Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) slightly advanced the ball Wednesday on a federal sports betting framework, but stopped short of proposing legislation. Schumer offered a federal sports betting framework that would, in part, require bookmakers to purchase official league data and give leagues control over what wagers are offered. The framework also includes a requirement for casinos to share anonymously betting trend information with leagues and government bodies. The league-friendly provisions from Schumer are not surprising, as the four major pro sports leagues are headquartered in New York. Equally unsurprising was the joint statement from the NBA, MLB, and PGA Tour that came out just hours after Schumer released his proposal: “As legalized sports betting spreads across the states, there is a need for consistent, nationwide integrity standards to safeguard the sports millions of fans love. We strongly support the legislative framework outlined by Senator Schumer and we encourage Congress to adopt it.” Gaming opposed to federal sports betting framework Schumer’s proposal comes on the heels of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) last week renewing his call for federal legislation to replace PASPA. Hatch co-authored the previous federal sports betting ban that ended in May when the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. “With the Supreme Court’s ruling, it’s incumbent on the federal government to take a leadership role and provide the necessary guidance to prevent uncertainty and confusion for the leagues, state governments, consumers and fans alike,” Schumer said in a statement. The American Gaming Association advocated before and after the Supreme Court ruling for states to be allowed to craft their own legislation. AGA senior vice president of public affairs Sara Slane made a statement soon after Schumer’s release: “The casino gaming industry shares Senator 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 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.” How to put a genie back in a bottle Schumer’s statement left plenty of room for interpretation. It did not include actual legislation that he intends to put forward and encouraged states to include its principles. “As state legislatures develop new legislation in the weeks and months ahead, I hope they will take these principles under consideration,” Schumer said. Schumer did express support for federal efforts to pass a sports betting framework. Hatch again promised forthcoming legislation last week, just as he did in the wake of PASPA’s repeal. The retiring senator has not yet produced a bill and Congress is nearing the end of its legislative year, with little time before the midterm election and ensuring lame-duck session. Legal sports betting now operates in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, and Mississippi. It will start Saturday in West Virginia, and by fall in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. As more states move to legalize sports betting, trying to apply federal guidelines to their disparate laws could prove at best challenging and at worst impossible. Press contacts for Schumer and Hatch did not respond to requests for additional comment.<doc-sep>Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) became the latest member of Congress to put forth specific suggestions for a federal framework for sports betting Wednesday in a memo first provided to ESPN. Schumer's suggestions include the idea that all sports books only use official league data to determine outcomes and that the leagues themselves should be involved in determining what bets would be accepted. Schumer also suggested leagues would have to reasonably step up monitoring, but did not mention so-called "integrity fees," the idea that leagues should be paid a portion of bets on their sport to be paid back for ratcheting up security associated with sports gambling out in the open. Schumer also puts forth more obvious suggestions such as making it illegal for anyone under 21 to place a sports bet in any state, requiring entities taking bets to responsibly advertise away from youth and to properly disclose dangers of betting, as well as to reporting suspicious activity and share information among sports books, the leagues and state regulators that could help uncover anything that compromises the integrity of games. Suggesting that legal books would have to use official data could be a huge revenue stream for leagues, but some could also be strongly opposed, reasoning that requiring official data would give the leagues a monopoly and not integral to the sanctity of a bet. "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 said in a statement. "With the Supreme Court's ruling, it's incumbent on the federal government to take a leadership role and provide the necessary guidance to prevent uncertainty and confusion for the leagues, state governments, consumers and fans alike." Three states -- Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi -- have taken bets since the Murphy v. NCAA, et al decision, which in May overturned the federal ban on state-sponsored sports betting as a result of the Professional and Amateur Sports Act (PASPA) of 1992. New Jersey, whose fight enabled the overturning of the law, has been the most progressive, as the only new state that has offered a mobile product thus far. Schumer's suggestions are what the sports leagues have advocated for -- a national framework so that each state, while they can decide on their own whether they want to take on sports betting, won't be able to make their own rules. "The stakes are too high -- legal sports betting laws must be crafted and executed in a careful and thoughtful way," Schumer said. "As state legislatures develop new legislation in the weeks and months ahead, I hope they will take these principles under consideration. 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." Given the priorities of Congress and with only four full months left to the current session, it is highly unlikely that any type of bill will be pushed through. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has said he will be introducing sports betting legislation in the coming weeks, and Congressman Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) introduced sports betting legislation in December.<doc-sep>
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Chuck SchumerSchumer says Senate will move on Biden's infrastructure agenda in July Senate confirms Biden pick to lead Medicare, Medicaid office Pelosi presses for Senate action on Jan. 6 commission: 'No time to waste' MORE (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. ADVERTISEMENT 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 Orrin Grant HatchDrug prices are declining amid inflation fears The national action imperative to achieve 30 by 30 Financial market transactions should not be taxed or restricted MORE (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.