WEBVTT - Sen. Richard Blumenthal on the SAFE Bet Act 0:00:15.316 --> 0:00:21.916 Push Kim. 0:00:21.996 --> 0:00:25.076 Hey there everyone, it's Michael Lewis here. Welcome back to 0:00:25.156 --> 0:00:26.076 Against the Rules. 0:00:26.996 --> 0:00:27.316 Just now. 0:00:27.356 --> 0:00:29.876 There are lots of political conversations happening in the United 0:00:29.916 --> 0:00:32.116 States that some of us might have thought were over. 0:00:32.796 --> 0:00:36.276 Politics feels upended, chaotic, certainly distracting. 0:00:36.956 --> 0:00:38.516 But here's my point. 0:00:38.716 --> 0:00:41.436 This conversation we've been having here on this show about 0:00:41.436 --> 0:00:44.516 the rise of sports betting in the United States. Many 0:00:44.516 --> 0:00:47.796 people once thought that conversation was completely over. This sports 0:00:47.796 --> 0:00:51.756 betting was de facto illegal forever, with only a few exceptions, 0:00:52.396 --> 0:00:55.476 and furthermore, that the issue would never come up again 0:00:56.076 --> 0:01:00.436 because politicians had decided it. As you may recall, way 0:01:00.436 --> 0:01:03.236 back in the early nineteen nineties, a new Jersey Senator 0:01:03.316 --> 0:01:06.676 named Bill Bradley introduced a bill to keep most states 0:01:06.676 --> 0:01:10.836 from legalizing sports betting. Bradley wasn't just any old senator. 0:01:11.436 --> 0:01:14.796 He'd been a beloved college and professional basketball star. When 0:01:14.836 --> 0:01:17.516 he spoke out about the corrosive effects of sports gambling, 0:01:17.956 --> 0:01:18.716 people listened. 0:01:21.596 --> 0:01:25.236 So I passed this little bill. Who it was not 0:01:25.316 --> 0:01:29.196 a big bill. It was a little bill that banned 0:01:29.196 --> 0:01:33.196 sports betting in the states that didn't have it, and 0:01:33.236 --> 0:01:35.076 it was the law of the Land, and I felt 0:01:35.116 --> 0:01:35.796 good about it. 0:01:36.276 --> 0:01:39.236 That law was called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection 0:01:39.356 --> 0:01:42.676 Act PASPA, and it held for a couple of decades. 0:01:43.236 --> 0:01:47.196 Earlier this season, I told the story of what happened next. Basically, 0:01:47.476 --> 0:01:51.556 a single state began to challenge PASPA, New Jersey in 0:01:51.556 --> 0:01:54.316 twenty and eleven, and folks in the state of New 0:01:54.356 --> 0:01:58.476 Jersey voted yesterday to legalize sports betting. So eventually the 0:01:58.516 --> 0:02:01.156 issue went all the way to the Supreme Court, and 0:02:01.196 --> 0:02:06.356 the Supreme Court overturned PASPA. Starting in twenty eighteen, states 0:02:06.396 --> 0:02:08.956 were allowed to legalize sports betting, and as of now, 0:02:09.236 --> 0:02:10.516 thirty nine states. 0:02:10.156 --> 0:02:10.636 Have done so. 0:02:12.076 --> 0:02:14.676 For most of the season, I've been reporting on the consequences. 0:02:15.116 --> 0:02:18.476 We've heard about gambling addicts who ruin their lives, college 0:02:18.476 --> 0:02:21.916 and pro athletes who are threatened by angry fans, state 0:02:21.996 --> 0:02:24.676 regulators trying to do anything at all to stop companies 0:02:24.676 --> 0:02:28.276 from luring in under age betters. So the last place 0:02:28.316 --> 0:02:31.116 to go this season is a question who now is 0:02:31.156 --> 0:02:33.716 in a position to do anything about any of this? 0:02:35.116 --> 0:02:37.596 Are there any lawmakers stepping in to be Bill Bradley 0:02:37.636 --> 0:02:42.636 this time around? Democratic Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal has stepped 0:02:42.676 --> 0:02:45.356 into this role. He's been on a mission to regulate 0:02:45.436 --> 0:02:48.316 sports betting since it was legalized, and with a US 0:02:48.436 --> 0:02:51.196 Congressman from New York, he's introduced a bill that would 0:02:51.196 --> 0:02:55.276 place restrictions on sports gambling company's ability to advertise and 0:02:55.396 --> 0:02:59.676 offer inducement bets, among other things. The lawmakers say sports 0:02:59.676 --> 0:03:01.796 gambling is turning into a public health crisis. 