Jul11
AGA CEO Bill Miller Makes a Case For Sports Betting in US Senate
July 24, 2020 Andrej Vidovic
Bill Miller, CEO of American Gaming Association (AGA), has testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on legal sports betting and how, when regulated, sports betting markets preserve the sports integrity, protect professional athletes and put a stop to unlawful wagering and related activities.
He heralded the importance of legalizing the sports betting market across the US during this special hearing and pointed out that, so far, 22 states have made sports betting legal after 2018’s United States Supreme Court’s ruling that invalidated the PASPA prohibition.
PASPA Was a Failure
ASA’s leader has also noted…
…that 74% of bettors in America believe it is important to avoid illegal providers and place wagers with legitimate operators.
Said Miller in his statement:
“The protection of the integrity of competition is central to the interests of the entire sports betting ecosystem. The federal prohibition on sports betting was a failed endeavor that we shouldn’t replicate. Instead, we should work together to further eliminate the pervasive illegal market, and experienced regulators whose oversight protects the interests and integrity of all involved.”
He also reiterated that the best way to protect athletes and competitions from corruption is through well-executed legalization. He said that “nobody has a greater vested interest in avoiding scandal than legal gaming operators. In fact, licensed sportsbooks in Nevada have historically been the first to uncover match fixing, identifying irregular betting patterns and alerting regulators.”
Miller used this event to confirm his belief that lawmakers should increase the maximum federal penalty for match-fixing and repeal a federal excise t ax that it believes puts legal sports books at a competitive disadvantage.
The Big Study
The gist of Miller’s speech was the recent study that AGA has conducted and which shows that consumers are moving away from illicit bookies toward legal options.
Spending with illegal bookies fell 25% on average in the states where sports betting is legalized, while legal online and mobile gaming spend increased 12%.
The reasons why players are shifting from illegal towards legal options, in their words, are:
- Confidence that bets will be paid out (25%)
- Awareness of legal options (20%)
- Desire to use a regulated book (19%)
The study also shows that a lot of players didn’t know about the difference between legal and illegal operators – 55% of consumers who placed their wagers with illegal operators believed they wagered legally.
Source:
“AGA CEO to U.S. Senate: Legal, Regulated Sports Betting Protects Athletes, Game Integrity”, americangaming.org, July 22nd, 2020.
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He makes a good point. There really is no way that prohibiting something will make it go away or even control it. Things tend to express themselves this way or the other. And illegal gambling channels certainly aren’t a good thing.