The vice-president and assistant general counsel for the Professional Golfers’ Assocation (PGA) Tour has said that his group wants “a piece of the action” if sports betting is legalized in Kentucky.
Five points to consider
David Miller was speaking in front of the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations, when he made his comments.
Miller told the panel: “I think sports betting can provide Kentuckians another way to enjoy the games they love, while also generating meaningful revenue for the state”, reports Kentucky Today.
He added, though, that betting creates risks for both sports and consumers, which is something that should be “considered carefully”. He also noted the importance of integrity in sports gambling.
Miller asked lawmakers to consider five principles when drawing up legislation, the first being to protect the honesty of sports. However, he noted that sports betting can put this at risk, arguing that: “Sports betting created huge opportunities for leagues, but there are massive risks. You have one event of match-fixing or betting corruption that can devastate a league for generations.”
A second principle is to ensure that betting operators use official data verified and supplied by the league. The third point to consider is to allow mobile betting. In Miller’s opinion, with people using their phones to do most things, he thinks the use of mobile betting would double revenue to the US state.
Citing figures from the American Gambling Association, Miller said that Kentucky could raise around $9.4m (£7.41m) per year through sports betting. This number would increase to $18m (£14.1m) if mobile gambling was involved.
The fourth principle to highlight is the addictive nature of gambling. Miller noted that he wants to make betting a “fun and recreational” activity and not something that is harmful to people. As a result, the group is supporting consumer protection in the legislation.
“It would require operators to have self-exclusion programs, to advertise responsibly, promote responsible betting,” he added. “You have to be looking after our fans, the consumers.”
The topic of problem gambling remains an issue for numerous jurisdictions. Yet, while many have called for gambling advertising to be banned, the head of Sky Betting & Gaming, believes that technology should be used by the gambling industry to protect people from spending more than they can afford.
Ian Proctor, CEO of the British-based gambling company, said in a report late October that the sector was duty-bound to its customers who are at risk of developing a problem. He noted that it’s no longer a case of leaving it up to an adult to make the decision to gamble, but making sure they don’t spend more than they can afford. He thinks that technology could play a role by looking at customers’ data to understand their spending habits.
For Miller’s fifth point, he is asking that 0.25% of the bets paid to the operators should go to the leagues. While he knows that’s unlikely to go down well, he makes the point that without games and the leagues providing them, “there would be no bets to offer”.
At the moment, Kentucky hasn’t legalized sports betting in the state. Yet, that’s not to say it isn’t considering it. According to a report from September, the south-eastern state may be making moves in that direction and it could be adopted in the very near future.
The report notes that a bipartisan bill is being developed and that it will be ready at the start of the legislature’s 30-day session on 8 January, 2019. States that have already legalized sports betting include Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, and West Virginia.
NASCAR to improve sports betting integrity
Yesterday, it was reported that the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) had teamed up with Sportradar to use its betting fraud monitoring services.
The multi-year partnership will see NASCAR using Sportradar’s fraud detection system (FDS) enabling them to monitor any global and domestic betting activity that may show signs of fraudulent behavior. It will be done across NASCAR’s three national series: the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and the Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
