As other sports leagues flailed through state-by-state lobbying efforts regarding legalized wagering, the NFL opted to focus on the one legislative body that can bind all states.
On Wednesday, the federal government moved closer to regulating sports wagering via the introduction in the Senate of a bipartisan bill to that effect. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT; pictured) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have introduced the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act of 2018, aimed at establishing “world-class safety measures to protect consumers, preserve the integrity of sporting events, and ensure the propriety of the sports wagering market.”
Among other things, the bill would place minimum standards on sports wagering, including the prohibition of betting on amateur events other than the Olympics or college sports and the prevention of betting by people under 21 and “athletes, coaches, officials, and others associated with sports organizations.”
The bill also would require that “sports wagering operators use data provided or licensed by sports organizations to determine the outcome of sports wagers through 2024, and set requirements for data used thereafter.” And there’s the obvious revenue stream for the NFL and other sports leagues, since they would be providing that “data” not for free.
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“Without continued federal guidance and oversight, we are very concerned that sports leagues and state governments alone will not be able to fully protect the integrity of sporting contests and guard against the harms Congress has long recognized as being associated with sports betting,” NFL executive V.P. of communications and public affairs Jocelyn Moore said in a statement. “Rather than preventing states from making policy choices about whether or not to allow sports betting, the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act would ensure that all state-sanctioned sports betting is conducted pursuant to core standards that protect consumers, guard against problem gambling and gambling by our nation’s youth, and uphold the integrity of sporting contests.”
And, obviously, create a way that the NFL and other leagues will make money from the sports wagering operators (by providing official data), which will become the extra gravy on top of the gravy the NFL will earn via sponsorships and partnerships and ultimately utilizing their official websites and apps as the gateway for the placement of bets, both before and during games.