0:03:02.516 --> 0:03:03.676 I called up Senator. 0:03:03.436 --> 0:03:06.476 Blumenthal and I asked him, how did this issue get 0:03:06.516 --> 0:03:07.836 on his radar In the first place. 0:03:09.196 --> 0:03:14.836 I was working on addiction in various spheres of life. 0:03:15.116 --> 0:03:20.636 I sued the big tobacco companies because they were attracting 0:03:20.716 --> 0:03:27.236 and addicting kids to nikochine. I have been active on 0:03:27.356 --> 0:03:32.636 alcohol issues, drunk driving, and I got to know some 0:03:32.716 --> 0:03:36.596 people who had real life stories about how sports betting 0:03:37.196 --> 0:03:44.396 literally ruined their lives, broke apart, their families, ended their careers, 0:03:45.236 --> 0:03:49.876 and I became more and more interested in how sports 0:03:49.916 --> 0:03:55.556 betting operates. I was approached by people who heard that 0:03:56.196 --> 0:04:01.676 colleges had entered into contracts with the casinos they're promote gambling. 0:04:01.996 --> 0:04:08.796 Absolutely mind boggling that colleges would promote gambling among kids 0:04:09.556 --> 0:04:14.276 who were not permitted legally to gamble. So it is 0:04:14.596 --> 0:04:22.676 a pervasive and huge industry in America, and nobody's focused 0:04:22.676 --> 0:04:27.876 on the serious damaging consequences. 0:04:27.916 --> 0:04:30.276 It's kind of shocking to me that more people aren't 0:04:30.356 --> 0:04:31.356 upset right now. 0:04:32.796 --> 0:04:36.276 First of all, it appears so benign. I mean, what 0:04:36.356 --> 0:04:40.796 could go wrong sports betting? Sports is good betting, Hey, 0:04:40.876 --> 0:04:45.996 everybody bets. Second, a lot of it is invisible. You know, 0:04:46.156 --> 0:04:49.956 it's no longer placing a bet to a physical person 0:04:50.036 --> 0:04:54.356 the bookie who then in the old days was a 0:04:54.396 --> 0:04:56.756 part of the mob in essence and could use the 0:04:56.796 --> 0:05:00.796 mob to extort. There were physical consequences and crime involved 0:05:00.876 --> 0:05:05.716 in sports betting. Third, I think that there is a 0:05:05.836 --> 0:05:08.996 kind of denial that takes place, as it does with 0:05:09.116 --> 0:05:13.196 any addiction. You know, people are in denial often about 0:05:13.756 --> 0:05:19.396 alcoholism or drug addictions, and gambling addiction is no different. 0:05:19.436 --> 0:05:23.116 People don't want to acknowledge they're going through a divorce 0:05:23.196 --> 0:05:27.916 or separation because the financial problems and the frustrations of 0:05:27.956 --> 0:05:31.716 the spouse or significant other rose to a level that 0:05:32.156 --> 0:05:34.036 would no longer sustain the relationship. 0:05:34.676 --> 0:05:35.956 I learned about sports betting. 0:05:36.716 --> 0:05:39.036 My tool is the pen. I can write about it, 0:05:39.076 --> 0:05:42.036 I can talk about it. You're a senator, you can 0:05:42.076 --> 0:05:45.116 do something about it. How does the issue rise to 0:05:45.196 --> 0:05:47.836 the level of concern with you and then that you 0:05:47.916 --> 0:05:50.636 might actually take some action, introduce some legislation. 0:05:51.316 --> 0:05:54.076 How does a legislator get the idea for a new law. 0:05:55.396 --> 0:05:59.156 It's often just by listening or reading. So I was 0:05:59.196 --> 0:06:01.996 listening to people who told me about this problem. I 0:06:02.036 --> 0:06:05.036 am not a sports better nothing wrong with sports betting, 0:06:05.076 --> 0:06:08.196 per se. Keep in mind, I'm not trying to ban 0:06:08.276 --> 0:06:11.876 in sports betting. Yeah, just make sure there are safeguards 0:06:12.116 --> 0:06:13.596 to stop problem. 0:06:13.356 --> 0:06:15.556 Gambling before you even write the law. 0:06:15.596 --> 0:06:18.156 Do you just kind of even sound out your colleagues 0:06:18.196 --> 0:06:20.636 to see if there's any hope for such a law passing. 