Two United States senators from opposing parties have proposed that the federal government should take back control of sports betting from the states. This makes the very first formal move by the country’s Congress since its Supreme Court abolished PASPA and lifted the federal ban on sports betting thus officially allowing states to regulate their own sports betting industries or markets.
Referred to as the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act, the sports betting bill which was announced on Wednesday, December 19 by Senators Orrin Hatch and Chuck Schumer is a direct response to the US Supreme Court ruling that overturned the 1992 law which prevented state governments from legalizing sports gambling.
Already a good number of states have begun offering sports betting with many others expected to follow in the same direction very soon – this is likely to be mulled over in the new legislative sessions in 2019 as the states try to figure new ways of generating million in revenue. The ruling resulted in a countrywide patchwork of sports betting laws and according to Senator Schumer the time is now for Congress to establish a “strong national integrity standard for sports betting that will protect consumers and the games themselves from corruption.”
Among the things that the proposed sports betting bill hopes to address such issues as underage gambling, regulation of online wagering as well as consumer protection through measures like self-exclusion lists for problem gamblers. Also, if passed in its current form, the bill will require the licensed sports betting operators to use only league-sanctioned data until 2024. Moreover, the legislation also seeks to prevent the professional sports leagues from taking a cut from a cut of the estimated $150 billion in gambling revenue that has been estimated for the sports betting market.
From a general point of view, the two senators believe that in the absence of continued federal guidance and oversight, the professional sports leagues and the state governments will not be able to fully protect the integrity of sporting events especially from the harms that Congress as often associated with sports wagering.
Support from the PGA Tour
In the wake of the announcement of the proposed legislation, the PGA Tour has also recently released a statement declaring its support for the bill. According to the PGA Tour’s officials, nationwide or federal standard are the best method of protecting the integrity of sporting activities in the United States. In the statement that was issued on Wednesday, they further proposed the establishment of a national body that would be tasked with overseeing the integrity of sports in the country.
