Congressman sends sports leagues ultimatum

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Following recent sports betting scandals that have resulted from the explosion of legal sports betting across the nation, Congressman Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) sent letters to several major professional sports leagues demanding they support implementing federal gambling safety standards included in his SAFE Bet Act. The letters were sent to the commissioners of the NBA, WNBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, MSL, and NWSL.

“Claims of prioritizing integrity ring hollow when leagues have sold credibility to gambling operators, integrated betting content into broadcasts, normalized wagering for teenagers, glorified it in advertising, and then failed to prevent criminal conduct from taking hold within the sport,” the letters read.

The letters continue, “The stakes go far beyond the integrity of the sport; they encompass the very real human harm occurring across communities nationwide. The reliance on voluntary self-policing has failed. If the integrity of professional sports depends on federal law enforcement alone, the current system is already broken.

“The choice before you is now explicit. Either engage directly with Congress to establish mandatory federal guardrails that restore integrity and protect the public or stand in opposition and accept responsibility when the next scandal breaks and more families and lives are destroyed.”

Tonko’s Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act, reintroduced earlier this year, would establish minimum federal standards to create a safer, less addictive product, protect consumers, and restore needed trust in the integrity of sports. Specifically the bill addresses:

- Marketing

• No sportsbook marketing during live sporting events, and no programing designed to induce gambling with “bonus”, “no sweat,” “bonus bets,” or odds boosts

- Affordability

• Prohibits operators from accepting more than 5 deposits from a customer in a 24-hour period
• Requires operators to conduct ‘affordability checks’ on customers before accepting wagers and prohibits operators from accepting deposits via credit card

- Artificial Intelligence

• Prohibits the use of AI to track player’s gambling habits and offer individualized promotions
• Prohibits the use of AI to create gambling products, such as microbets

- The SAFE Bet Act would also: Ban prop bets on all college and amateur athletes; authorize SAMHSA to collect data on the impact of sports betting nationwide; require a Surgeon General’s report on the public health challenges to sports betting; and create a national self-exclusion list.