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U.S. Representative Paul Tonko took his campaign to pass federal sports-betting legislation to upstate New York last week where he heard college athletes and coaches offer details of the social-media harassment they have received from gamblers.
Tonko, a New York Democrat, introduced HR 9590, or the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every (SAFE) Bet Act, in September with the aim of establishing minimum federal standards for sports-betting advertising and the use of artificial intelligence, among other topics.
“The goal here is to prevent harm before it occurs,” Tonko told coaches and student-athletes during a roundtable discussion last week at Siena College.
Tonko’s legislation calls for an outright ban on college proposition wagers.
His opposition to prop bets is in line with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) president Charlie Baker who has lobbied states to prohibit sportsbooks from offering wagers on a college athlete’s performance in a game.
Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland and Vermont have approved such bans in 2024, while several other states, including Wyoming, have considered implementing prohibitions on prop bets based on petitions from the NCAA.
Ronnie Jones, a gaming consultant and former chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, expects more states will take a look at college prop bets, with some moving toward prohibition.
“I think there are clearly concerns across the regulatory landscape,” Jones told Vixio GamblingCompliance in an email on Friday (October 18). “The whole collegiate athletic environment is continuing to evolve and protecting athletes, and the integrity of sports betting, are top priorities.”
“Leave it to a few knuckleheaded and disgruntled bettors who target college athletes to create this kind of chaos,” Jones said.
Earlier this month, the NCAA released a pilot study of online harassment directed at student-athletes.
The 20-page study monitored public comments targeting the profiles of coaches, athletes and officials who were participating in NCAA championship events.
Sports-betting and match-fixing related abuse made up 12 percent of the 743 instances of abuse, which is a higher level than the racist abuse targeted at athletes. The study found that college athletes received abuse and threats over DMs that they have to deal with on their own.
“Last year, I would say we got ripped into a lot on social media, DMs, as an individual and as a team,” Siena College basketball player Brendan Coyle told Tonko during the roundtable.
The Albany Times Union reported that Coyle’s harassment ranged from “death threats to just fans being upset after a loss.” Coyle admitted that students who had wagered on Siena College basketball games have approached him on campus to complain after a loss.
“It’s 11 o’clock at night,” Coyle said. “I’m just trying to get back to my room. I don’t really care what you do with you money, but it’s just a lot.”
Tonko made it clear during last week’s event that his support for banning prop bets on college sports was about making sure the “public is safe to enjoy gambling on sports as a recreational activity and the athletes can play without the fear of being bombarded with harassment and threats.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, introduced the SAFE Bet Act in the Senate. The legislation would also ban all in-play betting for any sports, establish customer deposit limits and prohibit sportsbooks from using artificial intelligence to create gambling products.
According to the bill, state regulations would also have to ensure that all advertising for sports betting is prohibited between the hours of 8am and 10pm, as well as during live sporting events.
Tonko admits the bill is not a priority for members of Congress, especially when they return after the November 5 election for a lame-duck session. But Tonko plans to file the SAFE Bet Act again next year and hopes to generate enough support in Congress for it to pass.
