Sponsor
Donald J. Bacon
Representative · R-NE
Representative · R-NE
The bill strengthens federal prohibition on gambling tied to animal fighting to deter cruelty and related crime, at the cost of creating new criminal exposure for bettors, raising enforcement expenses, and inviting jurisdictional legal disputes.
Law enforcement: gains a clearer federal prohibition that makes it easier to prosecute and deter animal-fighting-related gambling.
Animals and local communities: cutting off a revenue stream for animal fighting may reduce animal cruelty and the harms those events cause.
Local communities and participants: people who would otherwise attend or bet on animal fights face reduced exposure to illegal gambling and associated criminal activity.
People who bet on animal fights: could face new criminal liability for conduct not previously explicitly banned under §2156.
Law enforcement and taxpayers: enforcing the expanded prohibition may require additional local and federal resources, increasing costs.
People who gamble and state/local governments: ambiguities about out-of-state or online/broadcast gambling could prompt legal challenges over jurisdiction and scope.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Explicitly makes gambling on animal fighting ventures (in-person or broadcast) unlawful under federal law, expanding existing animal-fighting prohibitions.
Official title: To amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit gambling on animal fighting ventures, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 11, 2026 by Donald J. Bacon · Last progress May 11, 2026
Makes it a federal crime to gamble on animal fighting ventures, adding explicit prohibition of in-person and broadcast gambling tied to dogfights, cockfights, and similar events to existing federal animal fighting laws. The bill revises the statutory heading and inserts a new subsection to clarify that wagering on animal fighting ventures is unlawful while keeping other existing prohibitions in place.