0:06:21.436 --> 0:06:25.556 I do talk to colleagues to determine whether they're interested, 0:06:25.596 --> 0:06:28.956 whether other like minded colleagues would want to join me. 0:06:29.956 --> 0:06:36.156 And I also talk to experts in the field, because 0:06:36.196 --> 0:06:39.116 I don't trust my own judgment alone. I want to 0:06:39.156 --> 0:06:44.356 talk to the problem gambling experts, and I talk to 0:06:45.476 --> 0:06:49.356 leaders in the Senate, for example, what are the chances 0:06:49.356 --> 0:06:51.836 of this thing getting passed? What do you think about it? 0:06:51.956 --> 0:06:54.436 Let me have a hearing. That's the second part of 0:06:54.436 --> 0:06:58.156 what we do. Try to build the public case for legislation, 0:06:59.156 --> 0:07:03.636 and then that you know, after the legislation is written 0:07:04.316 --> 0:07:08.716 and I introduce it and we have hearings, then at 0:07:08.716 --> 0:07:12.716 some point the committee will hopefully vote it out of 0:07:12.836 --> 0:07:15.716 committee to the floor of the United States Senate where 0:07:15.716 --> 0:07:17.356 it would pass. Obviously it has to go through the 0:07:17.396 --> 0:07:21.636 House of Representative as well. That's the legislative process. In 0:07:22.396 --> 0:07:23.276 thumbnail sketch. 0:07:24.036 --> 0:07:28.956 And you're after talking to experts and talking to the 0:07:28.956 --> 0:07:33.116 people in your districts, and what did you decide needed 0:07:33.116 --> 0:07:35.196 to be done at the federal level, what did the 0:07:35.276 --> 0:07:36.116 law need to do. 0:07:36.836 --> 0:07:40.036 I was a federal prosecutor back in the day. I 0:07:40.116 --> 0:07:43.236 was the US attorney and connected. We did some criminal 0:07:43.316 --> 0:07:48.476 cases against the mob extortion people, and I learned something 0:07:48.516 --> 0:07:52.916 about bookies and sports betting and so forth in the 0:07:54.236 --> 0:07:57.676 old days. What impressed me about this industry was how 0:07:57.756 --> 0:08:02.436 advanced it is technological, how they can target you because 0:08:02.436 --> 0:08:05.836 they know you really like to bet on whether the 0:08:05.956 --> 0:08:10.116 quarterback is going to be tackled eighteen times in the 0:08:10.116 --> 0:08:15.396 first quarter, or whether you want to bet on whether 0:08:16.676 --> 0:08:20.516 so and so, you know running back will catch a 0:08:20.596 --> 0:08:23.236 touchdown in the third quarter. There are all these are 0:08:23.436 --> 0:08:29.356 kain different ways to bet these days prop betting as 0:08:29.356 --> 0:08:31.996 it's called, and the reason it's possible is because the 0:08:32.036 --> 0:08:35.076 technology is so advanced that you can make that beack. 0:08:35.156 --> 0:08:41.156 But also it enables them to pitch you with promotions 0:08:41.676 --> 0:08:45.876 and bonuses, and if you haven't bet before, they can 0:08:45.956 --> 0:08:51.116 offer you a free bet no lose bet. Yeah, And 0:08:51.156 --> 0:08:54.196 then if you win, of course you're going to bet again, 0:08:54.476 --> 0:08:57.476 and they'll pitch you again and again. And here's the 0:08:57.556 --> 0:09:01.916 other dirty little secret here. If you're losing, they will 0:09:01.956 --> 0:09:04.596 continue to target you. That's the way they make money. 0:09:04.876 --> 0:09:09.556 If you're winning, they throttle you. That's the term. They 0:09:09.596 --> 0:09:13.196 don't want you to bet because when you win, it 0:09:13.316 --> 0:09:16.356 means less money for them, the sports betting company. So 0:09:16.516 --> 0:09:20.196 that's what attracted me in the sense of wanting to 0:09:20.236 --> 0:09:22.316 do something about it, because it seems so unfair that 0:09:23.636 --> 0:09:28.396 the house, so to speak, had this technological advantage through 0:09:28.516 --> 0:09:33.996 algorithms and artificial intelligence that could put you at a 0:09:34.036 --> 0:09:37.996 disadvantage not just in a single bet, but also make 0:09:38.036 --> 0:09:40.716 you more vulnerable to problem gambling. 