The Washington Post is reaffirming its stance that legalizing sports gambling in the United States has harmed society and has not fulfilled the benefits that its advocates claimed a regulated sports betting industry would provide. 

The WaPo Editorial Board ranks as one of the most powerful opinion groups in the nation. The third-biggest newspaper in the United States and the most widely distributed paper in the Capital Beltway area is not supportive of legal sports betting. 

In a Monday editorial titled, “Legalizing Sports Betting Was a Bad Gamble,” the 11 editors collectively expressed their dissent against the spread of legal, regulated sportsbooks nationwide.

"With societal ills and sports scandals on the rise, Congress should rein in the betting industry,” the editorial opined.

The article argues that sportsbooks have been negligent in focusing on regular gamblers who experience more losses than victories. Those who win often face restrictions or bans. 

“Legalized sports betting was supposed to enable gambling companies to identify and weed out problem bettors. Instead, the opposite has happened: High rollers who lose are targeted and courted as VIPs, showered with quick credit and other perks, and encouraged to gamble more — to ‘chase’ their losses, in industry parlance. Those who actually win big get limits imposed on how much they can bet,” the editorial read. 

Severe Evaluation 

In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that PASPA — the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act — breached the anti-commandeering principles of the Constitution. The crucial ruling granted states the authority to determine whether sports betting is permitted. 

The gaming industry has successfully persuaded lawmakers and/or voters in 39 states and Washington, D.C. Their argument was that legal sports betting would eliminate the black market, generate new jobs and tax revenue, enhance bettor protection with consumer safeguards, and support professional sports by boosting fan engagement. The Post claims the excitement has mostly been a disappointment. 

“Many promised benefits, such as eliminating illegal betting, have been more modest than expected or have not materialized. State tax receipts from legal gambling have varied but often disappointed,” the editorial continued.

“Scandals have tainted professional sports. One out of three high-profile college athletes reports receiving abuse,” the opinion added. 

WaPo: Action from Congress Required 

The Post editorial asserts that Congress needs to take action.

"There has been little or no movement in Congress since September 2018, when Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) warned at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing that ‘there are some people who will get hurt, and hurt very badly’ if Congress fails to act. It shouldn’t take another six years for those concerns, finally, to be heeded — and translated into national reform,” the editorial concluded.

That statement isn't completely correct, since Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) SAFE Bet Act had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month. The law aims to establish a set of federal regulations for the sports betting sector. 

They comprise a prohibition on sports betting advertisements from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and while live sports events are airing, “affordability assessments” for high-volume gamblers, and a restriction on using credit cards to finance online sportsbook accounts.