The American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Sara Slane believes it is a “complete and utter fallacy” that an additional federal regulatory framework would protect the integrity of US Sport.
Slane, AGA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, discussed the benefits of state-by-state regulation at a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on sports betting last week.
Slane's testimony was backed up by Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Becky Harris, who suggested the success of Nevada’s regulatory system should be used as a blueprint for other states.
However, at the same hearing, the NFL testified the “integrity of sport” would be difficult to maintain without “federal oversight.”
Slane told Gambling Insider: “That is a complete and utter fallacy that, somehow, there needs to be some additional federal regulatory framework in place that the industry isn’t already complying with.
“What I tried to reiterate at the hearing was – if there’s something that the industry is not doing currently, per all the regulations that we have in place right now and the information that we share with the law enforcement community, we’re open to hearing what these suggestions are.”
Slane also emphasised the need for the AGA to educate federal regulators about the distinction between the legal and illegal gambling sectors.
She added: “We’ve got a lot of work to do as far as educating members of Congress about our industry is concerned, so they understand just how strictly regulated our industry is.
“I feel like we get painted with the illegal gambling operations brush and that’s not who we are. That’ll be incumbent upon us to ensure that members of Congress, again, understand just how regulated we are.”
Slane was speaking exclusively to Gambling Insider for the November/December issue. Sign up here to read the full interview when it is published.
