patterns and alerting regulators.”
Lyke noted that several states that have legalized sports betting nevertheless ban wagers on in-state college teams. She used New York as an example, saying the state won’t allow a bet on a game involving Syracuse University “but will allow bets on Pitt versus Clemson.”
Since the Supreme Court ruling, Americans have legally wagered more than $22 billion on sports nationally, including $13 billion in 2019.
Before COVID-19 shut down nearly 1,000 commercial and tribal casinos nationwide and silenced professional sports leagues and college sports, 2020 was set to become another record-breaking wagering year. The AGA said $3.5 billion had been legally bet in January and February on sports, up from $1.9 billion for the same two months of 2019.
A study released by the AGA this week found the expansion of legal sports betting is luring Americans away from illegal bookmakers.
Miller told Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a committee member, that illegal sports betting is driven largely by confusion about online operators. More than half (55%) of consumers who placed wagers with illegal operators believed they were betting legally.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
