SAFE Bet Act Raises Questions About the Future of Online Gambling

Very few U.S. lawmakers believe there is a realistic chance that the proposed SAFE Bet Act (Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every) will ever pass. Just the same, there are plenty of Senate and House members who are pointing at the legislation and saying there is something here worth looking at in the future.

It was Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Paul Tonko of New York who stepped forward and proposed the SAFE Bet Act. They decided to sponsor the bill to try to address growing gambling issues in the U.S. It's noteworthy that while the bill mostly targets the online sports betting community, it's presumed that online casino gambling would fall under the same guidelines.

Here's a look at what's included in this proposed legislation.

About the SAFE Bet Act

The SAFE Bet Act is intended to establish generic federal standards for the sports betting community. A large part of the legislation is directed at potentially predatory practices related to advertising, affordability, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to track gambler activities.

While Blumenthal and Tonko fully understand they are facing an uphill battle to get this legislation passed, they are content to plant seeds for future consideration. Here are three (3) reasons that the SAFE Bet Act isn't likely to get any consideration:

1. A large part of the legislative body still supports states' rights. They tend to view any federal laws that try to set standards for states as being unduly intrusive and controlling.

2. With the elections but a few weeks away, it's really too late in the legislative session to get any bill this complicated passed.

3. Due to the inability to get bi-partisan legislation passed, it's very difficult to get the Senate and House to agree on anything.

What the Bill Opposition Has to Say

iDEA Growth is a U.S.-based advocacy group that fully supports the passing of legislation related to online sports betting and casino gambling. The group founder and general counsel Jeff Ifrah isn't worried about the SAFE Bet ever seeing the light of day. In an interview with PlayUSA.com, he told the report:

“It would be struck down as unconstitutional by any court that reviewed it," adding: “In short, this whole thing is a gimmick.”

In a recent iDEA Growth webinar, former New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck threw his two cents into the ring. He essentially called the proposal of such legislation a "knee-jerk" reaction from legislators who remain bitter about the fact that the SCOTUS reversed the U.S. ban on sports betting back in May 2018. He even went so far as to suggest the legislation as written was created by staffers who are misinformed.

While it's unlikely this bill will go anywhere, it would be a mistake to ignore the bill's intent. There has been a rather drastic increase in problem gambling issues throughout the country. While federal legislation might not be the right way to address such issues, it does shine a light on a problem that needs to be addressed. It's incumbent on state lawmakers to make sure they are taking action so that federal intervention is not necessary.