Federal scrutiny of the US sports betting market is set to increase next month, with a Senate Commerce subcommittee scheduling a hearing on May 20th to examine whether current safeguards remain sufficient as legal wagering expands across the country.
The hearing, convened by Senator Marsha Blackburn (pictured), Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology and Data Privacy, will focus on the growth of sports betting since the 2018 repeal of PASPA and the effect of that expansion on sporting integrity.
The Senate Commerce Committee said the session will also consider the rise of prediction markets and recent cases involving athlete performance manipulation and the misuse of insider information.
Ted Cruz, Committee Chairman, said recent incidents had raised questions over whether existing protections were adequate to preserve confidence in competition. Blackburn said lawmakers needed a clearer understanding of how betting platforms operate, how oversight should evolve and how exposure to betting among younger audiences should be addressed.
Witnesses scheduled to appear include AGA President & CEO, Bill Miller, Tennessee Sports Wagering Council Executive Director, Mary Beth Thomas, Integrity Compliance 360 Co-Founder & CEO, Scott Sadin, and Patrick McHenry, Senior Adviser to the Coalition for Prediction Markets.
The hearing is notable because it brings traditional sportsbook regulation and newer event contract markets into the same policy discussion. That reflects a broader shift in Washington, where lawmakers are no longer looking only at tax revenue and market growth, but at whether integrity controls are keeping pace with product expansion and product convergence.
For operators, leagues and suppliers, the session will be closely watched for any signal that Congress is moving towards a tougher federal posture on betting oversight, prediction markets and sport specific integrity protections.
