Feds Call Gambling 'a Serious Disease', Consider Federal Legislation

With sports betting now regulated in some form in 38 US states, whether online or retail only, a public health crisis is rapidly taking hold.  Congress has been warned, with “all available evidence” pointing to an increase in problems surrounding America’s gambling boom.

Campaigners and clinicians say addiction levels have grown since the US Supreme Court legalized the activity back in May of 2018.

On Capitol Hill this past week, a handful of senators signaled they could support a federal crackdown.

Of primary focus would be wagering on college player performance, or college player prop bets.

In March, North Carolina basketball player Armando Bacot revealed that he received dozens of messages that criticized him for his perceived poor performance in a tournament game against Michigan State. According to Bacot, the messages frequently mentioned his inability to record enough rebounds for bettors to win props.

“Individuals who harass athletes, amateur or professional, over a sports bet should not be tolerated,” Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, told ESPN.

On Tuesday, appearing on Capitol Hill, the president of the NCAA called for an outright ban on these types of performance prop bets.

"We believe that when bettors can't gamble on college athletes' individual performances, they're far less likely to attempt to scrutinize, coerce or harass student-athletes," Baker said.

"They get demands for money from unhappy bettors for trivial things that don't impact the result on the field," Baker said. "Many have received death threats from bettors, and they also receive other, in-person threats and accusations directed at them while they're leaving or coming onto the field of play."

“I am not opposed to sports gambling,” said Harry Levant, a gambling addiction counselor and director of gambling policy at the Northeastern University School of Law’s Public Health Advocacy Institute, told congress.

A complex network of firms, including betting giants, sports teams and media companies, is now “acting in concert to deliver online gambling at light speed and ensure that access to sports gambling action never stops”, according to Levant. “This new and AI-fueled business model will inexorably result in increased gambling addiction and gambling-related harm.”

Former NFL player Johnson Bademosi also sounded the alarm. “Gambling addiction is a serious disease that has the potential to ruin the lives of not only the bettor, but also the people and family of the addict as well,” he told the hearing. Those suffering “must be given the appropriate resources and support to recover”, Bademosi added.

“It’s critical that Congress looks into sports betting’s impact on America and determines how the industry should be regulated going forward,” said the Democratic senator Dick Durbin, chair of the judiciary committee. “In many cases” gambling “is not being done responsibly”, he added.

Thom Tillis, a senior Republican on the committee, voiced his concern. “Too many states are getting it wrong,” he said, adding that he was “very open” to the idea of a commission to draw up “rules of the road” for states to follow on legalized gambling. “Federal government is going to have to play a role.”

Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, is already pushing two pieces of legislation – the SafeBet Act and the Grit Act – designed to address concerns over problem gambling. “We are in the midst of a sports betting boom that is one of the most severe public health problems today,” he said. “It is the cause of addiction for millions of Americans with severe gambling problems.”