There will be congressional hearings examining the expansion of legalized and regulated sports betting later in 2017 with legislation to follow in 2018, American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman promised the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City Thursday morning.
“I do expect hearings later this year,” Freeman said in a keynote address, noting that 2017 is the 25th anniversary of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which effectively bars sports betting outside of Nevada. “We will assure that there are hearings this year asking the question ‘What’s happened over the past 25 years?’”
Freeman went on to give more detail of his organization’s strategy and its projected timeline of impressing the issue on Congress.
“Next year [2018] is the year when I see legislation being introduced; when I see progress beginning to be made being made in a public fashion on Capitol Hill,” he said, adding that he is eying 2019 as the likely breakthrough year.
“Will anything get done in 2018? Doubtful. 2019 is a much more likely year – the midterm elections are over, it’s a much more likely year for something to get done,” he continued.
Freeman said after the address that the 2017 hearings will likely take place after the August recess.
The AGA’s efforts received a boost Thursday morning when Frank Pallone, a congressman from New Jersey who has been outspoken about repealing PASPA, introduced draft legislation that would accomplish that end.
Freeman’s remarks came in a keynote address before the 21st East Coast Gaming Congress, a gathering of industry stakeholders at Harrah’s Atlantic City.
He called 2016 the most monumental year in the history of the gaming industry, and cited the emergence of two professional sports teams in Las Vegas, the hosting of a presidential debate at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and a former casino owner being elected president as indicators that the industry’s public image has improved.
Other key wins at the federal level included beating back a proposal by the Internal Revenue Service to lower the slot machine tax-reporting threshold and thwarting an effort to crack down on resort fees charged to hotel customers in Las Vegas.
Freeman emphasized that this improved image and the emerging unity within the gaming industry – particularly the convergence between the tribal and commercial segments – has positioned casinos to take a more offensive approach on public policy issues.
“The key is that this industry is better positioned than it’s ever been, not to be on our heels but to get on our toes, to go on offense,” he said.
