The SAFE Bet Act: What You Need to Know

In May of 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States released an opinion – Murphy v. National College Athletic Association – which “struck down a 1992 federal law . . . that effectively banned commercial sports betting in most states . . . .”[1] In essence, the opinion “open[ed] the door to legalizing the estimated $150 billion in illegal wagers on professional and amateur sports that Americans make every year.”[2] However, in a world six years post-Murphy, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY) are proposing a new federal law to stop/regulate sports betting, which has been categorized as a “growing health concern.”[3] Thus, the name of this new proposed legislation is known as “The Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act,” or “The SAFE Bet Act.”[4]

Specifically, Senator Blumenthal has stated that such legislation is needed to “stop[] addiction, sav[e] lives and mak[e] sure that young people particularly are protected against this exploitation [from gambling companies].”[5] Additionally, Representative Tonko has stated that “[g]ambling disorders as an addiction are akin to heroin and opioid and tobacco and alcohol and cocaine use . . . . Every state in this country has dram shop laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol to visibly intoxicated individuals. We need to have that same standard for sportsbooks.”[6]

The SAFE Bet Act, which “would establish a nationwide ban on sports betting,” requires the “38 states where sports wagering has already been legalized[,] to go through a new application process with the U.S. Justice Department. The U.S. Attorney General would then approve or reject applications, with approvals only lasting for a three-year period.”[7] Moreover, the new federal regulations would “require[] [gambling companies] . . . to set limits on what amount sports bettors wager and how often they can place bets.”[8] Furthermore, if passed, The SAFE Bet Act would seek to focus on three areas in the sports betting industry: advertising, affordability, and artificial intelligence (AI):

1. Advertising: If passed, The SAFE Bet Act would “prohibit gambling operators from running advertisements between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. and during live sporting events.”[9] Thus, this would put an end to the “practice of offering customers ‘bonus bets,’ ‘no sweat bets’ and other similar incentives.”[10]
2. Affordability: If passed, The SAFE Bet Act would “prevent operators from accepting more than five deposits from a single customer within a 24-hour period, prohibit operators from accepting credit card deposits and require gambling companies to conduct ‘affordability checks’ on customers before they place wagers of more than $1,000 within a 24-hour period.”[11]
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI): If passed, The SAFE Bet Act would “prohibit the use of AI to track a bettor’s individual gambling habits and prevent the use of AI by gambling companies to create so-called ‘microbets,’ tailor-made for individual customers.”[12]

Despite Blumenthal and Tonko already meeting opposition within their own political party regarding The SAFE Bet Act (i.e., “Representative Dina Titus (D-NV) released a statement . . . calling the SAFE Bet Act ‘outdated’ and ‘unwarranted’”), the pair have made headway with some professional and amateur sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, and NCAA:[13]

1. NFL: An NFL source stated that “the league is appreciative of legislative interest . . . designed to help protect the integrity of the league and help combat game manipulation.”[14] (emphasis added).
2. NBA: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver “emphasized his continued support for a federal framework for sports betting during a press conference that coincided with the league’s board of governors meeting [on] Sept[ember] 10[^th] . . . .[15] (emphasis added).
3. NCAA: A spokesperson from the NCAA stated that “the organization welcomes the SAFE Bet Act, particularly the provision that bans prop bets on individual college athletes, and supports national standards that ‘protect competition integrity’ and ‘educate young people about the dangers of sports betting.’”[16] (emphasis added).

Hence, with the backing of two major professional sports leagues, as well as the support from the largest amateur sports league, Senator Blumenthal and Representative Tonko hope to raise enough support to scale back Murphy’s breadth/authority, in order to combat a national public health crisis. Only time will tell if the pair will be successful.

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[1] Liptak, Adam and Draper, Kevin, Supreme Court Ruling Favors Sports Betting, The New York Times (May 14, 2018) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html; see also https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-476_dbfi.pdf (SCOTUS opinion on Murphy v. NCAA).

[2] Liptak, Adam and Draper, Kevin, Supreme Court Ruling Favors Sports Betting, The New York Times (May 14, 2018) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/us/politics/supreme-court-sports-betting-new-jersey.html.

[3] Barr, John, Lawmakers propose new federal regulations on sports betting, ESPN (September 12, 2024) https://www.espn.com/sports-betting/story/_/id/41234480/congressmen-propose-new-federal-regulations-sports-betting.

[4] Id.

[5] Supra note 3; see also https://tonko.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fact_sheet_safe_bet_act_3.24.pdf; https://tonko.house.gov/uploadedfiles/safe_bet_legislative_outline_9.24.pdf (Representative Tonko’s proposal for The SAFE Bet Act).  

[6] Connell, Jordan, What’s in the sports betting bill unveiled by Democrats?, Concho Valley (September 13, 2024) https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/washington/whats-in-the-sports-betting-bill-unveiled-by-democrats/.

[7] Supra note 3.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.; see also Purdum, David, NFL, NBA support federal betting regulations, wary of other restrictions, ESPN (September 19, 2024) https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/41329492/nfl-nba-support-federal-betting-regulations-wary-other-restrictions.

[14] Purdum, David, NFL, NBA support federal betting regulations, wary of other restrictions, ESPN (September 19, 2024) https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/41329492/nfl-nba-support-federal-betting-regulations-wary-other-restrictions.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.