December 29, 2018

CASE issued a strong statement of opposition today to legislation introduced by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) seeking to set restrictive and unnecessary regulations on sports betting. In the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision striking down PASPA, CASE seeks to remind lawmakers that the market is still taking shape, the industry is already heavily regulated, and interference from Washington is entirely unnecessary if not harmful.

“Like the Music Man showing up in River City, the U.S. Senate is now striking up the band to commandeer the post-PASPA landscape on sports gaming, dictating terms from Washington that should be left to the individual states to determine. The legislation proposed today by Sen. Hatch and Schumer is more Washington overkill and entirely unnecessary. By preemptively forcing heavy-handed rules onto the gaming industry before the market is given a chance to take shape, this hasty piece of legislation risks stifling the tremendous opportunity for economic growth, job creation, and additional tax revenue that sports betting can provide to the states. It further eliminates consumers from the equation, forbidding them from having the choice to determine the licensing and regulating standards that work best within their state borders.

“Sports betting is a growing, multi-billion dollar pastime enjoyed by tens of millions of consumers, with a majority of Americans in support of its legalized status. State-based regulation worked just find in the past when sports betting was limited to just a few states, and this framework should be allowed to continue without needless and potentially harmful interference from Washington. We urge Congress to let the marketplace, consumers, industry, and regulators within the 50 states to exercise their right to deliberate on the course ahead without short-sighted and impulsive legislation.”