WASHINGTON – Two Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional action on sports-betting regulation and support the launch of Family and Friends of Gamblers (FFOG), a new advocacy group for those affected by gambling addiction.
“We’ll work together with this organization to make certain that the legislative journey is one that puts guardrails and restrictions on a known addictive product that we believe needs to be made safer,” Rep. Paul Tonko, D-New York, said at a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday.
Tonko spoke a day after NBA officials briefed congressional staff on the league’s ongoing gambling investigations, including recent federal charges against Portland Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups and other former players for their alleged participation in an illegal betting scandal.
Now lawmakers, public-health experts and families are pressing Congress to close the gap between state-by-state gambling regulations and the lack of federal regulation they say has fueled gambling addiction and eroded public trust in professional sports.
“It’s a silent plague,” said Declan Hill, a University of New Haven professor who studies corruption in sports.
Hill recounted previous international cases of match-fixing and organized-crime pressure on athletes. But he said the addiction doesn’t stop with athletes and coaches.
“It hurts the people. It hurts their friends. It hurts their families. It destroys the trust,” Hill said.
His concerns align with the intentions of the SAFE Bet Act, introduced last year and again in March by Tonko, that would set federal standards on sportsbook advertising, deposit limits and the use of artificial intelligence, including bans on bonus promotions and marketing during live games.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, is sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate.
“I challenge the betting industry, if you really believe you’re on the right side of the public interest, join us in supporting the SAFE Bet Act,” Blumenthal said.
The standards would attempt to create a “safer, less addictive product, protect consumers, and restore needed trust in the integrity of sports,” according to a press release last month from Tonko’s office.
Members of FFOG are in support of the proposed bill, saying federal restrictions on sports betting ads are needed to prevent companies from luring recovering gambling addicts.
“It’s hard for somebody recovering to go through this when they’re being bombarded with ads every two minutes,” Joseph Beal, parent of a former gambling addict, said at the press conference. “When you’re watching a professional sports game, it’s, ‘Hey, here’s the next bet you can make,’ or a text, a phone call, ‘Hey, where you been? We haven’t had a bet from you.’”
Beal said his son’s addiction lasted for over a decade, to the point that he was placing bets on youth baseball games in Taiwan.
According to the American Gaming Association’s “Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering,” gambling companies are prohibited from targeting individuals under 21, using misleading terms like “risk-free” in ads and must include a responsible-gaming help line number in all advertising.
In Maryland, sportsbook operators are required to submit their advertising materials to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency for review prior to any promotion.
Officials say action is taken when operators fail to meet the requirements.
“In 2023, DraftKings paid a $94,400 consent agreement penalty after directing marketing to individuals younger than 21,” said Seth Elkin, MLGCA’s managing director of communications.
Elkin said DraftKings and MLGCA agreed to the penalty after the company sent promotional emails to a distribution list that included daily fantasy sports customers, some of whom ranged in age from 18 to 20.
The minimum age for daily fantasy sports betting in Maryland is 18, where players pay to enter contests and compete based on their chosen athletes’ performances.
“While reasonable people can debate the specifics of federal standards on the sports betting industry, it is abundantly clear that the exclusively state-based regulatory approach is fundamentally flawed and will continue to jeopardize the integrity of our sports and the public health of our citizens,” said Tonko in a Oct. 30 letter to the seven major sporting leagues: the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, the Women’s National Basketball Association, Major Soccer League and the National Women’s Soccer League
There has been no legislative action on the House or Senate betting measures so far.