0:09:43.516 --> 0:09:47.916 When we return, I find out exactly how Senator Bluementhal 0:09:47.956 --> 0:09:50.236 wants to regulate sports camp like on the federal level 0:09:50.716 --> 0:10:03.796 and encourage states to regulate it as well. We're back 0:10:03.796 --> 0:10:07.316 with Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal. I will say that his bill, 0:10:07.796 --> 0:10:10.036 introduced in the fall of two thousan twenty four with 0:10:10.116 --> 0:10:13.316 the New York Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko, has a much 0:10:13.316 --> 0:10:18.476 better acronym than PASPA. It's called Supporting Affordability and Fairness 0:10:18.476 --> 0:10:22.116 with Every Bet, or the Safe Bet Act. 0:10:22.836 --> 0:10:25.716 There are two approaches to the legislation. One is to 0:10:25.796 --> 0:10:29.796 try to set standards for those promotions and pitches and 0:10:30.596 --> 0:10:33.276 the hours when they can do advertising. And the other 0:10:34.156 --> 0:10:38.076 bill is to take money from the excise tax. You know, 0:10:38.116 --> 0:10:43.676 there's a point zero two five excise tax on all gambling, 0:10:44.356 --> 0:10:48.876 and to use part of it for treatment of problem gambling. 0:10:49.556 --> 0:10:52.316 So I kind of took a while to come up 0:10:52.356 --> 0:10:53.316 with the two approaches. 0:10:53.996 --> 0:10:56.156 The first approach is the one that interests me most 0:10:56.196 --> 0:10:58.636 because the gambling industry is perfectly happy to have all 0:10:58.636 --> 0:11:01.476 the attention focused on the problem gambler like it's their fault. 0:11:01.996 --> 0:11:04.476 It has nothing to do with the way the environment 0:11:04.556 --> 0:11:08.076 is designed to create in mind addiction, and in fact, 0:11:08.116 --> 0:11:11.636 the playbook of the gambler industry from before sports gambling 0:11:11.956 --> 0:11:14.516 has been to sort of like, oh, people need to 0:11:14.556 --> 0:11:16.516 learn how to control themselves. And there's some people who 0:11:16.556 --> 0:11:18.956 have an illness and we'll just treat them. So this 0:11:19.116 --> 0:11:23.076 first part attempts to kind of constrict the industry. 0:11:24.076 --> 0:11:25.636 What do you think needs to be done? 0:11:26.036 --> 0:11:30.036 The framework of this bill is fairly straightforward. First of all, 0:11:31.156 --> 0:11:37.076 betting anywhere in any state requires that there be state standards. 0:11:39.036 --> 0:11:42.076 We want the states to be actively involved, but the 0:11:42.156 --> 0:11:47.156 standards have to comply with certain minimums set in federal legislation, 0:11:47.876 --> 0:11:56.116 and those minimums prohibit, for example, sports betting broadcast advertising 0:11:56.116 --> 0:12:00.916 between eight am and ten PM. Prohibits sports betting advertising 0:12:01.116 --> 0:12:06.956 during the sporting event, advertisements designed to induce gambling with 0:12:07.556 --> 0:12:13.876 bonus no sweat bonus bets. We prohibit sports betting advertising 0:12:13.956 --> 0:12:18.596 designed to induce use of gambling products by showing audiences 0:12:18.676 --> 0:12:23.716 how to gamble or explaining how wagers work. But those 0:12:23.796 --> 0:12:25.956 are all advertising constraints. 0:12:26.116 --> 0:12:27.516 What's number two on your list? 0:12:27.676 --> 0:12:34.876 Second aspect relates to affordability, and that is for the 0:12:34.916 --> 0:12:40.276 promoters or the sports betting businesses to avoid exploiting people 0:12:40.476 --> 0:12:43.236 when they know they can't afford what they're doing. Basically 0:12:44.596 --> 0:12:50.236 prohibits operators from accepting more than five deposits from a 0:12:50.276 --> 0:12:54.596 single customer in a twenty four hour period, prohibits operators 0:12:54.636 --> 0:13:01.476 from accepting deposits via credit card. It requires affordability checks 0:13:01.516 --> 0:13:05.236 if there is a certain amount of gambling, and it 0:13:05.316 --> 0:13:10.076 requires a national clearinghouse for people to be able to 0:13:10.356 --> 0:13:15.356 exclude themselves. This point is really important. It is, you know, 0:13:15.756 --> 0:13:21.636 the self exclusion part. A lot of people know they're 0:13:21.636 --> 0:13:24.156 betting