Weekly News Desk
Here are some stories you may have missed from another whirlwind week
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Now on to the News!
It takes 15,000 to Tango? ESPN reported this week that the Government of Argentina shared with the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires a list of 15,000 known violent Argentine soccer fans that they recommend not be allowed to attend FIFA Club World Cup matches this summer in the U.S.
Why does it matter: The article does not state who in the U.S. government the information will be shared with or how they plan to use it. Will they be denied entry into the U.S.? Will they simply be denied the ability to purchase tickets? Is the embassy sharing the information with FIFA, ticket suppliers, betting platforms or others? I think the public deserves more information about how this information sharing is being carried out. Separately, perhaps this signals a potential path forward for U.S. sports leagues and sportsbooks to begin sharing more information about violent fans or problematic American gamblers.
Serious Threats. Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers, along with his wife and kids, received death threats after his rocky outing over the weekend.
Why does it matter: The Saturday start was only his second outing since an injury late in the 2022 season. The reporting does not mention gambling at all but it seems hard to fathom that a rabid or overzealous fan would be that upset after a single bad start— especially his only start this year. This begs the question: did the alleged harasser wagered money on the game? And is the platform banning him? Did they share his information with other platforms? Will he be allowed to attend Astros or other MLB games? Or games from teams in other leagues? This is the start of the cycle of violence I detailed in my March 31 newsletter.
Irish Times. The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland, in partnership with the Bank of Ireland, announced that individuals can voluntarily restrict gambling-related transactions via their banks. The Bank of Ireland now joins 3 other financial institutions in the European country.
Why does it matter: As legislators in the U.S. look for ways to better secure the gambling public and prevent bad outcomes from gambling addiction, nuanced approaches like this are worth trying. As U.S. legislation like the SAFE BET Act is debated in Congress, it would be interesting to see leaders consider more outside-the-box solutions like this one.
Budget Bill. The U.S. House and Senate are working on a large Budget Reconciliation bill at the moment and one of the amendments that was added this week would stop all state and local governments from enacting or enforcing any regulations dealing with artificial intelligence for a period of 10 years.
Why does it matter: The vast majority of legal sports gambling these days is regulated by individual states. As they try to keep pace with criminal and sports integrity threats that stem from sports gambling, not to mention the tax and fiscal implications, states may wish to regulate how those sports books use artificial intelligence. In case you thought this was a narrowly targeted provision, the bill defines both AI and regulation quite broadly.
I would imagine this is a big deal for most, if not all of the 38 states that allow for some form of gambling. Ten years is a long time in the technology world, to say the least. It remains to be seen if the provision will remain in the final version of the bill negotiated between the House and Senate, but I have not seen any states or industry trade groups say anything about the ban yet. And while those groups have been silent, Rep Paul Tonko did come out against the provision during the bill’s markup. Stay tuned for more on this story as I think there is the potential for it to turn into something bigger.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!