NFL Forces Frank to Keep Online Sports Betting Illegal

Millions of dollars spent on lobbying by sports leagues to prevent sports gambling resulted in Frank accepting the reality that including sports wagering in his package could put the whole bill at risk.

As the particulars of Barney Frank's legislation proposing regulation of online gambling are reviewed, one notable feature is the continuance of the ban on Internet sports betting. Millions of dollars spent on lobbying by sports leagues to prevent sports gambling resulted in Frank accepting the reality that including sports wagering in his package could put the whole bill at risk.

Sports organizations in the US, the National Football League in particular, have argued vehemently against any legal Internet gaming. Officials from the NFL have claimed the purity of their games is at stake.

“The expression by the professional leagues of shock at the notion that people would actually bet on games was one of the least persuasive emotional outbursts I have encountered, but we acknowledged the reality of it,” said Frank. Despite NFL hypocrisy, Frank realized the resistance to sports betting is extremely powerful, if misplaced.

Frank and his co-authors were forced to place a clause in the regulatory bill reading, ‘‘No provision of this subchapter shall be construed as authorizing any licensee to operate an Internet gambling facility that knowingly accepts bets or wagers on sporting events from persons located in the United States."

“No one will be betting on professional sports games,” said Frank sarcastically. While no one may play at legal, licensed, regulated online casinos, millions of residents will bet billions of dollars with neighborhood bookies and illegal operations, as they do every year.