Pennsylvania is looking out to find new ways to reduce gambling-related harm, as the commonwealth is raising the alarm over the incidence of people experiencing such issues.
Pennsylvania Pays Closer Attention to Problem Gambling
Lawmakers are now looking into multiple ways to achieve what they want, while also factoring in how to ensure that the industry is not sapped or ends up losing ground to offshore and illegal operators.
According to a Joint State Government Commission’s 126-page study on sports betting and online casinos, any consumer protection-focused measures should include banning in-game microbets, putting an end to VIP programs, and introducing new limits on sportsbook operators.
State Rep. Tarik Khan believes that the time to act is now, citing the “scope of the problem” as “worse” than previously thought. According to him, basing his remarks on the study, 48% of men aged 18-49 held an account with at least one sportsbook, with 52% of people reporting increased wagering activity.
According to Rep. Khan, lawmakers must set out very clear rules on what can and cannot be done, and this is precisely what he and fellow lawmakers push for.
“Sometimes you have to be very clear on what companies can and can’t do, especially when money is involved,” Rep. Khan noted. The lawmaker has gone a step further, arguing that the profits that sportsbooks generate are usually dependent on people with gambling disorders.
“Did FanDuel tell Bryce Harper that they wanted a video for a person who had lost that much money? Of course not,” the lawmaker interjected, referring to a recent incident that saw the sports betting company send a personalized video message from Harper, who has gambled over a million dollars with the platform.
However, not everyone agrees with Rep. Khan’s surmise.
No, The Industry Isn’t Out to Get Customers
In fact, Joe Maloney, the president of the Sports Betting Alliance, argues that the lawmaker is in the wrong, as sports betting companies cannot, in fact, generate their profit margins off at-risk consumers, doubling down that the only way for the gambling industry to thrive is if all responsible gambling safeguards are kept in place.
Among the suggested courses of action in Pennsylvania are proposals such as obtaining customer data by lawmakers to analyze independently and work on solutions around this.
Credit card bans, frequency and deposit limits, and the prohibition of promotional offers are among the suggested solutions.
Daily, weekly, and monthly limits are among the discussed options, along with a prohibition on using “risk-free” in promotional marketing, as well as turning to cashless gaming systems for better overall monitoring of the industry.
