The Sports Fans Coalition, a nonprofit group of consumers who are sports fans, last week announced a plan to advocate for a “Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights” to be applied to sports-betting legislation nationwide. The proposal includes five “rights” that are “designed to encourage sports fans to leave the underground illegal sports betting market and conduct safe transactions,” said Brian Hess, the group’s executive director, in an interview with Legal Sports Report.
“Ever since the Supreme Court decision to overturn the federal ban on sports betting, we’ve seen states scrambling to legalize the activity,” Hess said. “However, many are doing so without regard for consumer well-being.”
The group’s “Bill of Rights” centers on five elements that should be in any sports-betting program:
- Integrity and transparency: clear, meaningful disclosure of odds, rules, and other relevant information; strict prohibitions on fraud and deception.
- Data privacy and security: high-quality data protection and strict disclosure limitations.
- Self-exclusion: availability of tools to set betting limits, avoid credit traps, and opt-out of advertisement.
- Protection of the vulnerable: protect the most at-risk populations, including minors, the elderly, and people suffering from gambling addiction.
- Recourse: clear, concise protocols to address concerns from bettors about fraud, harm, or other bad actions while preserving private rights of action
Rather than opposing legal sports betting, the suggestions are similar to protections promoted by the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Hess said sports betting “should be legalized… The states have a lot to gain from it. But they need to do it while providing some consumer protection to provide safety and legitimacy for the fan.”
The campaign, described by Hess as “digital grassroots activism,” will direct the group’s 50,000-member database to contact legislators. Hess said initial efforts will concentrate on states where bettors are “especially vulnerable to influence from bad actors.” Those include Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Washington, and Oregon.
Most of those states already began some level of effort to legalize sports betting this year or next.
