Abstract
The theme of this month's Editor's Notes is, get it right the first time. One of the top issues the U.S. gambling industry will need to grapple with in the coming months and years is clarity, or better said, lack thereof. Anyone reading this knows how varied, complex, and contradictory gaming laws can be. Add to that the frenetic pace of legalized sports betting in the U.S., and you have a recipe for disaster, and an additional murky layer of regulations isn't helping.
Is it any wonder U.S. sports betting operators don't know what type of marketing is and isn't allowed? Whether it's Barstool's “Can't Lose Parlays” or Fanatics offering free bets to customers who purchase merchandise, operators are in a difficult position.
Further complicating factors, 12 months ago, using terms like “risk-free bet” was commonplace, as were partnerships between sportsbooks and colleges. In a rush to legalize and launch, states failed to consider the ends operators would go to as they fought for market share and instead quibbled about tax rates and whether they should prohibit betting on in-state college teams.
Now some states are trying to correct and clarify. They are finding that it is much easier to build something correctly from the start than go in and try to solve issues after the fact. The corrections add layers of complexity or conflict with other aspects of the laws and regulations, resulting in more problems to be fixed.
That should be a lesson for the dozen or so states that haven't passed sports betting laws or the 43 states that may pass online poker or online casino laws. Get it right the first time.