Proposed new legislation for federal oversight of online sports betting
To counter the growing prevalence of online sports betting and differences in state regulations, U.S. Representative Paul Tonko, along with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, announced plans to introduce new federal legislation to harmonize the regulatory environment across the U.S. The announcement was made Tuesday (Sept. 10), and lawmakers will hold a press conference Thursday (Sept. 12) to discuss the details of the proposed legislation in detail.
Unveiling an Integrated Approach to Sports Betting:
The press conference, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET, promises to provide valuable insights into the upcoming legislation. In addition to attending live, the event will be streamed on Tonko's X page to ensure stakeholders and the general public can follow the process from anywhere.
This is not the first time Senator Tonko has entered the field of sports betting legislation. He has previously proposed two legislative bills to establish a federal framework for overseeing sports betting, an area traditionally governed by state law. The initiative has been driven by significant changes in the legal environment since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in May 2018 that overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The federal law previously prohibited sports betting, preventing states from legislating the issue.
The abolition of PASPA has brought about a pivotal change, including the establishment of face-to-face sports betting facilities in four states in a matter of months. Notably, New Jersey has been at the forefront of launching digital betting platforms since August 6, 2018, after succeeding in legal challenges led by then-Gov. Chris Christie and Phil Murphy.
Key features of the proposed legislation:
The legislation, which was implied to be similar to the law (SAFE) that supports affordability and fairness with all bets previously proposed by Tonko, is expected to address several important areas of concern in the online sports betting industry. Representatives from Northeastern University's School of Law's Public Health Advocacy Laboratory attended a news conference highlighting the bill's focus on public health and consumer protection. 파워볼사이트
Tonko's SAFE bill, which was shared preliminarily in the spring, outlined comprehensive measures to ensure responsible gambling. The bill proposed strict advertising guidelines that would limit certain vocabulary in ads and limit the amount of time sports betting ads can be shown on television. The bill also sought to implement economic checks to prevent a financial glut of consumers and prohibit the use of artificial intelligence to track betting activities.
According to iGaming Business, the legislation also introduced specific operational constraints, including limiting users to five deposits a day, banning certain types of bets, and creating a nationwide self-exclusion list to allow gamblers to voluntarily exclude them from betting activities.
An essential yet less emphatic aspect of the SAFE Act is an important approach to sports betting. The bill proposes to establish a general ban on sports betting, requiring states to obtain express federal permission to legalize and regulate this form of gambling within their jurisdiction.