SAFE Bet Act

Summary#

This bill, called the SAFE Bet Act, sets nationwide minimum rules for sports betting. It makes it illegal to accept a sports wager except in states that apply for and receive approval to run a state sports wagering program or under certain small social wagers allowed by state law. The Attorney General reviews and approves state programs for 3-year terms and can revoke approvals. The bill lists detailed standards states must meet if they opt in. Standards cover who may bet (age 21), licensing and background checks for operators and employees, recordkeeping and data sharing, limits on advertising, restrictions on certain wagers (for example, no proposition bets on amateur or intercollegiate sports and no wagers on events after they begin), consumer protections (self-exclusion, affordability checks, limits on deposits, no credit card deposits), prohibitions on certain bonus, VIP, and reload programs, a reserve requirement, and rules about authorized data sources. The bill creates a national self-exclusion list, requires annual public-health surveys on online sports betting, asks the Surgeon General for a report on public-health challenges, and calls for surveillance infrastructure for gambling disorder. There are civil penalties for unlawful acceptance of wagers (up to the greater of $10,000 or three times the wager). The general prohibition takes effect 18 months after enactment.

What it means for you#

• If you live in a State that does not get Attorney General approval to run a program, it would be unlawful for any person to accept a sports wager, except under limited state social gambling laws.
• If your State is approved, you may place bets only under the rules the State adopts to meet the federal standards.
• You must be at least 21 to place a sports wager.
• You can add yourself to a state list or the national self-exclusion list to block yourself from placing wagers across opt-in States.
• Operators cannot accept more than five deposits from you in 24 hours or accept credit-card deposits.
• For large deposits (over $1,000 in 24 hours or $10,000 in 30 days), operators must run an affordability check using income verification or a reasonable-lender standard.
• Operators must give clear information about odds, bonuses, and account restrictions before you open an account and let you cancel a proposed wager without cost.
• Advertising will face new limits: operators must identify themselves, include addiction resources, avoid targeting ineligible people, and ads cannot run during live sporting events or between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. local time.
• If an operator accepts wagers when not allowed, the operator may face civil penalties.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated federal costs, state revenue effects, or exact treatment funding levels. The bill requires sports wagering operators to allocate an "appropriate percentage" of sports wagering revenue to treatment and education for gambling disorder, but it does not specify the percentage. The bill also requires states and operators to run and share data and maintain records, which could involve administrative costs, but no cost estimates are provided in the text.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information on proponents' explanations or statements beyond the bill text itself.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information on opponents' explanations or statements beyond the bill text itself.