Legislation

US – Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act aims to change the face of US sports betting again

By Phil - 21 December 2018

The Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act of 2018, introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Orrin Hatch is threatening to take back federal control of sports betting in the US.

The federal bill would have the US Justice Department set minimum standards for states to offer sports betting.
The bill would force sports betting operators to use data feeds provided or licensed by the leagues.

Mr. Schumer: “I knew that Congress had an obligation to ensure that the integrity of the games we love was never compromised. That is why I believe the time is now to establish a strong national integrity standard for sports betting that will protect consumers and the games themselves from corruption.”
The bill is supported by the National Football League.

Jocelyn Moore, an NFL executive Vice President, said: “The threats posed to the integrity of sporting contests cannot be confined within state borders. Without continued federal guidance and oversight, we are very concerned that sports leagues and state governments alone will not be able to fully protect the integrity of sporting contests and guard against the harms Congress has long recognized as being associated with sports betting.”

A spokesperson for Major League Baseball said: “Legalised sports betting is rapidly spreading across the country, creating a clear need for a set of consistent, nationwide integrity standards to protect the sports that millions of Americans love.”

The bill has been slammed though by the American Gaming Association.

Sara Slane, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, said: “This bill is the epitome of a solution in search of a problem, representing an unprecedented and inappropriate expansion of federal involvement in the gaming industry, which is currently one of the most strictly regulated in the country. Across the country, nearly 4,000 dedicated public servants already regulate all forms of gaming, including sports wagering, with more than $500m committed to ensuring the integrity of commercial casinos’ operations and $822m spent on regulation of tribal gaming in 2015 alone. These state and tribal regulators have decades of experience effectively overseeing gaming operations within their jurisdictions.

“Additional areas this bill seeks to address – including the mandatory use of official league data and the creation of a national sports wagering clearinghouse – can, and should, be decided by marketplace negotiations between private businesses and cooperative agreements among jurisdictions. In the mere six months since the US Supreme Court paved the way for legal, regulated sports betting, significant developments on both of these fronts have already occurred without any federal involvement,” she added.

“While federal regulation of sports betting will continue to be a non-starter for the gaming industry, we appreciate the sponsors’ recognition that more must be done to curb illegal sports betting operations, which continue to pose the biggest impediment to the success of a legal market that will benefit and protect consumers, sports leagues and casino operators alike.”