Federal legislation seeking to place guardrails on legal sports gambling across the United States faces long odds of passing Congress this year or anytime soon.

Earlier this month, US Rep. Paul Tonko (D-New York) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) reintroduced the SAFE Bet Act, or Supporting Affordability & Fairness With Every Bet Act.

The SAFE Bet Act and Its Provisions

The legislation seeks to greatly limit sports betting’s exposure to the public by prohibiting all sports gambling advertising between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and during all live sports programming. It would also force the already highly regulated sportsbooks operating in the 39 states and Washington, DC to adhere to numerous federal protocols like limiting bettors to five deposits a day and conducting so-called “affordability checks” when a bettor’s wagering behavior changes.

In February, the PROTECT Student Athletes Act was filed by Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-Washington). The Providing Responsible Oversight and Transparency and Ensuring Collegiate Trust Student Athletes Act would ban sportsbooks from offering player props where the outcome of a bet is solely or largely based on a single player’s performance.

Protecting Student-Athletes

NCAA President Charlie Baker has continually called on state gaming regulators to outlaw player props involving collegiate athletes. He says countless student-athletes have reported being harassed and threatened both online and in person by angry bettors.

Baumgartner, who only arrived in the nation’s capital in January after winning his 2024 congressional election, believes a ban on college player prop betting is warranted to reduce instances of student-athlete abuse.

“We are witnessing a troubling rise in harassment of college athletes on campuses, as well as an alarming increase in cases of student-athletes being coerced into throwing games for financial gain,” said Baumgartner. “This bill doesn’t ban betting on college sports games, but it targets wagers on student-athletes’ individual performances.”

Baumgartner’s bill defines prop bets as “wagers on specific actions or achievements by a student-athlete that may or may not directly influence the outcome of the event.” If House Resolution 1552 were to pass and be signed by President Donald Trump, no sportsbook or entity engaged in sports wagering such as a prediction market exchange would be allowed to accept bets or wagers involving props.

Bills Going Nowhere

The SAFE Bet and PROTECT Act are seemingly dead on arrival on Capitol Hill. Neither bill has passed a committee, as both pieces of legislation rest with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

There seems to be little appetite for the Energy and Commerce Committee to forward the statutes. While the SAFE Bet Act fielded a hearing last December, the one-sided testimony from invited guests led to the spectacle being panned by the gaming industry.

“The hearing notably lacked an industry witness. This unfortunate exclusion leaves the committee and the overall proceeding bereft of testimony on how legal gaming protects consumers from the predatory illegal market and its leadership in promoting responsible gaming and safeguarding integrity,” said Joe Maloney, Senior VP of Strategic Communications at AGA.