
Congress has warned that the public health crisis is rapidly taking hold, as “all available evidence” points to an increase in problems surrounding America’s gambling boom.
Sports betting, which is now legal in 38 states, has spread across the United States over the past six years. Activists and doctors say addiction levels increased during this boom, and young people were among those affected. Athletes and sports officials say harassment has also risen.
On Capitol Hill this week, a few senators indicated they might support a federal crackdown. But the industry is already declining.
“Widespread” sports betting.
“I’m not opposed to sports gambling,” said Harry Levant, a gambling addiction counselor and director of gambling policy at Northeastern University School of Law’s Institute for Public Health Advocacy, and a recovering gambling addict. “In fact, I support properly regulating sports gambling.”
However, in his speech to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Levant emphasized that he “strongly opposes and is deeply concerned about what has happened” since 2018, when the Supreme Court overturned a decades-old federal ban on legalizing sports betting.
A complex network of companies, including betting giants, sports teams and media companies, are now “working in concert to deliver light-speed online gambling and ensure access to sports gambling never stops,” according to Levant. “The new business model fueled by artificial intelligence will inevitably increase gambling addiction and gambling-related harm.”
Former NFL player Johnson Bademosi also raised the alarm. “Gambling addiction is a serious disease that has the potential to destroy the lives of not only the gambler, but the lives of the addict and his or her family as well,” he told the hearing. Bademosi added that those suffering “must have the right resources and support to recover.”
Charlie Baker, the former Massachusetts governor and current president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said lawmakers should devote “more attention” to gambling on college campuses, to protect sports and students “from the dangers of widespread sports betting.”
A 2018 Supreme Court decision enabled each state to decide whether it wanted to allow the practice, and how it should be regulated. While legalization has boosted tax revenues for dozens of states, “many state governments have never invested in problem gambling programs or extensive public health infrastructure,” said Keith White, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG).
As of last year, “for every dollar states made from commercial gambling, 0.0009 cents were invested in problematic gambling services,” according to White’s written testimony. “While substance use disorder is seven times more common in the United States than gambling disorder, substance use disorder receives 338 times more public funding than gambling disorder.”
“Too many countries” gets it wrong
Some senators appear to be taking note.
“It is important that Congress consider the impact of sports betting on America and determine how to regulate this industry in the future,” said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “In many cases, gambling is not done responsibly,” he added.
Thom Tillis, one of the committee’s top Republicans, also indicated that he supports federal regulation. “A lot of states are getting it wrong,” he said, adding that he is “very open” to the idea of creating a commission to set “rules of the road” for states to follow on legal gambling. “The federal government will have to play a role.”
Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, is already pushing two pieces of legislation — the SafeBet Act and the Resolve Act — designed to address concerns about problem gambling. “We are in the midst of a sports betting boom that is one of the most serious public health problems today,” he said. “It is addictive for millions of Americans with serious gambling problems.”
White, of NCPG, was reassured by what he heard. He said after the hearing that problem gambling was “no longer an isolated case.” “Witnesses and senators seemed comfortable with the idea of a federal role. Exactly what that role should be is the key issue, of course.”
After promoting the newsletter
Gambling companies ‘welcome to join’
The gambling industry is certainly not comfortable with federal government interference. A memo circulated after the hearing by the American Gaming Association (AGA), a lobby group, complained that it “excluded an industry witness” and presented “popular myths.”
Major companies in the industry have made it clear they will not attend, according to the Judiciary Committee. “We reached out to several gambling platforms, but they did not want to send witnesses to the hearing,” Durbin spokesman Josh Sorby said. “If there are gambling operators who are serious about crafting much-needed federal reform to protect our sport and those who suffer from gambling addiction, we welcome them to join us as we move forward.”
FanDuel and DraftKings were among those called to testify at the hearing, a source familiar with the matter claimed. The companies declined to comment. Industry sources denied their invitation.
The hearing included David Reback, former director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, who recently became counsel to the AGA. Unlike other committee members, Ryback expressed opposition to the federal crackdown on gambling. “There is no reason to believe that the federal government is better suited to balance the trade-offs involved in hundreds of regulatory decisions than individual states,” he said.
In its memo, the AGA claimed that the prevalence of problem gambling “remained around 1-2%” despite the rise of legal gambling. This statistic was taken from a report on one state – Massachusetts – which found that problem gambling affected 2% of its population in 2013 and 1.4% in 2021. But sports betting was only It was legalized in Massachusetts In 2022.
The state of New Jersey, where Reebok was a top official, led the charge to legalize sports betting. In 2021, the state’s high-risk problem gambling rate was 5.6%, according to a report. a report Prepared by researchers at Rutgers University’s Center for Gambling Studies: That’s down from 6.3% in 2017, but three times the national average.
The sports betting industry is now regulated at the state level — as well as by the industry itself, which has introduced measures including a marketing code in an attempt to address concerns about the advertising blitz that has accompanied its rapid rise. But in Washington, some policymakers are beginning to wonder if that’s enough.
Industry denial is ‘short-sighted’.
Gambling lobbyists are hijacking themselves to prove that their market doesn’t need federal rules and guardrails. Some close observers believe they need a new playbook.
“The industry needs better arguments against federal oversight than it has to offer, which looks like you (Congress) are going to do a worse job than us,” Steve Ruddock, a gambling industry analyst and consultant, said. books On social media. “I’m not sure if people know this, but running for Congress requires a big ego, and that kind of argument is not going to be acceptable.”
Sports betting operators worry that federal intervention would turn their nascent legal market into a highly restricted market. They don’t want gambling to end up with the same strict and comprehensive rules as smoking.
“If things go wrong for this industry, it could find itself being treated like tobacco,” said Brianne Dora Saul, an anti-problem gambling lobbyist. “Their desire to deny that harm occurred is very short-sighted.”