too much, you know, they know they're getting in 0:13:24.316 --> 0:13:26.636 over their heads, and they want to be able to stop. 0:13:27.036 --> 0:13:31.476 But the nature of addiction, obviously is they can't stop 0:13:32.116 --> 0:13:37.476 as long as you know the betting is out there 0:13:37.556 --> 0:13:41.716 right in front of them. So if you know, you 0:13:41.716 --> 0:13:44.156 know you're looking at your wife, you're looking at your kids, 0:13:44.196 --> 0:13:47.556 you're getting into death, that's going to force you to 0:13:47.556 --> 0:13:51.956 give up your house, and you say yourself, I got 0:13:51.956 --> 0:13:56.876 to stop. I need help. I want someone to tell 0:13:56.916 --> 0:14:02.476 me you can't gamble. So there is a possibility for 0:14:02.676 --> 0:14:08.476 self exclusion to stop not just the advertising, but also 0:14:09.476 --> 0:14:11.356 potentially the access. 0:14:11.836 --> 0:14:13.676 So if I put my name on this list, I 0:14:13.716 --> 0:14:15.716 can't just take my name off that the list when 0:14:15.756 --> 0:14:17.316 I want to when I want to gamble, I put 0:14:17.356 --> 0:14:18.956 it on the list, and it's I'm stuck. 0:14:20.076 --> 0:14:22.916 That's roughly the way it works. I mean, at a 0:14:22.916 --> 0:14:24.876 at a certain point you could probably take your name 0:14:24.956 --> 0:14:28.396 off the list. It's not you're not bound forever, but 0:14:28.516 --> 0:14:32.556 at least then you turn on you know, your computer 0:14:33.316 --> 0:14:36.116 or you know your cell phone. This is how you 0:14:36.156 --> 0:14:43.596 bet your smartphone now is your casino. You're in a casino, yep. 0:14:43.996 --> 0:14:46.476 And we want you to be able to say to 0:14:46.556 --> 0:14:49.756 that smartphone, look, I just picked it up. I want 0:14:49.756 --> 0:14:54.076 to gamble, and it says no. And then I realize 0:14:55.076 --> 0:14:57.236 this is how I get into trouble. And you put 0:14:57.596 --> 0:15:01.676 the smartphone back down and you go on to do 0:15:01.796 --> 0:15:05.436 something else and it catches you before you used to 0:15:05.476 --> 0:15:10.156 come Now, I'm far from naive. This is not a 0:15:10.196 --> 0:15:13.916 full proof that method of breaking an addiction, right. You know, 0:15:14.996 --> 0:15:18.956 there are all kinds of different ways to break gambling addiction, 0:15:19.116 --> 0:15:21.236 just as there are nicotine you know, some people use 0:15:21.276 --> 0:15:25.916 a patch, some people can do it without anything. It's 0:15:25.996 --> 0:15:30.476 hard to break nicotine addiction, just like any drug addiction. 0:15:30.556 --> 0:15:32.916 But it's also hard to break gambling addiction. 0:15:33.596 --> 0:15:36.116 You know, it's interesting you're in this piece of the 0:15:36.196 --> 0:15:39.836 legislation where you're dealing with the kind of like forcing 0:15:39.876 --> 0:15:42.876 some of the responsibility for the behavior of the gamblers 0:15:43.996 --> 0:15:48.756 onto the companies that are benefiting from their behavior. One 0:15:48.756 --> 0:15:51.396 of the things that's just been shocking to me is 0:15:52.316 --> 0:15:57.556 state by state, the gambling industry has has persuaded regulators 0:15:57.556 --> 0:16:00.996 that that they of course need to be able to 0:16:01.036 --> 0:16:06.396 monitor the activity of their customers, the gamblers. And the 0:16:07.156 --> 0:16:09.876 reason is that they say is that we want to 0:16:09.916 --> 0:16:11.716 you know, we want to be able to identify gamblers 0:16:11.716 --> 0:16:13.476 who are doing things they shouldn't be doing it's bad 0:16:13.516 --> 0:16:16.276 for them. In fact, the only thing they do is 0:16:16.356 --> 0:16:18.596 monitor for the people who are winning and know what 0:16:18.636 --> 0:16:21.196 they're doing so they can chuck them off the platforms. 