AGA Updates Responsible Betting Campaign to Include Harassment

Curbing the harassment of athletes remains the focus of the sports betting industry.

The American Gaming Association has updated its “bet responsibly” campaign to tackle the issue. The addition is titled “Keep Your Cool,” which focuses on respecting athletes, officials, and other people involved in sports. While the new section won’t include any official changes to regulations, it will be a big part of its marketing campaign going forward.

AGA Hopes to Protect Bettors and Operators

The AGA’s recent change is focused on protecting athletes, but that isn’t the only goal. The group supports the sports betting industry across the country through lobbying, ad campaigns, and more. 

The group’s decision to add the “Keep Your Cool” campaign was also meant to protect the industry. The issue has garnered considerable public concern, which could lead to an overreaction from regulators across the country. We already saw a version of this play out with the SAFE Bet Act, which called for increased regulations and federal oversight. 

The AGA hopes that its focus on the issue will help assure the public that it takes it seriously.

NCAA Raised Red Flag Over Issue

Earlier this year, NCAA President Charlie Baker sent a letter to each sports betting market in the US. In it, he expressed his concern over the rise in harassment of college athletes and requested that they drop player prop betting on amateur sports from their bet catalogs. 

Several markets have complied with the request by ending player prop betting on college sports. Others are looking for an alternative to dropping the popular bet type. Wyoming is the latest example after they updated penalties for bettors caught harassing athletes. 

New Jersey is now the largest betting market to offer the controversial bet type, but a new bill could soon change that.

Federal Regulations Could be Coming

While states have taken it upon themselves to tackle the issue of athlete harassment, the federal government could step in. The SAFE Bet Act was proposed earlier this year to increase federal control over sports betting in the US. While the bill didn’t have the support to pass, it will undoubtedly spawn similar ones over the next few years.

Problem gambling and harassment continue to grow across the US. More lawmakers are calling for increased regulations to reign the market in and protect bettors and athletes.