Senate to Address Sports Betting Antitrust Concerns and Reforms
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on America’s legalized sportsbooks next week.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to discuss sports betting in the US next week. © Federico Rancati Unsplash
Key Facts:
- Two Senate Committee members ask FTC to investigate FanDuel and DraftKings
- Richard Blumenthal, another Senate Committee member, introduced the anti-gambling SAFE Bet Act in September
- Time is running out on the Democrat-led Judiciary Committee to affect any action
A recent flurry of anti-gambling sentiment in Washington, D.C., will culminate in a hearing in front of the entire Senate Judiciary Committee this week. This will cap several months of action by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle as they attempt to put the genie back in the bottle that the Supreme Court PASPA ruling unleashed in 2018.
Perhaps loudest in the chorus for reform have been unlikely bedfellows Mike Lee (R) and Peter Welch (D) who last week released a letter calling on the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Attorney General’s office to investigate FanDuel and DraftKings for anticompetitive behavior and possible violations of the Sherman Act.
They point to the almost decade-old, failed merger of FanDuel and DraftKings in 2016 and stipulate that the two companies have been operating as essentially one entity ever since, using the Sports Betting Alliance to keep new competitors from inking deals with teams, software companies, or even payment processors.
We can’t allow online gambling companies like @FanDuel & @DraftKings to violate antitrust laws, especially as more Americans grapple with the effects of this industry on our society.
Glad to join @SenPeterWelch requesting that @linakhanFTC investigate and protect consumers. pic.twitter.com/Jh6EaHjKk3
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) December 6, 2024
Other Senate Judiciary Members Sponsored the SAFE Bet Act
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) and Representative Paul Tonko (D) introduced the SAFE Bet Act in September 2024. Senator Blumenthal is another of the 21 Senators on the Judiciary Committee. The SAFE Bet Act was widely criticized at the time as government overreach in a matter the Supreme Court had already decided was best left to the states.
The act, amongst other things, would establish a nationwide prohibition on sports betting, which could then have exceptions for states wishing to engage in sports betting, which at last count was about 80% of them.
It would also prohibit advertising for sports betting from 8 am to 10 pm, prohibit advertising during games, and allow operators only to take five bets from a customer in 24 hours, as well as the much-hated affordability checks used in many European countries.
While it’s quite likely that both the SAFE Bet Act and Senators Lee and Welch’s concerns about antitrust issues will be much discussed in the hearing set for December 17th, there has to be some irony in the timing.
Clock Likely Runs Out on Gambling Foes
There has been widespread derision of Lee and Welch’s’ letter to the FTC being sent to Lina Khan, the current head of the FTC, as the Trump transition team has already replaced her with acting FTC member Andrew Ferguson, who most watchers widely perceived to have a much freer market approach to antitrust complaints.
The timing of the hearing also has to be seen as a bit suspect. It is just two days before the holiday recess, which, when the Senate reconvenes, will see Republicans in firm control of all branches of the government and promising the most broad reshaping of Government power in a century. It seems unlikely that federal power over state policies or perceived monopolistic behavior are seen as top priorities.
It is more likely Senator Durbin would like one last chance to get his message out to the broader public before his committee is turned over to Senator (r) Chuck Grassley, who famously opposed the original PASPA when the new Senate term begins in early January.
One can safely assume that there might be some fireworks, but that little in the way of actual lawmaking is likely to get done this final week on Capitol Hill.
