Excerpts from July 28, 1997 testimony of Jeff Pash, Executive Vice President for the National Football League, before Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and his Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information for the Senate Judiciary Committee, in support of S. 474 -- the Internet Gambling Protection Act.
The important legislation you have introduced, Mr. Chairman, reinforces the existing prohibitions against sports gambling set forth in Title 18 and the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (known as "PASPA"). It does so by strengthening the tools available to combat a growing and pernicious national problem -- illegal sports gambling conducted via the Internet, especially by offshore operations.
Since its inception, the National Football League has sought to protect the integrity of its games from the threat presented by sports gambling. Simply put, sports gambling breeds corruption and undermines the values our games represent -- especially for our youngest fans, for whom our players are heroes. We do not want our games or our players used as gambling bait, whether via the Internet or any other medium.
The League has in place strict policies regarding gambling. We prohibit both gambling on NFL games and associating with persons involved in sports gambling. Anyone who does so faces severe disciplinary action by the Commissioner. We have advised the television networks that neither sports gambling-related commercials nor the dissemination of point-spread information is acceptable on NFL game broadcasts. We post the NFL policy against gambling in every locker room at every League game.
Congress also has long recognized that gambling has no place in sports, professional or amateur. It is a Federal crime, under Section 1084 of Title 18, to use wire communication facilities in interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of sports gambling (except where such gambling is legal at both the transmitting and receiving ends); and Congress, in enacting the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, took the further important step of prohibiting any further legalization of sports betting by States or other governmental entities.
Despite these prohibitions, Internet sports gambling presents a serious and growing problem. While still more or less in its infancy, Internet sports gambling is already available throughout the world -- and therefore in the United States -- and is expanding rapidly. Analysts predict that Internet gambling overall has the potential to grow to $8.6 billion annually by the year 2000. It has been predicted that the Internet sports betting market in the United States will grow to three quarters of a billion dollars by then. And that is just the beginning.
Internet sites accessible from your home or office today offer our diverse society gambling opportunities not only in English but in a multitude of languages. Offshore Internet sites turn every personal computer into a twenty-four-hour-a-day unregulated casino, where Americans can lose their life savings with the mere click of a mouse. Gambling sites are designed to resemble video games, but the stakes are real.
The issue transcends the League's own interest in avoiding the problems associated with gambling. According to the Michigan Council on Problem Gambling, access to illegal sports gambling on the Internet dramatically increases the risk that people will become active pathological gamblers. The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that sports betting is among the most popular forms of gambling for compulsive gamblers in the United States.
Studies also indicate that sports betting is a growing problem for high school and college students, who develop serious problems with gambling as a result of sports betting. As the Internet reaches more and more school children, Internet gambling is certain to promote even more gambling among young people. Because no one stands at the door to the virtual casino checking I.D.s, our children have the means to gamble on the family computer after school.
Although Internet sports gambling clearly is prohibited by Title 18, we agree that it would be desirable to strengthen the tools available to enforce that prohibition.
To date, there are no reported prosecutions by the Justice Department of Internet-related violations of Section 1084. Several States have attempted to enforce State gambling laws against Internet gambling operations, but issues of jurisdiction consistently confront those attempting to enforce State gambling laws against servers located in other countries, particularly in countries where gambling operations are legal. As Wisconsin Attorney General Jim Doyle stated, "It's very difficult for the attorney general of Wisconsin or Missouri or Illinois to go after a casino that might be operating in the Caribbean."
The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1997 strengthens the tools available to enforce the existing prohibitions on sports gambling, including existing prohibitions against transmission of wire communications by Internet gambling operations located offshore. It recognizes that gambling of all types, including sports betting, has moved beyond the casino and the card room and into another realm.
In essence, the bill makes it more difficult for Internet gambling operations as well as the individuals who gamble on them to evade enforcement. It provides a much- needed civil enforcement mechanism that explicitly requires Internet service providers to discontinue service to gambling sites upon written notice from law enforcement. It specifically authorizes Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to seek prospective injunctive relief against continued use of the Internet for gambling purposes. And it expands criminal penalties to cover individuals who gamble on the Internet, not just those who operate Internet gambling sites.
Internet sports gambling threatens to become a serious national problem, especially for our young people. The longer we wait to treat it, the more damage it will do. We urge Congress to respond to the challenges of new technology by giving law enforcement authorities the tools they need to enforce a long-standing and clearly articulated national policy.
The Internet is an extraordinary and powerful communication tool. It is one that the NFL uses to disseminate information, and to communicate directly with fans. Like any means of communication, the Internet has the potential to be used for positive purposes, but it also has the potential for misuse. S. 474 will help ensure that the Internet will not be used as a means to violate Congress' long-standing policy against sports gambling.