SAFE BET Act author sends “ultimatum” over betting integrity to sports leagues
New York congressman Paul Tonko urges major US sports leagues to back bill following recent “sports betting scandals”
New York congressman Paul D. Tonko has sent letters to several major US professional sports leagues demanding they support federal gambling safety standards or be complicit in the destruction of “families and lives.”
Letters were sent to the commissioners of the NFL, basketball leagues NBA and WNBA, ice hockey league NHL, baseball league MLB and soccer leagues MLS and NWLS.
“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 stakes go far beyond the integrity of the sport; they encompass the very real human harm occurring across communities nationwide.
The letters continued: “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.”
Earlier this year Tonko reintroduced his Support Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act.
Key features of the proposed bill include the prohibition of sportsbook marketing during live sporting events and other marketing restrictions on bonuses and boosts.
The bill would also prevent operators accepting more than five deposits from a customer in a 24-hour period. In addition, operators would be required to conduct affordability checks on customers.
The use of AI to track players’ habits, and to create targeted promotions and products would also be prohibited.
Under the proposals, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration would collect data on the impact of sports betting nationwide, the Surgeon General would produce a report on the public health challenges to sports betting, and a national self-exclusion list would be created.
In the most recent high-profile sports betting scandal, NBA star Terry Rozier and coach Chauncey Billups were arrested for separate illegal gambling offences.