NCAA, NFLPA urge Congress to crack down on betting

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NCAA President Charlie Baker and a representative of the NFLPA urged Congress at a Senate hearing Tuesday to rein in the sports betting industry, and gambling addiction. Called for federal legislation to deal with. Abuse of players.

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, both Baker and NFLPA representative Johnson Badimosi, who Stanford and spent nine seasons in the NFL, speaking out in the stands as well as on social media about the growing harassment of athletes by bettors.

Badimosi noted the “strong effect” that betting in sports has on the mental health of players and fans. He mentioned one. Buffalo bills The player who received death threats earlier this year because he missed a field goal, as well as a Minnesota Vikings The player who deleted his social media because he was harassed so much about fantasy football.

“For most athletes, there is no civilized community, no private security, and yet we, alone, face the risks associated with problem gambling,” he said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who introduced two pieces of sports betting legislation in the Senate this year, said the U.S. is “in the midst of a rise in sports betting that is one of the most pressing public health problems today. is.” He said the techniques sportsbooks use to target losing bettors and prevent winners from playing are “amazing.”

“[It] Makes Wall Street look like child’s play,” he said.

He called for support for the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act, or Safe Bet Act, which Create minimum federal standards To regulate gambling companies, including banning prop bets, or betting on the performance of individual athletes, and prohibiting sports betting companies from advertising during live sporting events. He also sponsored the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment and Treatment Act, which would have created a federal tax on gambling for addiction treatment.

Baker said the NCAA championship team received 24/7 police protection because of the threat of a bet on sports. He urged Congress to pass legislation to end prop bets on college athletes, which are currently legal in 20 states. He said student-athletes have told him hundreds of times that classmates and friends ask them to change their performance in small ways to help them win their bets.

After the hearing, Baker said that although prop bets account for less than 1% of the total money wagered on college sports, they are popular among parlays, a major driver of revenue for sportsbooks.

“They can get away with it; they did with the NBA,” Baker said. “I’m telling you, a lot of this stuff that’s directed at young people is all driven by prop bets.”

The previous Toronto Raptors Player Jonte Porter Pleaded guilty in July Altering his performance to help bettors win bets on the under was his stats in multiple games last season. The NBA has since asked sportsbooks not to offer bets on players on two-way contracts like Porter’s.

Baker faced intense questions from Senators John Kennedy (R-La.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) about why the NCAA allows transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. Baker cited several federal court cases allowing transgender athletes to compete. He also said that out of 510,000 college athletes, he knows of fewer than 10 who are transgender.

Harry Levant, director of gambling policy with the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University, said the Safe Bet Act, which he helped write, would also address the use of AI in sports betting. He pointed to DraftKings’ recent acquisition of SimpleBet, a company that uses AI to generate live odds, as an example of how sportsbooks are targeting vulnerable consumers. Technology can be used to create

“What Congress can deal with is whether these conditions should actually be allowed and which are too dangerous from a public health standpoint,” he said.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) expressed concern about match-fixing, especially as the U.S. prepares to host the World Cup in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028.

The American Gaming Association, which represents the casino industry in the US, told ESPN that it had not been invited to testify at the hearing.

“Today’s hearing was notably lacking in an industry witness,” said Joe Maloney, AGA’s senior vice president of strategic communications. “This unfortunate omission deprives the Committee and the overall proceedings of its testimony on how legal gaming would have protected consumers from the predatory illegal market and its leadership in promoting responsible gaming and protecting the integrity of is.”

In his closing statement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Congress will continue to consider sports betting. “This is not the end of this debate, but only the beginning, and as we look at the future of sports, the treatment of athletes, the treatment of colleges and basically many aspects of this whole issue. [the] gaming industry across the country.”