Sponsor
Michael Baumgartner
Representative · R-WA
Representative · R-WA
The bill trades stronger federal protections for student‑athletes and a clearer national enforcement posture to reduce corruption and protect sport integrity against reduced state control, new compliance costs, potential market impacts on sportsbooks, and privacy/regulatory uncertainty.
Student-athletes (current and prospective) would face reduced pressure and exploitation tied to in‑game proposition bets, protecting their integrity, safety, and future careers.
College sports programs and ordinary bettors would face lower risk of match‑manipulation, corruption, and integrity harms to competitions.
Creates a clearer federal enforcement framework (including FTC authority) and national standard that can simplify cross‑state enforcement and reduce loopholes for institutions and regulators.
Federal preemption of betting rules could reduce states' ability to set gambling policy and capture related tax/revenue, limiting state flexibility and funding options.
Colleges, conferences, and betting operators will incur compliance costs and may lose revenue if covered prop markets are removed or changed; those costs could be passed to consumers or require enforcement resources.
Ambiguities in definitions (e.g., scope of 'student‑athlete' or what constitutes a covered prop) could trigger litigation and regulatory uncertainty for sportsbooks, schools, and regulators.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits betting businesses from accepting proposition wagers on actions or achievements by student-athletes and authorizes FTC enforcement as unfair or deceptive practices.
Official title: To prohibit proposition bets made with respect to the performance of a student athlete, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 25, 2025 by Michael Baumgartner · Last progress February 25, 2025
Prohibits betting businesses from accepting proposition bets on actions or achievements by student-athletes in intercollegiate sporting events and gives the Federal Trade Commission authority to enforce that prohibition as an unfair or deceptive practice. The law defines covered prop bets, student-athletes, and intercollegiate sporting events and treats violations as FTC Act violations enforceable with the FTC’s full remedies. The measure applies nationwide to any person or entity in the business of wagering, bases federal authority on interstate commerce effects of sports betting, and aims to protect student-athlete welfare and competitive integrity by removing a specific class of wagers from legal betting markets.