The red-hot US sports betting market could cool down considerably if the recently introduced The Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) passes into law. Sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY), the SAFE Bet Act would put major new regulatory limits on how US-facing sportsbooks could advertise, what kinds of bets they could, and even introduce national sports betting licensing.
Among the proposed changes that the bill suggests are a ban on sports betting ads between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.; a limit of five deposits per day, per customer; a total ban on bonus bets; a total ban on college-level player props; and a ban on the use of AI in the creation of micro-bets. Most importantly, the bill would also introduce a national licensing process that would require all 38 US States that currently offer regulated sports betting to receive federal approval in the form of a new license.
Senator Blumenthal justified the need for federal intervention in the business in comments reported on by ESPN saying, “State regulation is faint-hearted and half-baked. That’s why we need a national standard. Not to ban gambling but simply to take back control over an industry that is out of bounds.”
Not surprisingly, representatives of the gaming industry observed that some pretty significant regulations regarding gambling already exist in this country. “Introducing heavy-handed federal prohibitions is a slap in the face to state legislatures and gaming regulators who have dedicated countless time and resources to developing thoughtful frameworks unique to their jurisdictions,” Chris Cylke, the American Gaming Association’s senior vice president of government relations observed.
It’s unclear how much legislative support the bill has at the moment, but the bill’s chances of making it into law are pretty slim in any case. In 2023, the deeply divided US Congress passed just 78 bills into law, which made them one of the least-productive law-making bodies in US history.