USADA is "interested in monitoring the expanding sports betting market in the U.S., potentially broadening its role to help pinpoint unusual betting activity with the same type of statistical detection methods it already uses to flag markers suggestive of doping," according to Ryan Rodenberg of ESPN.com. The possibility of a "broader role for USADA -- which could be delegated the authority to serve as a central 'hub' for sports wagering integrity efforts -- took on a new level of importance after the formal introduction of comprehensive federal sports betting legislation" last week. USADA CEO Travis Tygart said, "If legalized sports gambling and potentially match-fixing situations continue to come to light, it would be important to have a regulatory body to put rules in place and hand down any sanctions necessary." U.S. Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last Wednesday "introduced the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act of 2018 -- that calls for a central 'clearinghouse,' where betting data from across the nation are analyzed to monitor suspicious betting." The proposed legislation "does not specifically mention USADA as the designated group to handle the work." However, Tygart "nevertheless pinpoints the shared focus." He said, "It's in the gaming market's interest as well as clean athletes' to have a fair, honest playing field. If someone has an unknown advantage through doping, the gaming industry suffers from an inability to equitably set the odds. Cooperative relationships have to take priority in order for clean athletes and a corrupt-free gaming market to prevail" (ESPN.com, 12/21).
POTENTIAL OVERREACH? In Nevada, Thomas Mitchell writes about the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act and wonders where in the U.S. Constitution Congress is "given the power to 'maintain a distinct Federal interest in the integrity and character of professional and amateur sporting contests?'" The 10th Amendment states that powers "not delegated to the federal government are retained by the states and the people." But Hatch and Schumer "appear to be overreaching" on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's "contention that Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, presumably under the Interstate Commerce Clause." There is already a "federal excise tax on sports betting" that nets an estimated $12M a year, which "presumably would increase as legal sports betting spreads and the percentage rake is increased by revenue hungry lawmakers in D.C." This bill is a "federal power grab that usurps the rights and powers of the states and does nothing for the 'integrity' of sports" (ELKO DAILY FREE PRESS, 12/26).
