Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce legislation aimed at controlling the marketing tactics utilized by online sports betting companies in the United States. Should the legislation pass, it would enact severe limitations on how such companies could engage with their customers.
Tonko voiced concerns regarding the sports betting industry, which has largely operated in an unregulated environment since 2018, stating that it is contributing to a “massive and growing public health crisis involving a known addictive product.” As per Tonko’s soon-to-be-introduced SAFE Bet Act, live sports event advertising by sportsbook companies would be banned and restrictions would be placed on language used in sportsbook ads. Additionally, the legislation would place a ban on sportsbooks accepting credit cards from customers seeking to deposit funds.
Moreover, the proposed Act envisions a limit on customer deposits, capping the amount at no more than five from a single customer within 24 hours. The legislation also aims to prohibit gambling operators from using artificial intelligence to monitor a player’s gambling habits or to generate customer-specific proposition bets.
In 2023, Rep. Tonko introduced the Betting on Our Futures Act, more narrowly targeting advertising by sports betting operators. It sought to ban all online and electronic advertising of sports gambling. Tonko maintains many sportsbook advertising tactics are predatory, designed to attract and cultivate new consumers.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court annulled a federal law that mainly restricted regulated sports betting to Nevada, legal betting markets have been established in 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. During this period, American sportsbooks have taken over 337 million in bets. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut similarly introduced legislation targeting the sports betting industry, echoing some of Tonko’s concerns.
The American Gaming Association, which serves as the gambling industry’s lobbying body, has refrained from commenting on Tonko’s impending legislation until the details of the entire bill have been officially introduced.
Source: Proposed legislation targets sports betting marketing tactics.
