Congressman Pushes for Federal Regulation of Sportsbetting

Last week U.S. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (Republican, Wisconsin) wrote a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, urging that the federal government get involved in the regulation of sportsbetting within the country.

The letter expressed Sensenbrenner's stance that the federal government should be the ones responsible for regulating sportsbetting. The letter says in part that Congress "had work to do to endure the public is protected, and any potential for exploitation is minimized in this post-PASPA era." He went on to promise that bills would be introduced in Congress to help regulate the activity.

The letter is looking for the Department of Justice to give their position on sportsbetting, and whether or not they feel it violates The Wire Act, which forbids wagers across telephone lines. He also wants to know if the DoJ is providing assistance for individual states that are beginning to enter the regulated market.

Sensenbrenner is of the mindset that sportsbetting and internet gambling are dangerous money fronts for terrorist groups, and expressed as much in his letter, stating: "Such wagering - combined with the issuance of an opinion by the previous administration's Office of Legal Counsel reinterpreting the Wire Act - will allow for exploitation of Internet gambling by criminal and terrorist organizations to obtain funds, launder money, and engage in identity theft and other cybercrimes."

Whether or not the politician will get a response is unknown. Various states in the country began offering legalized sportsbetting this year after the Supreme Court overturned the PASPA law, which had forbidden the activity in all but a handful of states. Even though there have been few problems, it appears that politicians like Sensenbrenner are looking to nip it in the bud while they still can.