0:16:21.556 --> 0:16:24.876 And the state regulators we've talked to know of no 0:16:24.996 --> 0:16:27.756 case like where the company said you've got to stop 0:16:27.796 --> 0:16:31.316 because you have a problem, and a lot of cases 0:16:31.356 --> 0:16:34.036 where people come and say, I have a problem. You know, 0:16:34.196 --> 0:16:36.516 you got to kind of limit me, and and the 0:16:36.516 --> 0:16:41.036 companies continues to pitch to them. We know that the 0:16:41.076 --> 0:16:43.636 companies know they have such great data on their on 0:16:43.676 --> 0:16:47.516 the gamblers. We know that they can identify problem gamblers 0:16:47.556 --> 0:16:52.276 better than problem gamblers probably could ever be identified in history. Uh, 0:16:52.356 --> 0:16:54.796 how do you how do you how do you regulate this, like, 0:16:54.836 --> 0:16:58.556 how do you actually force the issue so that they 0:16:58.556 --> 0:17:01.236 get in real trouble. Do you put regulators inside the 0:17:01.276 --> 0:17:04.596 gambling companies? Do you you just you trust them to report? 0:17:04.796 --> 0:17:11.996 That question goes to the next provision of the legislation, 0:17:12.836 --> 0:17:17.596 which relates to artificial intelligence. This legislation would prohibit the 0:17:17.676 --> 0:17:23.516 use of AI artificial intelligence to track and individual gamblers 0:17:24.156 --> 0:17:27.636 habits yep. And it would also prohibit the use of 0:17:27.676 --> 0:17:34.036 AI to create individualized offers and promotions the customers. I 0:17:34.116 --> 0:17:42.396 was describing earlier hypothetical and how the gambling industry can 0:17:42.636 --> 0:17:46.476 target people who are winning and if they are losing, 0:17:46.676 --> 0:17:50.996 and what kinds of bets they like to place, what 0:17:51.236 --> 0:17:57.356 sports and so forth, and the sports betting companies can't 0:17:57.356 --> 0:18:00.916 do it without artificial intelligence. So the prohibition against that 0:18:01.036 --> 0:18:06.956 kind of tracking and individualized promoting is very important. So, no, 0:18:07.116 --> 0:18:12.596 we don't put regulators inside the companies. And you know, 0:18:12.876 --> 0:18:15.796 in an ideal world, we might be a little bit 0:18:15.836 --> 0:18:20.716 more heavy handed in terms of the intervention in the companies. 0:18:21.596 --> 0:18:25.556 I've tried to think through this concept of a duty 0:18:25.596 --> 0:18:29.996 of care. You know, if you're a bartender in a 0:18:30.036 --> 0:18:34.276 bar and you serve somebody who is drunk a drink 0:18:34.796 --> 0:18:40.956 and that person hits and kills another person behind the wheel. 0:18:42.356 --> 0:18:46.796 You have in most states, I think it maybe all 0:18:46.836 --> 0:18:53.276 states now a liability. The tobacco companies have been held liable. 0:18:53.676 --> 0:18:57.116 I know because I sued them and we got quite 0:18:57.116 --> 0:18:59.676 a bit of money. But we also changed their practices 0:19:00.316 --> 0:19:05.636 and now they are often held liable if they deceive people. 0:19:06.796 --> 0:19:11.116 We can't stop them from selling cigarette, but they can 0:19:11.196 --> 0:19:18.556 be held responsible for breaches of their duty. And the 0:19:18.596 --> 0:19:24.156 importance here of taking or eliminating some of the means 0:19:24.196 --> 0:19:30.596 that are used that promote addiction. The goal here is 0:19:30.596 --> 0:19:36.516 to increase the standards that states apply when they regulate gambling. 0:19:36.556 --> 0:19:40.036 They are the regulators. Ultimately, we're not going to regulate 0:19:40.076 --> 0:19:45.516 it with a federal gambling regulatory authority. We're not creating 0:19:45.756 --> 0:19:48.916 a new bureaucracy. We want to make sure that these 0:19:48.956 --> 0:19:50.796 standards are enforceable. 0:19:51.476 --> 0:19:54.156 Who make sure at the federal level that the states 0:19:54.156 --> 0:19:55.836 are meeting the minimum standards. 0:19:56.436 --> 0:19:58.156 There's got to be some federal oversight. 