Posted on 03/25/2024 5:14:45 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Two lawmakers who are pushing bills aimed at reining in the sports betting industry say there is a silver lining to the scandal that has ensnared the Japanese interpreter of Los Angeles Dodgers baseball phenom Shohei Ohtani: It will shine a spotlight on the plague of gambling addiction.
“This situation clearly demonstrates the impact and harm that gambling addiction can inflict,” said Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y, who this month introduced the SAFE Bet Act to deal with what he has called a “public health crisis.”
Both Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced their bills before the news broke that Ippei Mizuhara had allegedly stole $4.5 million from Ohtani to pay off bookies in Southern California who were being investigated by the U.S. government.
“The widespread legalization and promotion of sports gambling will only make this type of incident more common moving forward,” Tonko said in an emailed response to a question from NBC News. “We have an obligation to address the predatory practices of this industry and protect consumers, which precisely what my SAFE Bet Act aims to do.”
The act would require states to meet certain rules related to sports betting, including on advertising, money deposits and the use of artificial intelligence.
The American Gaming Association, which advocates on behalf of the industry, said that the Ohtani case involved illegal gambling and that should be the focus of lawmakers.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Congress cares about sports betting.....why????
It could only be one reason...they think they aren’t getting enough of the cut.
They’re demanding their share of the loot.
I think the Dodger’s season just took a serious nosedive.
I bet your right
To show they care about people. The Dems gambit is to have and create enough misery to get the votes of the miserable ( who gullibly believe the Dems want to fix things) Then the elected Dems do the grift. RINOS cater to more affluent people in misery. Then they do the grift.
I think they'll announce that they have to put Ohtani on leave while they're doing an investigation. They did the same thing to Trevor Bauer.
Moar laws and moar federal spending, please.
No matter that this Dodgers interpreter would have been caught early on had better accounting practices been in place.
As I see it, it’s not a betting problem. It’s an embezzlement problem. And there are already plenty of laws in place for that.
Ohtani says he didn’t know...someone has to ok the transfer of HIS funds...who OK’D that?. That is the one big piece which is missing.
Ohtani said that he NEVER bet on any games....but his friends could have bet instead of him and shared any loot.
This could get ugly. Chicago Black Sox anyone?
Sports leagues have anti-trust exemptions. match fixing may violate these exemptions.
He didn't use the sports industry to place his bets. He used an old fashioned bookmaker so the rush for new laws is reflexive BS.
Our judicial system is rigged, why the concern that our sport outcomes are rigged as well?
Time to revoke the anti-trust exemption. They failed to control legalized gambling. So in theory, this will open up lawsuits against the sports leagues because all of them operated as a monopoly.
On a related note, scam “car repair coverage” companies like CarShield target blacks almost exclusively. And their TV commercials feature blacks almost exclusively.
Good luck getting those companies to fully pay a claim, or pay a claim at all. There’s usually some loophole they fall back on. The Better Business Bureau says “use caution” when considering CarShield.
Yet black TV actor Ice-T says you better get coverage now! It’s really shameful how he’s selling out poor people.
Biggest mistake was when the leagues promoted apps which allowed for free betting which operated like a sweepstakes. They then teamed up with Vegas and promoted real sports books. They then had to both tell all league employees that gambling was wrong while telling fans it was fun.
“”Congress cares about sports betting.....why????””
Kind of like the congressional hearing on the use of steroids years ago with baseball players...so much water over the dam since then, I have trouble remembering the names...One was Curt Schilling??? Better memories than mine here...
To me, one of the big mistakes is having Golden Knights, Raiders and soon the A’s setting up shop in Vegas.
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