Schumer, Hatch introduce bill that would regulate legal sports betting

By Wayne Parry
Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The federal government would regulate sports betting nationwide under a bill introduced Wednesday.

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act of 2018.

The bill would have the U.S. Justice Department set minimum standards states must meet in order to offer sports betting, but denies the sports leagues the so-called “integrity fees” they have been seeking in new legislation, essentially a cut of sport betting revenue.

It is a Congressional reaction to New Jersey’s victory in a U.S. Supreme Court case in May that cleared the way for all 50 states to offer sports betting.

Hatch said that once the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in May, “I began working with stakeholders to ensure we were doing everything possible to protect the integrity of sports from corruption. The legislation we’ve introduced today is the culmination of eight months of high-level meetings, discussions, and negotiations, and will serve as a placeholder for the next Congress, should they decide to continue working to address these issues.”

The eight states that already offer sports betting could still offer it while the Justice Department evaluates their laws.

So far, state legislatures in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have legalized sports betting. And although New Mexico has not passed a sports betting law, the Santa Ana Star Casino & Hotel started taking sports bets in October through a tribal gambling compact. City lawmakers in Washington also voted to legalize sports betting in the District of Columbia on Tuesday, legislation that requires Congressional approval but would make the nation’s capital the first U.S. jurisdiction without casinos to authorize sports books.

Several states have already pre-filed sports betting bills for early 2019, including Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia, and Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, which tracks sports betting legislation, predicts 30 states will consider legislation in the new year.

The bill would not provide so-called “integrity fee” payments to the leagues, but would require that sports wagering operators use data provided or licensed by the leagues.

New Jersey won a U.S. Supreme Court case in May clearing the way for all 50 states to offer legal sports betting. But that has set up a patchwork playing field of laws and rules that differ from state to state.

Leagues including the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL have called for one uniform set of rules nationwide.

While Hatch is retiring from the Senate soon, the measure is intended to show bipartisan support for national regulation of sports betting.

The bill would allow betting on the Olympics and college sports, but would ban it on other amateur sports.