Booming US gambling industry a ‘highway without speed limits', top regulator warns

The Guardian

5 hours ago

The US gambling industry has become a 'highway without speed limits', according to a top state regulator, as the nationwide gambling boom continues at pace.
Jordan Maynard, chair of the Massachusetts gaming commission, urged lawmakers in Washington to consider nationwide rules on advertising by betting firms. Operators have spent years lobbying against a federal crackdown.
Nationwide exclusion lists, blocking gamblers who encounter problems like addiction from placing a bet anywhere in the country, are also 'ripe for a federal conversation', Maynard said in an interview with the Guardian.
Like most gambling policies, such lists are currently state-focused, and often easily circumventable by crossing state lines.
Maynard joined Massachusetts's gambling commission in August 2022, the same month sports betting was legalized in the state, and became the regulator's interim chair last spring. A permanent appointment followed in the fall.
His relationship with operators has, at times, been strained.
'When I think about the industry right now, I see a highway without speed limits, cars without seatbelt dingers,' he said. 'Regulators are who put the seatbelt dingers in. I don't think the car manufacturers just woke up one day and decided to annoy whoever's driving the car until they put their seatbelt on.
'And so I think that's the perfect place for a regulator to be: to come in and say, you know, we're not going to prevent every crash that could happen, right? But what we're going to do is make sure that people are educated in what they're doing; that they're trained up to a certain standard before they ever do it; make sure that those who seek to benefit economically from this industry are held to high standards.'
Online sports betting has surged since 2018, when the US supreme court struck down a decades-old law that prohibited the practice across much of the country. 'And we're really early on in this process,' said Maynard.
The industry has moved fast – sports betting is now legal in 37 states – and pushed back hard against many proposed regulations. While lobbyists for legal operators insist they are heavily regulated, they have bluntly dismissed calls for federal action, and resisted restrictions put forward by states.
Legal online gambling operators have spent years pushing to attract millions of users to their platforms, and generate more money from those users, as the nascent market continues its rapid expansion.
'I do want to construct a partnership,' Maynard said, of his work with the industry. 'But there is a [need to be] regulated, and there is a regulator.'
Gambling regulators typically have two primary goals: to protect the legal betting market, which generates welcome tax dollars for their state; and shield the state's citizens from harm, amid mounting concerns over the social impact of gambling's rise.
'A lot of people try to figure me out as a regulator. It's really, really simple,' said Maynard. 'I'm not thinking about big business … I'm thinking about: how does this affect the patrons and the citizens of Massachusetts?'
Operators have not always welcomed his scrutiny. A year ago, two months into Maynard's interim stint as chair, the commission hosted a public roundtable on how, when and why betting platform operators placed limits on gamblers, amid claims that some who routinely won had faced restrictions.
At the last minute, the industry swerved en masse. Ten gambling firms operating in Massachusetts, after initially signaling they would attend, turned down the invitation and requested a private meeting instead. 'Transparency is key to integrity,' Maynard said, as he opened the roundtable. When another was held last fall, the industry showed up.
'They were worried about having the conversation in public,' reflected Maynard. 'My job is not to increase profits for the operators. That's not my job. My job is to balance the equities and to cure any inequities. And so I didn't take it personally.'
Artificial intelligence is, meanwhile, transforming the gambling sector. 'If operators are using technology to target bettors, that technology can be used to promote healthy behaviors,' said Maynard. 'And I believe that a way that happens quicker is for regulators to get involved on the issue.'
But when regulations and restrictions are proposed on sports betting, from curbing bets on specific student athletes to bans on in-game betting, the industry's legal operators and their representatives often warn such measures will create friction for gamblers – and risk driving them to illegal, unregulated platforms.
Maynard has grown tired of this refrain. 'I don't like the unregulated market being used as the boogeyman to every operator for every reason,' he said. 'I don't want the legal market to race to be the illegal market. I want the illegal market to either not exist, or if it does exist, it's in a highly competitive space with what's regulated.'
'Some reasonable, rational friction is a good thing,' he added, citing the introduction of weapons detectors in casinos across Massachusetts.
'We did have to work on that. I mean, listen, it created friction. And we were told by the operators that it would create friction. I think a vast majority of patrons in Massachusetts would say that friction is well worth it to ensure that no guns hit the floor of the casino.'
On college campuses and even in high school classrooms nationwide, concern has risen over the prevalence of underage gambling. 'This is a good opportunity for the operators,' observed Maynard, who has welcomed some adverts funded by industry.
No one under the age of 21 in Massachusetts is supposed to wager on sports betting. 'I don't bury my head in the sand. I know that it's happening,' said Maynard. 'The question becomes: what can I do to ensure that it's not happening? And we are doing the best we can.'
'No kid wants to hear me lecture them on why they shouldn't be doing this,' he said. 'But you know, when the operators get involved … when athletes get involved, when the leagues get involved, I believe – and we're testing this, but I believe – that's where we can see some changes.'
Officials across the US have struggled to gauge the scope and scale of offshore, illegal sports betting. Some studies have indicated the black market is vast, despite the legal market's boom in recent years.
'We're going to have to play Whac-a-Mole a little bit,' said Maynard, 'to combat the illegal market, while promoting the fact that the legal market has protection and oversights by the state that the illegal market doesn't have.'
On this, and so many other issues, however, gambling regulators face an uphill battle. At times, Maynard sounded despondent. 'There are days I don't know if anyone cares about what we're doing,' he said, during one interview.
Regulators across the board 'are not being respected' right now, he suggested, saying: 'I think that trickles across and down. It can be as wide as the industry, and down to the average citizen.'
Ultimately, he believes the time has come to find gambling's speed limits and seat belts. 'When I lay down, I sleep really well,' he said.