0:19:58.516 --> 0:20:03.996 In effect, the federal government would ban gambling if they 0:20:04.036 --> 0:20:09.556 fail to meet the standards, and the enforcement authority for 0:20:09.716 --> 0:20:13.396 taking action by the federal government would be the Department 0:20:13.396 --> 0:20:17.196 of Justice. The Department of Justice has ultimate authority to 0:20:17.316 --> 0:20:22.996 say those standards in Connecticut or New York meet the 0:20:23.036 --> 0:20:26.956 federal minimums. They're doing everything they need to do. We 0:20:26.996 --> 0:20:30.796 also prohibit the use of AI to create gambling products 0:20:30.836 --> 0:20:33.396 like micro bets on amateur sports. 0:20:33.636 --> 0:20:36.756 Oh, you ban bets on amateur sports. 0:20:36.796 --> 0:20:43.436 We prohibit bets on amateur sports, with some exceptions for Olympics, Paralympics, 0:20:43.516 --> 0:20:52.676 and some college sports. We also prohibit all proposition bets 0:20:53.356 --> 0:20:56.636 featuring college or Olympic athletes. 0:20:56.756 --> 0:21:00.116 So this is very clearly a dark side of this 0:21:00.356 --> 0:21:03.876 is the pressure on young people who are playing sports 0:21:04.676 --> 0:21:08.836 to modify the betters who are betting on their behavior, 0:21:09.236 --> 0:21:12.676 and the threats they're getting are it's just it's crazy. 0:21:12.716 --> 0:21:15.156 They feel like they're essentially they feel like they're all 0:21:15.196 --> 0:21:18.316 working for the mob, and the mob is going to 0:21:18.316 --> 0:21:20.436 come decap them if they don't do the thing they're 0:21:20.436 --> 0:21:22.316 supposed to do on the field, or don't do it. 0:21:24.236 --> 0:21:26.236 On that thought, I'm going to interrupt myself so we 0:21:26.236 --> 0:21:30.076 can take a quick break. When't we return, Senator Blumenthal 0:21:30.156 --> 0:21:32.596 talks about why it's important to get sports gambling on 0:21:32.636 --> 0:21:35.676 the nation's radar as a public health issue? Can I 0:21:35.716 --> 0:21:51.956 do a little lobbying of my own? I'm back with 0:21:52.036 --> 0:21:55.076 Senator Richard Blumenthal. I asked him what else he wants 0:21:55.076 --> 0:21:57.356 to see happen besides the passage of his own Safe 0:21:57.396 --> 0:21:57.916 Bet Act. 0:21:58.276 --> 0:22:01.836 This may sound inconsequential, but it could be important. A 0:22:01.916 --> 0:22:06.916 Surgeon General report on the public health impacts of sports betting, 0:22:07.476 --> 0:22:10.156 which goes to the very first question that you asked me. 0:22:11.036 --> 0:22:14.956 Why aren't there others who care about this issue? There's 0:22:14.996 --> 0:22:22.556 a very powerful, well resourced in industry that wants to 0:22:22.636 --> 0:22:27.956 squelch awareness. And the challenge here is to elevate to 0:22:28.236 --> 0:22:32.476 raise awareness, partly to get this legislation done, but also 0:22:32.636 --> 0:22:39.716 because erasing the self denial, getting families to focus on 0:22:39.956 --> 0:22:43.276 the problem. Gambler, Well, maybe people will begin asking that 0:22:43.396 --> 0:22:48.716 question like they do now with alcoholism, you know, bring 0:22:48.756 --> 0:22:49.556 it out in the open. 0:22:50.196 --> 0:22:52.636 What I'm curious, does the sports gambling industry and the 0:22:52.676 --> 0:22:55.916 sports gambling problem remind you of anything specifically? 0:22:56.356 --> 0:22:57.196 What's the precedent? 0:22:58.476 --> 0:23:01.676 It reminds me a lot about tobacco. You know, there 0:23:01.756 --> 0:23:06.996 was a time when advertisements for smoking actually had doctors 0:23:07.196 --> 0:23:12.996 in their white coats recommending Chesterfield I remember very vividly 0:23:13.036 --> 0:23:19.116 because my mom smoked. Eventually, unfortunately she died from diseases 0:23:19.436 --> 0:23:23.236 related to tobacco. But I can remember the ads that said, 0:23:23.276 --> 0:23:29.916 in effect, doctors recommend Chesterfield cigarettes like this is healthy 0:23:29.996 --> 0:23:34.516 for you, helps you lose weight well in a certain way. 0:23:34.556 --> 0:23:40.676 I'm reminded of it because it's a seemingly harmless activity 0:23:40.756 --> 0:23:46.196 with an invisible effect that can be highly disruptive. Sports 0:23:46.196 --> 0:23:49.556 bending industry is tremendously powerful, Needless to say, I've heard 0:23:49.556 --> 0:23:53.036 from them and they want me to go away. They 0:23:53.676 --> 0:24:01.476 have huge resources to lobby and to do advertising, and 0:24:01.956 --> 0:24:06.276 they are engaged in both to a great scale. But 0:24:06.316 --> 0:24:10.196 the tobacco industry was also very, very powerful, and they 0:24:10.236 --> 0:24:13.396 spend a lot of money to try to keep us 0:24:14.156 --> 0:24:20.836 silent and stop our litigation and in effect, to see people. 