Before we start our latest Letter From America, welcome to March Madness and the start of Problem Gambling Awareness Month in the USA, a time when the conversation surrounding responsible gambling intensifies.
And this year it’s even reaching lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as Democrat disruptors, Congressman Paul Tonko (New York) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), go once more into the breach and seek to revive their SAFE Bet Act.
SAFE Bet’s Second Act
The federal Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act) aims to address issues of responsible gambling and problem gambling by creating federal oversight of sports betting. It also proposes some of the most restrictive gambling regulations floated in the U.S. Senate in modern times.
The act outlines strict advertising controls, including a ban on ads between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and during live sports broadcasts. It also introduces a nationwide self-exclusion scheme, outlaws in-play betting, reload bonuses, VIP schemes and college prop bets, and limits AI-driven marketing techniques.
Additionally, it proposes UK-style financial checks when players exceed certain spending thresholds.
The proposed thresholds will trigger an affordability check if US$1,000 (£772) is wagered during a 24-hour period or US$10,000 (£7,723) during a 30-day period. For the player to bet, the amount must not exceed 30 percent of their paycheck. Additionally, no player can make more than five deposits in a day.
Tonko and Blumenthal first introduced their act last September, but it failed to gain momentum and quickly stalled at the end of the Congressional session. Their revamped version has been tweaked but remains largely unchanged from its predecessor.
One of these tweaks is the requirement for states to collaborate with federal forces in shutting down illegal gambling sites — an industry the American Gaming Association (AGA) says sucks some US$500 billion (£386b) in bets, or around US$44 billion (£32.5b) in revenue, from the legal gambling market annually.
Nevertheless, despite this, the SAFE Bet Act still faces substantial opposition from powerful sports betting lobbying groups and many state lawmakers, who believe gaming should remain a “states’ rights issue.”
DraftKings Predicts A New Future
In the same breath as the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) issued a cease-and-desist letter to prediction market platform Kalshi.ex, news broke that DraftKings now wants to join the hot new party. The Massachusetts-origin sports betting market leader has now filed an application with the National Futures Association–regulator to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission–to launch “DraftKings Predict”.
The application was made in July, around the same time Kalshi began expanding its presence and offering contracts for major sports events, such as the Super Bowl.
We predict that DraftKings, while being the first, won’t be the only established online gambling heavy-hitter who tries to crash the prediction markets party.
Watch this space!
Indian Gaming Accounts – FY 2024
The National Indian Gaming Commission has released its annual revenue report for FY24, revealing a total Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) of US$41.9 billion (£32.38bn).
The figure includes revenue from over 500 tribally-owned gaming establishments in 29 states.
It’s an increase of 2.44 percent, compared with 2023, which the NIGC said was “another historic milestone” and showed the industry’s “sustainable” progress.
Last month, the American Gaming Association also accounted for the non-tribal, commercial gaming sector, which set new records with GGR hitting US$71.9 billion (£55.46bn). iGaming was the fastest-growing sector, up 28.7 percent year on year.
Maryland’s Sweepstake Ban Advances
Maryland looks set to shore up its definitions of gambling and shut down sweepstakes casinos.
Senate Bill 860 sailed through the Maryland Senate with unanimous bi-partisan support on its third reading and has now crossed over to the House of Delegates.
If it passes the House, it will be sent to Governor Wes Moore’s (D) for final approval.
SB 860–“A Bill Concerning Prohibition of Online Sweepstakes Games and Revenue From Illegal Markets”–would empower the State’s Lottery and Gaming Control Agency to prevent, or revoke, licensing from any applicants accepting revenue from illegal gaming markets and online sweepstakes.
While the bill stops short of directly shutting down unlicenced sweepstakes, it employs strong-arm tactics to cut off their supply chain and create a hostile operating environment.
According to the bill: “A person holding a license, or a financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content provider, platform provider or media affiliate of a person holding a license may not support the operation, conduct or promotion of an online sweepstakes game in the state”.
Violators could face up to three-years in prison and fines ranging from US$10,000 (£7,928) to US$100,000 (£79,282).
In response to the bill’s introduction, popular sweepstakes sites like McLuck and Mega Bonanza–owned by Estonia-registered B2Services OÜ–have ceased offering their services in the state.
The Social and Promotional Games Association, which represents U.S. sweepstakes operators, has said it strongly opposes the bill, calling it “hastily drafted legislation” and “a dangerous overreach.”
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