About an hour into the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s much-anticipated hearing on legalized sports betting Tuesday morning, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina turned to Committee Chair Dick Durbin of Illinois and said, anticipating that Durbin will no longer chair the committee when the next Congress begins in 2025, “I don’t think you’re going to get this solved before you pass the gavel over.”
Then, to chuckles from several in the room, he added, “I’m willing to bet on that, incidentally.”
In a wide-ranging discussion that touched on numerous sub-topics without drilling down in great depth on any of them, it was clear that most of the senators and expert witnesses were not looking for resolution during what was the final meeting of this particular committee in this 118th U.S. Congress.
The goal, rather, was to introduce the topic and perhaps set the stage for further conversation.
The timing of meeting seemed particularly inspired by the fact that two significant federal bills concerning gambling — the GRIT Act to combat gambling addiction, and the SAFE Bet Act to establish federal regulations on gambling companies — had been proposed but not acted on during the 2024 calendar year.
“It is critical,” Durbin said as he wrapped up his opening remarks, “that Congress look into sports betting’s impact on America and determine how the industry should be regulated going forward.”