Representative Paul Tonko Calls on Sports Leagues to Back SAFE Bet Act

^{New York Congressman Paul Tonko is urging major U.S. sports leagues to back his SAFE Bet Act to impose federal oversight on sports betting. (Photo: Allison Bailey/NurPhoto)}

Congressman Paul Tonko (D-New York) sent a letter to the commissioners of seven major sports leagues on Thursday, calling on the leagues to support his SAFE Bet Act in the wake of the federal gambling investigation that led to the arrest of multiple NBA players and coaches.

The letters were sent to the commissioners of the NBA, WNBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, MLS, and the National Women’s Soccer League. His letters follow a wave of betting scandals and the high-profile federal investigation that led to the arrests of numerous NBA players and coach.

Tonko: League Integrity Efforts ‘Ring Hollow’

In the letters, Representative Tonko pointed to the harms caused by legalized sports betting and asked for support for the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act, which would impose federal oversight on the sports betting industry. Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) reintroduced the SAFE Bet Act in March 2025.

“The recent indictments of a head coach, an active player, and individuals tied to organized crime are not isolated incidents,” Tonko wrote in the letters. “They are the foreseeable consequence of professional sports leagues entangling their competitions with a rapidly expanding, barely regulated gambling marketplace.”

Tonko continued by criticizing the priorities of the sports leagues.

“Claims of prioritizing integrity ring hollow when leagues have sold creditability to gambling operators, integrated betting content into broadcasts, normalized wagering for teenagers, glorified it in advertising, and then failed to prevent criminal conduct from taking hold within the sport,” Tonko wrote.

Tonko argues that “voluntary self-policing” in the sports betting industry has failed to protect both the leagues themselves and the general public.

“That is why federal regulation is necessary,” Tonko wrote. “My SAFE Bet Act would impose minimum federal standards including advertising limits, data and integrity protections, public health safeguards, and transparency measures that no league has been willing to adopt on its own.”

SAFE Bet Act Would Require Applications with Justice Department

Currently, sports betting is regulated on a state-by-state level in the United States, like most gambling is treated. But the SAFE Bet Act would change this approach, instead requiring states looking to introduce legalized sports betting within their borders to file applications with the U.S. Justice Department. The U.S. Attorney General would then be able to approve proposals for a three-year period, after which such approvals would need to be renewed.

The legislation would also ban television ads for gambling operators between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. or anytime during live sporting events. Betting companies would be prohibited from offering bonus bets and “no sweat” bets to users, while prop bets on college sports would be banned entirely.

The letters from Tonko come in the wake of the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups as part of a wide-ranging federal gambling investigation last week. The NBA has since sent a memo to its teams saying that it is reassessing its approach to sports betting, though it also noted that the fact that wagers were made on regulated betting sites made it easier for officials to detect the suspicious activity.