Schumer outlines federal sports betting framework

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday laid out specific proposals for a federal outline for sports betting Wednesday.

In a statement sent to The Hill, Schumer suggested that leagues should be involved in deciding which bets are deemed acceptable, but that they should also heighten monitoring. Schumer also suggested that sportsbooks use only official league data to determine betting outcomes.

{mosads}ESPN was the first to report the details of the release.

The framework cites the recent Supreme Court case, Murphy v. NCAA, which allowed states to legalize sports betting.

Schumer said a federal framework is needed to avoid “prevent uncertainty and confusion for the leagues, state governments, consumers and fans alike.” His proposal involves specific recommendations under the three pillars of “protecting young people and those suffering from gambling addiction, protecting the integrity of the game, and protecting consumers and individuals placing bets.”

Specific recommendations include prohibiting anyone under age 21 from betting and prohibiting advertising targeted at young people. The recommendations also include preventing athletes, coaches, officials, teams or league representatives from taking a financial stake in a wager.

“As a New York sports fan — especially my Yankees and Giants — and a senator, my priority in the wake of the Murphy v. NCAA decision is making sure the integrity of the games we love is preserved, that young people and those suffering from gambling addiction are not taken advantage of, and that consumers that choose to engage in sports betting are appropriately protected,” Schumer wrote.

Not included in Schumer’s recommendations are so-called “integrity fees,” or the payments leagues would receive as a portion of bets on their sport in return for improving security around sports betting.

“The stakes are too high — legal sports betting laws must be crafted and executed in a careful and thoughtful way,” Schumer wrote in the memo. “I also support the efforts in the Congress to debate and develop bipartisan federal legislation that would adhere to these principles. The integrity of sports is too precious to not protect as best we can,” he continued.

In a statement, the American Gaming Association wrote that the casino gaming industry shared Schumer’s goal “in preserving the integrity of sporting events and providing consumer protections.”

“Federal oversight of sports betting was an abject failure for 26 years only contributing to a thriving illegal market with no consumer protections and safeguards. New federal mandates are a nonstarter,” the association continued. “The casino industry is working with stakeholders to ensure the proper protections for consumers, and the integrity of bets and sporting contests are included in state policy, universally implemented by all operators in those states, and overseen by effective state and tribal gaming regulators.”

GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) has also stated his intentions to introduce sports betting legislation.

Hatch, in May, said he intends to introduce legislation to “protect honesty and principle in the athletic arena.” His office noted the bill would “establish fundamental standards” including protections for consumers and states that decide not to legalize sports betting.