1 Sens Seek Answers to Curb Match Fixing At D.C. Sports Betting Hearing

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Sens Seek Answers To Curb Match Fixing At D.C. Sports Betting Hearing

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Richard Durbin talks with Sen. Thom Tillis before a federal hearing ... [+] on sports betting wagering. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In preparation for Tuesday's federal hearing on sports betting, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn discovered an alarming pattern on the prevalence of unlawful sports betting wagering amongst transnational criminal companies.

With low overhead and less risks than other major offenses, sports betting wagering has actually become the criminal offense of choice for a wide variety of syndicates. As a result, illegal foreign wagering markets have actually emerged as the ideal places for the schemes, with research studies showing that up to 10% of the mob income is consisted of from wagers on sports betting, Blackburn noted at the hearing.

As the U.S. sports betting wagering market comes to grips with three major scandals over the last 12 months, Blackburn is pressing the Justice Department to use every tool at its disposal to safeguard the integrity of sports betting from bad actors embedded in organized crime.

"We know the U.S. will become the epicenter for sports betting with the World Cup in '26 and the Olympics in '28," she declared, before asking on the guardrails that can be developed to fight match fixing in the domestic market.
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An identified push by the federal government to split down on match fixing might be an opening salvo in the fight to subdue the effective existence of the prohibited offshore market.

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A Trifecta Of Scandals

Blackburn, a republican from Tennessee, made the remarks at a hearing entitled "America's High-Stakes Bet on Legalized sports betting Gambling," the first Congressional hearing on the topic in 6 years. The hearing happened approximately one month after reports emerged that federal authorities are examining whether previous Temple guard Hysier Miller positioned wagers on his team last season.
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While Miller is the only player named publicly in the probe, there are indicators that a minimum of five Division I college basketball programs are under investigation. In written testament provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the NCAA restated that monitoring integrity issues over match-fixing, point-shaving, expert information and other schemes represents a major focus. The NCAA began monitoring approximately 13,000 matches in 2018, a figure that has just recently been broadened to 22,000 every year.

Following his appearance inside the Senate Dirksen Building, Baker gushed that the NCAA runs the biggest integrity program worldwide, with the capability to "act upon any unusual traffic," as quickly as it is discovered. When asked if the investigation has captured anybody beyond Temple, Baker decreased to comment on the case. He also declined to elaborate whether Miller has actually been cleared of point shaving.

The matter is not the only one that has actually been referred to federal law enforcement. Over the summer season, California bookmaker Matt Bowyer pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including running an illegal sports betting operation and transactional cash laundering. Bowyer's sports betting wagering ring more than $325 million in wagers from Ippei Mizuhara, according to a federal complaint.

Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, is accused of embezzling more than $16 million from the MLB star to repay his gambling debts. As of April, Mizuhara had bottom lines of $40.2 million with the ring, the complaint states.

At the height of operations, the Bowyer Gambling company consisted of a minimum of 700 sports betting clients, according to federal police officials, with a number of the wagers transferred offshore through a Costa Rican call center. Separately, Bowyer lost at least $7.9 million at Resorts World Las Vegas, a multi-billion dollar gambling establishment under investigation for supposed anti-money laundering deficiencies.

A well-known whale wagerer, Bowyer is now blacklisted at practically every casino worldwide. Shortly after the 2008 Financial Crisis, Bowyer befriended Owen Hanson, an international drug kingpin and previous USC football walk-on, ESPN reported this spring. Hanson described Bowyer as a "bookie buddy," in The California Kid, an autobiography launched on Black Friday.

The former Trojans tight end received a 21-year prison sentence in 2017 for running a stretching illegal sports betting wagering, drug trafficking, and money laundering business through his association with a Mexican cartel. Hanson was launched to a California halfway home this winter season.

Earlier this month, Blackburn and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto sent a letter to the Department of Justice, looking for verification if there are any U.S. match fixing cases with links to orderly criminal offense. Citing a research study from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, professionals estimated in 2014 that that $140 billion is laundered annually through illegal and uncontrolled sport sports betting, a quantity that has undoubtedly grown, the senators wrote.

Blackburn pushed former New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck on if states are partnering with the leagues and other stakeholders to fight match fixing. Rebuck responded that he is positive that they are on the ideal course due in part to a huge investment in identifying wicked activity.

"In this market, you need to never ever be confident with the status quo - you must constantly want to new ways and technologies that allow for details to be shared and for danger evaluations to be carried out," Rebuck said.

Former Raptors center Jontay Porter at first faced a sentencing hearing today on federal wire charges. Porter admitted to leaving an NBA video game early, then conspiring with a distribute manipulate the result of an Exact same Game Parlay (SGP). The small East coast ring won around $1.1 million on an $80,000 SGP on Porter, an amount that was reportedly frozen by a top industrial sportsbook. Porter and the other co-conspirators are now set up to be sentenced in May.

Other Takeaways From The Hearing

-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin opened his ready remarks with an anecdote from last year's NCAA competition. North Carolina center Armando Bacot scored 18 points and took down seven rebounds in the Tar Heels' 85-69 win over Michigan State. But Bacot did not grab enough to make to "ensure bettors' bets settle," Durbin mused. Shortly after the game, Bacot got about 100 messages from troubled wagerers, upset that he missed out on the over.

-Baker advised the committee to enact a federal restriction on player props including college professional athletes. The hearing assembled several months after Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D - Connecticut) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D - New York) introduced the SAFE Bet Act, a bill that seeks to develop federal very little requirements on marketing, price, and the use of A.I. in tracking wagerers.

-Effective treatment for sports betting bettors with a gaming dependency represented among the primary themes of the hearing. In written testimony, the National Council on Problem Gambling provided research study that showed for every dollar states have actually generated from industrial gaming,.0009 cents were bought issue gambling services. One alternative is to re-direct funds from the federal excise tax on sports betting wagering to address a growing public health concern. "By devoting a part of the excise tax to dealing with gambling addiction, we can conserve lives, and all without imposing a brand-new tax," said Brianne Doura-Schawohl, founder of Doura-Schawohl Consulting, LLC, a boutique government relations company. "This solution is the most accountable and fair thing to do." Doura-Schawohl is one of the nation's primary consultants on the subject.

-North Carolina senator Thom Tillis is open to designate an independent commission to study locations for potential federal oversight of sports betting wagering. The committee might be tasked with producing certain guardrails for states that would need them to adhere to "certain rules of the road," Tillis stated. Baker later praised Tillis for his stance, informing press reporters that the senator provided a "home run."

-Rebuck, however, disagreed with the property for federal oversight. Rebuck showed that states have a large range of alternatives readily available when it comes to crafting markets to enable legal, regulated sportsbooks to complete against overseas sites. Ultimately, the states have an interest in making certain that customers are protected, he added. "There is no reason to believe the federal government is more suited to balance the tradeoffs associated with hundreds of regulatory choices much better than private states," he told the committee.

Lame Duck Session

The hearing occurred at a curious time, eight days before Christmas during a lame duck session. Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner who penned a 2014 editorial advocating for legal sports betting, did not testify on Tuesday. In truth, none of the leading commissioners from North America's top sports betting leagues spoke before the committee.

Some argued that the hearing lacked balance, as the witness list did not include a single participant from the sports betting wagering market.
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"This unfortunate exclusion leaves the Committee and the total proceeding bereft of testament on how legal gaming safeguards consumers from the predatory unlawful market and its leadership in promoting accountable video gaming and securing stability," said Joe Maloney, vice president of tactical interactions at the American Gaming Association. "We remain committed to robust state regulatory frameworks that secure customers, promote duty, and protect integrity of athletic competition."

Durbin, the Majority Whip since 2021, chaired his last SJC hearing before next month's leadership change. Durbin is unsure if efforts to develop a federal framework will advance next year. But he informed press reporters that there's a "feeling on both sides of the table that we need to resolve," significant concerns in sports betting wagering. Neither Lindsay Graham, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, nor Chuck Grassley went to Tuesday's hearing.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's preliminary focus will be to hold hearings on President-elect Trump's nominees, in addition to to tackle procedures associating with migration and child safety online, a representative for Grassley told me. Additional hearing topics will appear as the 119th Congress continues.
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Grassley, 91, is set to presume the mantle from Durbin.

" I do not think you will get this resolved before you pass the gavel," Tillis told Durbin at the hearing. "I'm willing to bank on that."

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