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WASHINGTON, DC — With March Madness set to kick off, Congressman Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) yesterday reintroduced their Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act, legislation that would create nationwide consumer protections and standards for the mobile sports gambling industry. The Congressmembers were joined by the Douglas family, who shared their firsthand experience with gambling addiction, as well as the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at Northeastern University School of Law. The full recording of the conference can be viewed HERE.

The SAFE Bet Act would address the public health implications resulting from the widespread legalization of sports betting in the United States. The legislation would require states offering sports betting to meet minimum federal standards in the categories of marketing, affordability, and artificial intelligence to create a safer, less addictive product.

Congressman Tonko said, “In just a few years, the sports gambling industry has become entrenched in every aspect of sports, with every play, pass, pitch, and punt marketed as a moment to bet. We are championing the SAFE Bet Act — not to prevent Americans from wagering on sports should they choose to — but to place commonsense guardrails on the sports betting industry in order to protect our communities from the most devastating impacts of gambling-related harm. Just as the federal government established guidelines with the tobacco and alcohol industry, we must take action to limit the harm of this addictive product. I call on all those who have a stake in the world of sports betting to get behind the SAFE Bet Act and this sound and compassionate public health approach.”

Senator Blumenthal said, “We're introducing this bill just before March Madness for a simple reason: to make sports betting safer and to stop the sports betting industry from abhorrently exploiting addiction. We have seen far too many — especially young people — driven into gambling abuse disorder, which is a disease. Like all addictions, we must take every step to prevent and treat it — not amplify or exploit it. The term March Madness is meant to imply an exuberance and joy as well as enthusiasm, but let's be very clear: sports betting has become a science for gambling entities. It is the science of exploitation and targeting and tracking individuals who are prone to addiction. The science of targeting and tracking gamblers who lose bets and enticing them to bet more and more until they are driven into ruin. That's the abuse that we are trying to stop through the SAFE Bet Act.”

Gordon Douglas, the father of Andrew said, “[My son’s] gambling addiction almost ruined his life — it certainly took some years of his life away and came close to ending in tragedy. This addiction was hidden from us because it can be done on a telephone at any hour of the day and night. We support the SAFE Bet Act because we feel like there needs to be some guardrails and protection for those who have identified themselves as having gambling problems.”

Andrew Douglas, who is currently in recovery for gambling disorder, said, “May 27th, 2024 was the day that I attempted to end my own life. Gambling addiction had a hold of me and had taken me to the darkest hole that I could ever imagine. For years and years [I was] constantly being targeted with no way to escape the advertising, the offers, the predatory and targeted business practices of all these gambling sites. There’s many many stories exactly like mine, and a lot more that didn’t end with the miracle that mine did. The hope [with this SAFE Bet Act] is to save future generations from having to go through what my family and myself have had to go through.”

PHAI President and Professor of Law at Northeastern University, Richard Daynard said, “Like cigarettes, online sports gambling apps are a highly addictive product designed to entrap consumers into compulsive use, robbing them of free choice as well their money. The SAFE Bets Act aims, among other things, to eliminate the predatory features of current sports betting apps, still allowing users to bet on the game but not to bet compulsively instead of even watching the game.”

Director of Gambling Policy at PHAI, Dr. Harry Levant, said, “The rapid and unprecedented expansion of the gambling industry has resulted in a public health crisis the scope of which we are only beginning to recognize. Once unthinkable partnerships between the gambling industry, professional and collegiate sports, broadcast media, and technology companies have resulted in the delivery of non-stop gambling action on virtually every phone, tablet, computer, and television. Gambling is a known addictive product, and the 2025 SAFE Bet Act protects the public by replacing the ethically flawed ‘responsible gaming’ model with comprehensive public health solutions designed to prevent gambling-related harm.”

Mark Gottlieb, Executive Director of PHAI said, “Where there is a public health problem, there needs to be a public health solution. At PHAI, we understand that blaming the people who are struggling with gambling and referring to them as ‘irresponsible’ consumers is not a public health solution. The 2025 SAFE Bet Act recognizes that the government needs to take a more active role when dealing with the new high-intensity sports gambling products that are causing so much pain today. The SAFE Bet Act is a public health solution.”

Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision that allowed for the widespread legalization of sports betting, the gambling industry has broken revenue records every year. In 2024, Americans legally wagered a record $147.91 billion on sports, up more than 23 percent from 2022. More than 95 percent of money wagered on sports last year was done online, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA).

A fact sheet of the SAFE Bet Act can be found HERE.

Bill text can be found HERE.