A U.S. congressman and senator are preparing to reintroduce the SAFE Bet Act, again saying they don’t oppose digital gambling but want the federal government to make it safer.
At a press conference on Capitol Hill March 11, Representative Paul Tonko and Senator Richard Blumenthal gathered responsible and problem gambling advocates and an addiction survivor to talk about the Supporting Affordability & Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act).
Tonko said there has been a change from the original proposal introduced last year, though the new bill has not yet been filed. In addition to previous requirements in the proposal, which saw no action in the prior congressional session, states would now be required to “work with the federal government to shut down the illegal market.”
This is an issue that states so far have taken the lead on. From Arizona to Michigan, regulators have sent cease-and-desist letters to offshore sportsbooks warning them to shutter. And state legislatures, including those in Mississippi and Maryland, have been entertaining bills to ban unregulated sweepstakes platforms.
Every step of the way, the industry has asked for federal support in shutting down the illegal market.
Spotlight on Gambling-Related Harm
Tonko and Blumenthal said they sought to reinvigorate the conversation about their proposal on “the eve of March Madness,” the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. That begins with Selection Sunday March 16 and culminates with the national championship April 7.
“In exactly one week, Americans will be placing bets and likely losing those bets made on their favorite teams,” Tonko said. “We are not here because we want to stop the industry from breaking (revenue) records, nor are we here to prevent Americans from wagering on sports should they choose to.
“We’re here today because government, at every level, has failed to pay attention to or understand the impact of gambling-related harms.”
Tonko said the legal sports betting industry earned a record $14 billion in 2024, a 25 percent increase over 2023. He went on to say that the industry “labels that record number as ‘revenue,’ a number to be celebrated … but the reality is that $14 billion in revenue is $14 billion extracted from the pockets of everyday Americans. Most of that revenue is made off the suffering of a disproportionately small number of gamblers.”
Blumenthal called legal sports betting “the science of exploitation.” He noted the SAFE Bet Act would limit what kind of markets could be available to bettors. The crux of the SAFE Bet Act, he said, is to slow down the process when it comes to wagering. Ultimately, that would likely mean eliminating in-play betting and college proposition bets.
Sports are now ‘nonstop slot machines’
In-play betting is the fastest-growing sector of online sports betting. In layman’s terms, in-play betting allows wagers on what comes next without waiting for a game’s outcome. Examples would be predicting the next play in a football game or the speed of the next pitch in a baseball game. Digital platforms small and large continue to develop new ways to make the process faster and more seamless for bettors.
As the industry continues to refine its products, on Tuesday the politicians and their supporters were lamenting an era past.
“Sports once belonged to the American people, to be shared by grandparents, parents and children,” said problem and responsible gambling advocate Harry Levant. “But those days are gone. The sports leagues have sold out to the gambling industry. Sports are now the equivalent of a non-stop slot machine where the action never ends.”
