Representatives of the gaming industry are reacting to the proposed SAFE Bet Act, which would limit gambling advertising and kill bonus offers entirely, and are generally not enthused. Sponsored by Congressman Paul Tonko and Senator Richard Blumenthal is being described as “misguided” and “mind-boggling” by lawmakers and state gaming regulators.
At a Semafor News event that was co-sponsored by the American Gaming Association (AGA) last week, Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus dismissed the proposal saying, “I don’t think that’s the way to approach it. I certainly support responsible gaming and the industry does, they’ve taken bold steps going back to the ’90s to regulate themselves. I think that’s better; to have self-regulation or state regulation, not have the federal government get involved at this level.”
At a webinar sponsored by iDEA GROWTH, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck ripped into the plan saying, …”it’s mind-boggling to me the arrogance of saying ‘we know more than you do’ without working on things together that we have already reached out to them to work on to make things better for our citizens in all the states that legalize sports wagering.”
The AGA was about as enthusiastic as Redbuck in their own press release on the subject saying, “Six years into legal sports betting, 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, and have continued to iterate as their marketplaces evolve.”
None of these folks should really worry too much about the US Congress passing the SAFE Bet Act into law. The 118th session of Congress, which was last year, was one of the most unproductive in US history. They passed just 34 bills into law, the lowest number since the Great Depression.