The Sports Bettors' Bill of Rights
THE OVERTURN OF PASPA POSED A THREAT TO CONSUMERS AND SPORTS FANS
In May of 2018, the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, releasing the floodgates for the introduction of dangerous sports betting legislation in the states. The sportsbook and casino industries finally had their opportunity to expand nationwide. Sports Fans Coalition witnessed the casino industry's aggressive tactics and knew that the outcome, left unchecked, would be detrimental to fans, consumers, people with gambling addiction problems, and even states seeking revenues from legalized sports betting.
CONVENING THE SPORTS BETTING CONSUMER PROTECTIONS SYMPOSIUM
In the immediate aftermath of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act repeal, we convened a symposium to discuss the landscape of legalized sports betting, potential pitfalls, and how best to protect consumers. We heard from academics, consumer protection advocates and other experts, who debated what consumer protections should accompany any legislation legalizing sports betting. The participants were:
The Hon. Brian Frosh, Attorney General, State of Maryland
Sally Greenberg, Executive Director, National Consumers League
Richard Batchelder, Partner, Ropes & Gray
Brianne Doura, Director of Policy and Communications, Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling
Kurt Eggert, Professor of Law, Chapman University
Irene Leech, President, Virginia Citizens Consumer Council and Professor of Consumer Studies, Virginia Tech.
CREATING THE SPORTS BETTORS’ BILL OF RIGHTS
Out of this symposium, SFC published a white paper outlining the “Sports Bettors’ Bill of Rights.” These rights are:
Integrity and Transparency: First and foremost, the sports betting market is only as good as the consumer’s faith in the operators, affiliates, and regulators. Transparency in the marketplace will be the number one incentive for consumers to abandon their existing black market bets in exchange for legitimate ones. Therefore, bettors must have total, and equal, access to the necessary information for bet-making, and knowledge that the operator is fair.
Data Privacy and Security: Data privacy is top-of-mind for most consumers. In an industry like sports betting where there are high volume, high-frequency financial transactions based on data, the potential threat is significant and data privacy and security is even more of an issue. Operators need to have the capacity to ensure that their consumer’s data is secure and protected to prevent bad actors from using betting and financial information to harm consumers. Data security is another protection that the current black market does not provide, thus incentivizing consumers to utilize the legal sports betting platforms.
Self-Exclusion: Self-exclusion is a proven system that protects bettors today. Notably, it is a pillar of the Massachusetts regulations on Daily Fantasy Sports. Self-exclusion refers to systems employed within the gaming ecosystem that allow consumers to preemptively limit bet sizes, frequencies, types of advertisements, and other related behavior. It is also important that self-exclusion systems give the bettor the ability to exclude him- or herself from credit extension offerings. These protocols ensure that the gambler can only bet what he or she is comfortable with and will help to prevent him or her from getting caught up in the moment. Giving the fan the power to regulate themselves is paramount in any consumer protection legislation.
Protection of the Vulnerable: Children and youth should not be able to place bets. Children and youth are some of the most vulnerable citizens when it comes to sports betting. As such, sports betting operators should be required to deploy commercially best efforts to verify the age of the account holder and block access by anyone below that state’s minimum age for sports gambling. Second, all sports bettors should have easy access, through their preferred operator, to resources about addiction warning signs and treatment. Sports betting operators should be proactive in preventing their at-risk customers from becoming problem gamblers. They can do so by implementing responsible gaming programs, training, and other practices to help sports bettors play responsibly.
Recourse: The history of sports betting includes well-known cases of fraud and numerous bad actors. Fraudsters may try to participate in the newly legalized sports betting marketplace. After establishing clear standards of conduct for operators and the prominent, ongoing disclosure to consumers of those standards, policymakers should ensure that consumers have recourse if a transaction goes awry. Whether through an internal complaint process, or filing complaints with a government agency, such recourse is essential to establish the credibility of legalized sports betting and to maintain consumer trust. If fraud occurs or an operator tries to avoid or delay financial obligations, the bettor should be able to take legal action and receive remuneration. Sports bettors should not have to give up their right to seek relief in court, and sports betting operators should have a clear, expeditious protocol to address concerns raised by bettors.
PROTECTING CONSUMERS WITH A STATE-FOCUSED CAMPAIGN
The battle unfolded at the state level, so Brian Hess led the campaign in several states by creating targeted digital ads to add a passionate grassroots following of sports bettors to SFC’s fan network. From there, he was able to activate these fans to write their delegates and state senators to support the Bill of Rights. Coupled with an active grassroots strategy, Brian also deployed a targeted earned media strategy with gaming trade press and other sports outlets, including an episode on the Edge of Sports Podcast.
Brian faced fierce opposition from the casino industry but was able to pass the Sports Bettors Bill of Rights first in the District of Columbia and quickly followed by Virginia and Maryland, thus making the DMV the safest places in the country to bet on sports.