A few U.S. senators put sports betting under the microscope when the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday. The meeting was about the impact that legal wagering – such as nearby Virginia sportsbooks – had on the country and the changes some advocates want the federal government to implement. The question now: How long will legal sports betting stay under the microscope?
Given the time, nothing will happen now. A new Congress takes over in less than two weeks. That means any legislation not passed by then, such as the SAFE Bet Act, will need to be refiled. In addition, the Senate will flip from Democratic to Republican control.
That’s significant in that a Democrat, Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, pressed those testifying if they supported the bill that he and New York U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, another Democrat, filed this year. Measures supported by those in the minority often wither on the vine unless they have a partner in the other party that also supports it.
Republicans Raise Betting Concerns, Too
Typically, when Republicans control Congress, it’s a strong indicator that legislation to heavily regulate an industry – as the SAFE Bet Act seeks to do – would have little chance of success. That said, there are Republicans on Capitol Hill who also have concerns about gambling.
“I would be very open to an independent commission that would be tasked by this body to spend a year putting together guardrails and a framework that makes sense so that states who choose to have an affirmative vote and a law… that they have to conform to certain rules of the road,” Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said at Tuesday’s hearing.
Tillis isn’t alone. Utah Sen. Mike Lee is also on the committee. He was not at Tuesday’s hearing, but he recently teamed with a colleague across the aisle, U.S. Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, to press the Federal Trade Commission to determine whether DraftKings and FanDuel, the two undisputed giants in the legal U.S. sports betting market, are violating antitrust laws and keep other sportsbooks from being competitive.
Lee will be an influential member of the committee over the next couple of years. If sports betting stays on his radar, then the industry (or at least the top operators) will need to be aware.
Can Congress Act On Sports Betting?
With that in mind, what might federal reform look like if Congress decides to take it on in the next two years, and what are the odds that it will become law?
If, as Tillis proposed, Congress passed a law to establish an independent commission to study the issue, then any reforms coming out of it would take years to implement. Depending on how strict the rules are from that group, there could be legal challenges to block Washington from enacting those requirements.
As you may be able to tell from recent headlines, Congress has a lot on its plate. Right now, lawmakers are trying to figure out a way to keep the lights on for the federal government before resolutions funding its agencies expire.
In addition, lawmakers all have their own pet issues. That came out in Tuesday’s hearing as some Republican lawmakers used their time to question NCAA President Charlie Baker. But their focus was not about his or their sports betting concerns; rather, why the body overseeing major college athletics wasn’t doing anything to bar transgender females from playing in women’s sports. Those questions served as a distraction to the discussion at hand, and they would likely come up again if/when the NCAA comes back to talk about sports betting, meaning it will take longer to reach common ground.
What’s Next With Senate?
If I were putting odds on the next Congress passing a sports betting reform measure at any Virginia sports betting apps, I’d start them at +400, which is equal to a 20% chance of happening. Sports betting reform is a complex subject, and it will take a significant amount of time to get majorities in the House and Senate to agree to the same language.
Two years seems like a lot of time and, in some aspects, it is. However, Congress is discussing a lot of issues, and it will pose a challenge for legislation to make it through. If the negative press around sports betting continues, though, the chances of reform could rise.
What that means for the industry is that it has more time to act on its own. Several operators have taken measures to promote responsible gaming. The American Gaming Association has produced guidelines that have called for operators to no longer partner with colleges and take other actions.
However, as has been shown, it’s still not enough to keep Congress from considering action. Sports betting operators and their industry trade groups need to go back to the table and come up with other reforms that will identify problem gamblers, reduce the harm caused, implement practices that are more consumer friendly and restrict how and when sportsbook commercials appear on broadcasts.
That’s a lot on a to-do list, and frankly, there’s more that could be added to it. Will the industry take advantage of the time and put forward more policies to promote consumer safety? One can certainly hope.
If sportsbooks want to get from under the microscope, they need to do so.
