Regulator warns the U.S. gambling industry is like a "highway without speed limits"
As Canada restarts its legislative review on whether the government should write a code covering sports betting advertising, one state’s regulator has said the U.S. should consider doing the same.
In a feature-length interview with British newspaper The Guardian, Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chair Jordan Maynard referred to the American gambling industry as “a highway without speed limits.”
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Friction Exists
Maynard, who is likely not invited to cocktail parties hosted by operators, ed the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in August 2022, following the legalization of sports betting.
He has called on federal lawmakers to consider imposing nationwide rules governing betting firms' advertising, a notion that operators argue would lead to them paying lobbyists to combat.
Just as, for example, a restaurant reviewer works on behalf of readers, not restaurant owners, regulators are in place to protect the citizens of their jurisdiction, the legal betting market, and the tax revenue it generates.
“A lot of people try to figure me out as a regulator. It’s really, really simple,” said Maynard to the Guardian. “I’m not thinking about big business … I’m thinking about how does this affect the patrons and the citizens of Massachusetts?"
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What we’re going to do is make sure that people are educated in what they’re doing; that they’re trained up to a certain standard before they ever do it; make sure that those who seek to benefit economically from this industry are held to high standards. –Jordan Maynard | Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chair |
That high-minded approach has not led to applause from operators. Last year, when Maynard was still the interim chair of the commission, he announced a public roundtable to discuss why and how operators limited the most successful gamblers.
However, ten gaming companies that had initially indicated they would attend the roundtable declined the invitation, saying a private meeting might be a better idea.
“Transparency is key to integrity,” Maynard said. “They were worried about having the conversation in public. My job is not to increase profits for the operators. That’s not my job. My job is to balance the equities and to cure any inequities. And so I didn’t take it personally.” When a subsequent roundtable was held months later, industry reps attended.
The Responsible Gaming Front
Maynard also thinks that the methodology to block gamblers who show signs of addiction from betting anywhere in the country is “ripe for a federal conversation,” since such lists, currently the purview of states, can easily be contravened by just driving across a state line.
It’s only been seven years since a SCOTUS ruling opened the door to online sports, “and we’re really early on in this process,” said Maynard, and the industry, which now comprises legal sports betting in close to 40 states, is not eager to be federally regulated.
“I do want to construct a partnership. But there is a [need to be] regulated, and there is a regulator,” said Maynard, who is also turning his attention to the transformational technology of artificial intelligence. “If operators are using technology to target bettors, that technology can be used to promote healthy behaviors. And I believe that a way that happens quicker is for regulators to get involved in the issue.”
Maynard also has an opinion on the industry's refrain that too much oversight in the regulated world will drive gamblers back to the black market.
“I don’t like the unregulated market being used as the boogeyman to every operator for every reason,” he said. “I don’t want the legal market to race to be the illegal market. I want the illegal market to either not exist, or if it does exist, it’s in a highly competitive space with what’s regulated.”
The Underage Problem
One of Maynard’s chief concerns is the amount of underage gambling that goes on, an area he describes as “a good opportunity for the operators” to be on the right side of an issue, and he acknowledges industry advertising to address it.
In his state, betting on sports is illegal for anyone under 21.
“I don’t bury my head in the sand. I know that it’s happening. The question becomes: what can I do to ensure that it’s not happening? And we are doing the best we can,” Maynard said in the interview with The Guardian.
“No kid wants to hear me lecture them on why they shouldn’t be doing this,” he said. “But you know, when the operators get involved … when athletes get involved, when the leagues get involved, I believe – and we’re testing this, but I believe – that’s where we can see some changes."
