AGA: Only 3 percent of Super Bowl wagers made legally
The commissioner of the National Football League, one of the lead plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the legality of New Jersey’s law authorizing sports betting, said last week the league is prepared to move forward should New Jersey win the case, or if the federal ban on sports betting, codified in the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Betting Act (PASPA), be overturned by the high court or by an act of Congress.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has been among the most vocal opponents of legalized sports betting—claiming it would harm the integrity of the game—told ESPN Radio that the integrity of the sport will remain the NFL’s highest priority, even if sports betting is legalized.
“To me it’s very clear, which is about the integrity of the game,” Goodell said. “You don’t want to do anything that’s going to impact negatively on the integrity of our game. You want to be certain that there are no outside influences on our game and that fans don’t even have any issues on that. They understand whether there’s a perception or not that there’s no influence on our game. That’s something that we stand firmly behind, the integrity of our game.
“We see changes going on, obviously. I don’t think 10 years ago people saw an NFL franchise or NHL franchise in Las Vegas. Clearly, there are changes occurring. The Supreme Court is considering changes, potentially, in laws with respect to gambling across our country, and I think we’re going to be prepared as a league to address that no matter how the Supreme Court comes out and how things evolve. We’re going to protect the integrity of the game, I assure you of that.”
Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, says Goodell has the same goal as the gaming industry.
“We understand the commissioner’s desire for integrity in the game, which is exactly why we want to get rid of illegal sports betting in the U.S., which threatens that integrity.”
Advocates of legalized sports betting, led by the AGA have maintained that legal sports wagering will strengthen the integrity of the game, by making it easier to ensure that bettors are wagering in a regulated environment, using technology to identify irregular betting patters that has been used for years in legal markets in Europe and elsewhere.
The AGA, as it has done in each of the past few years, released a statement pointing out that 97 percent of the expected $4.76 billion wagered on Sunday’s Super Bowl was going to consist of illegal wagers—about 3 percent of wagers, around $138.5 million, was expected to go through legal sports books in Nevada.
“Thanks to the failed federal ban on sports betting, Americans are sending billions of their hard-earned dollars to corner bookies, shady offshore operators and other criminal enterprises,” said Freeman. “The big question we’re asking: Is 2018 finally the year when governments, sporting bodies and the gaming industry work together to put the illegal sports betting market out of business?”
Freeman used the statement to again criticize the proposal two weeks ago by the National Basketball Association before New York lawmakers that any bill legalizing sports betting should funnel 1 percent of any wagers on NBA games to the league.
“The NBA is an important stakeholder, and we are pleased to see their active engagement,” said Freeman. “Unfortunately, their proposal would replace a failed federal law with bad state policy—robbing law enforcement, regulators and state taxpayers of additional resources. Eliminating the illegal market is in the public interest, and it is incumbent on each stakeholder to prove how their proposals achieve that critical objective.”
The AGA said immediately following the NBA proposal that 1 percent of wagers going to the league would leave only a 2 percent profit margin for legal bookmakers, restricting the odds they could offer and putting them in an impossible competitive position against illegal bookies.
Meanwhile, sports betting bills are gaining traction in West Virginia and Kansas. In West Virginia, Senate Majority Leader Ryan Ferns recently led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce Senate Bill 415, the West Virginia Lottery Sports Wagering Act, which would legalize sports betting at the five existing casinos and racetracks in the state, and online if the U.S. Supreme Court removes the federal ban. The bill also designates the West Virginia Lottery Commission to handle licensing, regulation and administration of sports betting.
In addition, House Delegate Shawn Fluharty revived his sports betting bill H 2751 that died in committee in 2017. “It is clear that sports betting now has full bipartisan support. I’ve worked with the West Virginia Lottery to get a comprehensive piece of legislation that is expected to generate $34 million in its first year, all without raising taxes or fees on West Virginians.”
He added, “People are already gambling. Everybody and their mother is basically gambling at this point on sports. But yet we’re not making a single penny off of it at the state level or at the federal level. Why would we not take advantage of this opportunity to regulate something that’s already taking place? Therefore making it safer and more productive, and I think at the same time shrinking the black market, deriving revenue from it, without raising anybody’s taxes.”
Under the Senate bill, sports wagering would be allowed at the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack, Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort, Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Ranson , Mardi Gras Casino & Resort near Charleston and the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice.
The Senate bill also calls for operators to pay a $250,000 application fee, good for five years and renewable every five years thereafter for $100,000. In addition, they would pay a 10 percent “privilege tax” on adjusted gross sports wagering revenue. Nevada taxes sports betting at 6.75 percent and Indiana at 9.25 percent. New Jersey is considering a tax of 8-10 percent.
The measure permits betting on professional and collegiate sports contests, and patrons must be 21 years of age and older. Regarding online sports betting, the legislation reads, “A West Virginia Lottery sports wagering license authorizes the operation of West Virginia Lottery sports wagering at locations and any mobile application or other digital platforms approved by the commission.”
Attorney and Lottery Commissioner Danielle Boyd said, “We hope to have a plan in West Virginia to take advantage of being first in the market, as we were with racetrack video lottery and table games.”
In November 2016, West Virginia joined 19 other states that filed an amicus brief in support of New Jersey in Christie vs. NCAA. The state also filed amicus briefs with the Third Circuit and Supreme Courts in support of New Jersey in the first round of Christie vs. NCAA in 2013. Also, in September 2017, West Virginia Lottery Commission Director Alan Larrick commissioned California-based Eilers and Krejcik Gaming to complete a $160,000 study on the potential financial impact of legalized sports betting on West Virginia. The results indicated $34-$78 million in potential annual revenue.
In Kansas, HB 2533, introduced by the Committee on Federal and State Affairs, would legalize betting on professional and collegiate sports “on the premises of a racetrack gaming facility.” However, currently there are no such facilities in Kansas. But HB 2545, introduced a day after HB 2533, would pave the way for resurrecting the state’s shuttered greyhound and horse racetracks.
If the two bills pass, the Woodlands in Kansas City would be the most likely to reopen. It’s owned by Phil Ruffin, who also owns Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip
