MLB

As States Race to Launch Sports Betting, Calls Grow for Congress to Protect Games' Integrity

One senator said he would propose a bill to "protect honesty and principle in the athletic arena"

Many of the major U.S. sports leagues indicated Monday, after the Supreme Court struck down a law banning gambling on individual sporting events, that they would be willing to work on a legal framework, NBC News reported.

But some called on Congress to create a uniform set of rules, as did Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who said Monday he would propose a bill to "protect honesty and principle in the athletic arena."

Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court that Congress may choose to regulate sports gambling but states are free to do so if it doesn't. As many as 32 states have already prepared or are preparing legislation regulating sports gambling.

"Leagues want sports betting operators to be required to use league-approved sources of data for setting lines and bets," said Chris Grove, a gaming sector researcher. "And they want the power to be able to stop betting on minor leagues, where players are earning less money and are more vulnerable to bribes."

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