The American Gaming Association and the American Sports Betting Coalition (ASBC) it helped to create addressed the benefits of a legalized sports betting market on Capitol Hill September 21 during a roundtable discussion hosted by Third Way.
The event, “The Stakes of Sports Betting: A Look at the Federal Ban and the Current Debate over Legalization,” explored the economic impact a legalized market would have on the U.S. economy and the upcoming Supreme Court case that will challenge the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). PASPA currently bans full-fledged sports betting outside Nevada.
“As we approach the 25th anniversary of this failing federal ban on sports betting, it’s important to look at the negative unintended consequences of an illegal market,” said Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs at AGA and panelist at the event. “A legal, regulated marketplace offers the potential for millions of dollars in tax revenue and an avenue for up to 150,000 jobs.”
In addition to Slane, the panel featured Gabe Horwitz, vice president of the Economic Program at Third Way; Tim Murphy, former deputy director of the FBI; Dr. Russell Sanna, executive director, National Center for Responsible Gaming; Debbie Thundercloud, chief of staff, National Indian Gaming Association; and Ethan Wilson, policy director, commerce & financial services, National Conference of State Legislatures.
The panel comes on the heel of new polling from the Washington Post that shows “a 55-percent majority approve of legalizing betting on pro sporting events, a flip from almost a quarter century ago.”
According to the Post, “support for legalization is highest among those who’ve placed a sports bet in the past five years (84 percent), and is nearly as high among fans who have played in a fantasy sports league (79 percent), avid sports fans (70 percent), men (63 percent), people with household incomes of $100,000 or more (61 percent) and pro football fans (60 percent). There’s little partisan difference on the issue, with 52 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Democrats in support of legalizing sports gambling.”
Leading an all-inclusive advocacy focused on ending the failed sports betting ban, the ASBC has continued to garner support from influential individuals since its launch in June. Members of AGA’s Illegal Gambling Advisory Board, which includes Murphy; James Dinkins, former executive associate director at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation; J.B. Van Hollen, former Wisconsin State attorney general, U.S. attorney, and district attorney; and Bill Young, former Clark County sheriff and head of Las Vegas Metro Police Department; all support a legalized sports betting marketplace.
The coalition also boasts support from the Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriffs of America, National District Attorneys Association, U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of State Legislatures. In addition, thought leaders like Competitive Enterprise Institute, American Conservative Union, Citizens Against Government Waste and Consumer Action for a Strong Economy have all joined ASBC. International entities like the European Casino Association and the International Centre for Sports Security have also joined the coalition.
The ASBC will continue to actively monitor and engage with key stakeholders interested in repealing the federal sports betting ban. In the coming months, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear New Jersey’s challenge to the federal sports betting ban, the court is expected to hear arguments in the case. AGA weighed in on the pending case through a SCOTUSBlog Symposium on sports betting and recently filed an amicus brief in the court.
The Washington, D.C. event came on the heels of a new study from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming that shows more than 30 U.S. states are likely to legalize sports betting in some way by 2023.
The Eilers report notes that more than three-fifths of states in the U.S. would take part, if given the green light. “Our base case for the U.S. regulated sports betting market by 2023 calls for 32 states to offer regulated sports betting,” the report said, “with varying approaches to availability and the land-based/mobile question, resulting in a market worth $6.03 billion in annual revenue.”
One of the first states to authorize sports betting in the event of a PASPA repeal is Kentucky, which has failed repeatedly in its attempts to add slot machines to its storied racetracks. A bill to authorize sports betting was introduced last week by state Senator Julian Carroll.
The state is already party to the New Jersey case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Carroll stated in a guest column for Kentucky’s State Journal that the state’s aversion to expanded gambling should not apply to sports betting, as the code definition of gambling that doesn’t include wagers on contests determined by skill.
But the possibility that either the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) or Congress will, greatly concerns tribes, especially gaming tribes.
In a statement last week AGA’s Slane said, “Working with NIGA and the tribal community is a top priority for AGA as we seek an end to the federal ban that’s driving a $150 billion illegal sports betting market.” It claims that on the Super Bowl and March Madness alone Americans bet $15 billion, most of it done illegally.
It cites reports by Oxford Economics that a legalized sports betting market could create 152,000 jobs and generate $26 billion, including more than $5 million a year in taxes.
There is a divide between prosperous gaming tribes and less wealth tribes. Also, some tribes with casinos worry that their brick and mortar facilities could be adversely affected if other entities, such as states, are allowed a seat at the table. They also fear that their existing tribal state gaming compacts might somehow be affected by legalizing sports betting since, in many cases, tribes are given exclusivity on Las Vegas style gaming in return for paying some of their profits to the states.
NIGA recently issued a statement that said, in part that it “wants to ensure that if legalized, our members have the opportunity to offer this activity as a part of their overall entertainment package and as an additional source of revenue for tribal government gaming to promote tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency and strong tribal government.”
AGA is pushing Congress to pass legislation that would allow the states and the tribes to individually regulate the games within their own jurisdictions. Tribes are likely to lobby hard to be treated as equal to states in any such law.
At last week’s NIGA mid-year conference in Phoenix, the AGA talked up the importance of all gaming interests presenting a united front to overturn the existing ban—first by supporting New Jersey’s court case before the Supreme Court.
At the NIGA conference, members openly touted their new alliance with AGA, which is a big change from when it was first announced earlier this summer. At the conference NIGA issued a statement that addressed most of the initial worries by some tribal members.
The statement said NIGA was taking part to “ensure that any enacted sports betting legislation respects existing tribal rights and preserves the sovereignty of Indian tribes.” It did not go into details about how that might happen.
Tribes are concerned that repealing PASPA not change the current dynamic under the way casinos are operated under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA.) They want states and tribes to be equal when it comes to regulating sports betting. And, in some cases they want an expansion of their rights. IGRA does not allow tribes to offer gaming if the state where they reside doesn’t allow it. Some tribes say they should be able to offer sports betting whether or not it is legal in their state.
They also worry that states might try to combine state lotteries with sports betting, or allow card clubs to offer a form of it. With fifty states, there may be fifty different approaches to sports betting.
The association’s Chairman Ernie Stevens emphasized the importance of protecting the Indian gaming industry. “We can provide feedback to the coalition on the impacts on Native gaming and ensure that Indian gaming has equal footing in these discussions,” he said.
He added, “We’re (NIGA and AGA) working together and there’s nothing wrong with working together.”
Stevens noted that the Indian and commercial gaming industry together accounts for $60 billion a year and creates 650,000 jobs.
Slane applauded Stevens’s remarks: “Working with NIGA and the tribal community is a top priority for AGA as we seek an end to the federal ban that’s driving a $150 billion illegal sports betting market,” adding later during a panel discussion, “It’s a unique opportunity for the industry.”
NIGA continues to insist that its participation in the coalition is not an endorsement of PASPA repeal, but to protect the tribes’ interests and to monitor discussions.