0:24:21.436 --> 0:24:22.596 You think the future is for the bill. 0:24:22.916 --> 0:24:27.916 I think at some point the bill will pass. I 0:24:27.996 --> 0:24:31.796 can't tell you when. I also think that states will 0:24:32.236 --> 0:24:37.956 raise their standards on their own, because the public awareness 0:24:37.956 --> 0:24:42.956 we're generating will affect state legislatures. I was a state 0:24:42.956 --> 0:24:47.316 attorney general of Connecticut, and before that job, I was 0:24:47.356 --> 0:24:50.116 in the state legislature. It is so much easier to 0:24:50.116 --> 0:24:54.156 get things done in state legislatures than it is in 0:24:54.356 --> 0:24:57.596 the United States capital because the stakes are so much 0:24:57.636 --> 0:25:00.596 higher here. I want to put in a plug for 0:25:00.676 --> 0:25:07.156 my other act. I do think that channeling money into 0:25:08.356 --> 0:25:14.796 problem gambling addiction treatment is very, very important. You know, 0:25:14.876 --> 0:25:18.836 we have programs to treat all the other addictions, literally, 0:25:18.996 --> 0:25:23.916 all the other addictions, none for gambling addiction. And so 0:25:24.156 --> 0:25:28.676 taking a part of the revenue that comes to the 0:25:28.716 --> 0:25:32.476 government as a result of gambling or sports betting, I 0:25:32.516 --> 0:25:37.396 think appropriately could be used for state programs as well 0:25:37.436 --> 0:25:42.316 as federal programs to treat gambling addiction. And I think 0:25:42.476 --> 0:25:47.836 that bill is the more likely to pass more quickly 0:25:50.116 --> 0:25:55.556 because it may arouse less opposition from the industry for 0:25:55.596 --> 0:25:58.516 the very reason that you have said. A lot of 0:25:58.516 --> 0:26:01.076 the companies are more than happy to say, oh, we 0:26:01.156 --> 0:26:04.476 have no problem gambling, and whenever we encounter it, of 0:26:04.556 --> 0:26:07.276 course we offer programs to deal with. 0:26:07.636 --> 0:26:09.996 Right, I'm gonna let you go, but I do I 0:26:09.996 --> 0:26:11.756 do want to pitch you what I think needs to 0:26:11.756 --> 0:26:12.196 be done. 0:26:13.356 --> 0:26:16.276 So at the top of my list and my wish 0:26:16.316 --> 0:26:19.396 list for any bill would be a ban on advertising 0:26:20.076 --> 0:26:25.596 explicit a statement of the odds of the bets so 0:26:25.596 --> 0:26:31.076 so that you see so there's some transparency there and 0:26:31.156 --> 0:26:34.836 the how the how this gets done is again tricky. 0:26:34.916 --> 0:26:39.116 But the using of the technology, they have to understand 0:26:39.116 --> 0:26:41.476 the gambler for the purposes that they say they're using 0:26:41.516 --> 0:26:43.396 it for, which is to identify the problem gambler and 0:26:43.436 --> 0:26:46.476 prevent them from getting into trouble. Unlike the cigarette companies 0:26:46.476 --> 0:26:48.796 who don't know their customers. You know, they knew generally 0:26:48.836 --> 0:26:51.196 that people were getting addicted, but in this case, you 0:26:51.316 --> 0:26:55.116 know that Joe Bob has got a problem, and and 0:26:55.396 --> 0:26:58.396 you could just stop Joe Bob from gambling, and it's 0:26:58.516 --> 0:27:00.836 it's it's it is in theory really. 0:27:00.636 --> 0:27:01.916 Fixable in some ways. 0:27:02.036 --> 0:27:05.196 And to foist that responsibility upon them because they have 0:27:05.316 --> 0:27:09.396 the knowledge and so those would be like the big 0:27:09.796 --> 0:27:13.436 my Big three. There's a whole gray market which isn't 0:27:13.436 --> 0:27:15.436 fan duel and draftings because they don't want to get 0:27:15.476 --> 0:27:19.356