Federal Bill Seeks to Implement Sports Betting Guardrails
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-New York) formally introduced legislation that seeks to place federal regulations on the rapidly growing sports betting industry that’s today legal and operational in 38 states plus Washington, D.C.
Tonko’s Supporting Affordability & Fairness With Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) would require state gaming regulators to amend their sports betting rules to include a series of conditions. If passed and signed into law, the federal statute would require sportsbooks to limit bettors to no more than five deposits per 24 hours and conduct “affordability checks” on customers seeking to make large wagers.
Such checks would require bettors to prove that they have the financial resources to risk that amount of money. Sportsbooks would also be prohibited from allowing bettors to make deposits on credit cards.
The SAFE Bet Act, if enacted, would additionally bar sports betting companies from advertising between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. and during all live sports programming. Advertisements with incentives like “risk-free bets” and deposit bonuses would be excluded.
