ICSS Debates Bringing Sports Betting “Out of the Shadows”

The International Centre for Sport Security – hosted a roundtable discussion on the legalization of sports betting in the United States, bringing together leaders in sport, gaming, media and policy to discuss the matter as well as policy solutions to protect the public interest and integrity of sport at all levels.

Congressman Frank Pallone (NJ-06) headlined the event in a one-on-one interview, just days after he made public calls for a Congressional hearing to examine NFL Fantasy football.

His interview was followed by an expert panel – “refereed” by American political commentator James Carville – and included Chris Eaton, ICSS Executive Director for Integrity, David Purdum, ESPN gambling reporter and Les Bernal, National Director for the advocacy group, Stop Predatory Gambling.

“Gambling, like drinking during Prohibition, is something people will always find a way to do,” said Chris Eaton, ICSS Executive Director for Integrity. “By pretending it isn’t happening, the government opens the door to corruption. The key is to regulate, monitor and bring sports betting out of the shadows.”

Eaton noted that some experts estimate that the U.S. wagers $500 billion on sports each year, with 80 percent of those bets being made illegally. “That’s a lot of money ending up in the hands of organized criminals who have a never-ending source of financing their illegal, often violent operations. We need federal policies that address this problem of corruption – and can regulate it instead into a positive opportunity.”

Rep. Pallone of New Jersey, who addressed some of those policy ideas, including introduction of federal legislation earlier this summer that would legalize sports betting in his home state, reiterated his recent calls for a Congressional hearing on fantasy football. “The reason sports leagues like fantasy sports is because they have invested in it,” he said.

Pallone’s calls and actions also come in the wake of last month’s 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals motion to strike down a NJ state law that would legalize the practice.

Not all took the position that sports betting should be brought out into the light and regulated, however including Les Bernal, National Director for Stop Predatory Gambling who stressed that “solutions” to regulate can be just as worrisome – or worse.

Bernal said, “In a time when leaders from both parties are highlighting how our system is rigged against everyday people, state-sponsored casinos and lotteries are the prime example. If you can’t stop illegal operators how can you stop those that are licensed to abuse the rules?”

Bernal noted that owners know that “There’s no debate that this public policy is contributing to rising unfairness and inequality in American life. Allowing government to add sports gambling to its arsenal will enrich a privileged few at the expense of everyone else, including the two-thirds of Americans who never gamble.”

The issue of illegal sports betting is just one of many issues the ICSS – an organization that works to safeguard the integrity of international sport at all levels – has been working on. Building on this discussion, ICSS will host its annual “Securing Sport” stakeholder conference in NYC, November 3-4, 2015 to discuss critical aspects of security, transparency and legacy of sport.