The newest version of federal sports betting legislation, which calls for advertising restrictions, customer deposit limits and an outright ban on all college prop betting, was met Thursday with swift opposition from the gaming industry.
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) formally introduced the SAFE Bet Act, which outlined sports betting regulations in three specific areas:
- Advertising
- Affordability
- Artificial intelligence
“This bill is an effort designed to prevent harm before it occurs,” Tonko said at a press conference. “To be clear we are in no way attempting to ban sports gambling, our goal is the opposite. The SAFE Bet Act will ensure that gambling on sports is safe for the public to enjoy.”
Pushback on sports betting bill
Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), who represents the Nevada district which includes the Las Vegas Strip, was critical of Thursday’s federal proposal.
“While the SAFE Bet Act is perhaps well-intentioned, pre-empting state gaming regulators by outlawing most forms of advertising and restricting the types and methods by which customers can place bets is a misguided approach.
“Offering customers a wide variety of choices, enhancing their gaming experience, and advertising legal operators are essential ways to compete with the illegal market which offers no consumer protection, state tax revenue, or responsible gaming resources,” Titus said.
The American Gaming Association also pushed back on the proposal.
“Six years into legal sports betting, introducing heavy-handed federal prohibitions is a slap in the face to state legislatures and gaming regulators who have dedicated countless time and resources to developing thoughtful frameworks unique to their jurisdictions and have continued to iterate as their marketplaces evolve,” Chris Cylke, the AGA’s senior vice president of government relations, said.
Sports betting ban on college props
The SAFE Bet Act would ban all prop bets on college and amateur athletes. Tonko said athletes, coaches, universities, and leagues requested this regulation.
NCAA President Charlie Baker has urged states to ban prop betting on individual athletes.
According to the NCAA, one in three high-profile athletes receives abusive messages from someone with a betting interest.
Advertisements under microscope
The SAFE Bet Act also calls for restrictions on sports betting advertising, including limiting ads to times and spaces when children are not likely to be in the audience.
Tonko said advertising should be strictly for brand awareness, rather than for inducing gambling or showing people how to bet.
He first addressed advertising last year in the Betting on our Future Act, an earlier iteration of this effort.
States take action on advertising
Several states have specific regulations around advertising and the language used to influence customers.
Ohio sports betting regulators, for example, do not allow sportsbooks to advertise promotions as “free bets” or “risk-free” when customers are required to bet their money first. Most sportsbooks dropped that verbiage from their advertising nationwide following Ohio’s ruling.
In Massachusetts, all logos at stadiums for MA sportsbooks must include “21 and over” language.
Sports betting affordability checks
Tonko wants sportsbooks to take a more proactive approach to protecting customers from harm through affordability checks. The SAFE Bet Act calls for multiple deposit limits:
- No more than five deposits within 24 hours
- No more than $1,000 deposited in 24 hours
- No more than $10,000 deposited in 30 days
The bill calls for a ban on credit card deposits to fund online sports betting accounts, which states have also proposed in the past.
“The onus should be on the sportsbooks to not serve customers who are chasing losses,” Tonko said. “Every state has laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol to visibly intoxicated individuals, we need to have that same standard for sportsbooks.”
AI practices called into question
The SAFE Bet Act would also set minimum standards for using artificial intelligence. Tonko described the AI practices used by sportsbooks as “predatory.”
His federal sports betting bill would prohibit sportsbooks from using AI to create gambling products, such as AI pricing for live betting. Blumenthal said sportsbooks gather copious amounts of AI-driven data on customer habits to target losing players.
“Let’s be very clear,” Blumenthal said. “Right now, the gambling industry methodically and relentlessly targets losers because that’s where the money is.”
