H.R. 2087 — SAFE Bet Act of 2025

This section prohibits any person from knowingly accepting a sports wager, except for (1) a sports wagering operator in a sports wagering opt-in state acting in accordance with state law, or (2) a person acting in accordance with applicable state social gambling law. It authorizes the Attorney General to seek injunctions in federal district courts (with jury trials available for violations of such injunctions) and imposes civil penalties of the greater of $10,000 or three times the amount of the sports wager for each violation, enforceable in district courts and U.S. territorial courts pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1355 (which provides district courts original jurisdiction over actions to recover fines and penalties under Acts of Congress). Such civil penalties are not criminal offenses and are independent of any criminal prosecutions under other federal laws (e.g., 18 U.S.C. 1084, 1955). The prohibition takes effect 18 months after enactment.

This section establishes an application process by which states may request approval from the Attorney General to administer a state sports wagering program, requiring a complete description of the program (including applicable state laws and the regulatory entity) and an assurance of adequate state legal authority. The Attorney General must approve a complete application within 180 days unless it fails to meet standards in section 103, with denials issued in writing specifying deficiencies; approvals are valid for a three-year period, subject to notice of material changes within 30 days, renewal applications, and regulations for emergency revocation and administrative review.

This section establishes standards that a state sports wagering program must meet for approval by the Attorney General under section 102, including (1) designation of a public state regulatory entity to oversee operators and enforce laws; and (2) requirements for permissible sports wagering, such as limiting in-person and internet wagering (with location verification) to state residents or interstate compact participants, prior approval of wagers by the entity based on verifiability and independence criteria, prohibitions on proposition bets for amateur events or intercollegiate sports (as defined in the Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act, 15 U.S.C. 7801), wagers on commenced events, reload bonuses, tiered rewards exceeding $5, and VIP programs linked to gambling activity. The section further requires states to permit sports organizations to request restrictions on wagers necessary to maintain contest integrity (i.e., to prevent reasonably foreseeable risks of outcome manipulation), with the regulatory entity required to promptly approve such requests unless unnecessary, provide public written explanations, and allow review.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct an annual nationwide survey on the scope of problem gambling and gambling-related harm from online sports betting, beginning no later than one year after enactment of this section. The survey must (1) assess rates and outcomes of online sports betting and rates of potential problem gambling using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (Ferris and Wynne, 2001) on a sample of online bettors over the prior 12 months and (2) publicly release summaries and analyses of the data; it must be conducted by qualified researchers independent of the gambling industry.

This section establishes a national self-exclusion list, to be maintained and administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in cooperation with state regulatory entities, for individuals who voluntarily restrict themselves from placing sports wagers—including by imposing wager limits—with sports wagering operators in any sports wagering opt-in state. The section further requires a process for individuals to add or remove themselves from the list and incorporates definitions of sports wager, sports wagering operator, and sports wagering opt-in state from the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act of 2025.

This section establishes a National Gambling Addiction Surveillance System within the Public Health Service Act. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in coordination with other agencies, must enhance and expand infrastructure to track the epidemiology of gambling addiction and incorporate such information into the surveillance system, which may consist of or include a registry. The section further requires the system, if established, to facilitate research on gambling addiction; to make information and analysis publicly available to researchers, subject to privacy protections under federal and state law; and to ensure personal privacy is protected.

This section provides that, for purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a sports wager made through an interactive sports wagering platform is deemed to occur at the physical location of the server or equipment accepting the wager. For such a wager accepted through a server on Indian lands, it is considered to occur exclusively on those lands if the wager and server are in the same state and the state and Indian tribe have a Tribal-State compact authorizing interactive sports wagering platforms. The section further states that it does not preempt or limit state or tribal authority to impose additional or more stringent sports wagering requirements and does not affect taxation of sports wagering by states, Indian tribes, or localities.

This section requires states and sports wagering operators to support federal efforts against unlicensed gaming facilities and platforms operating outside the United States that accept sports wagers from U.S. customers by promptly issuing cease and desist orders to any such facilities designated by the Attorney General.

This section establishes a severability clause providing that the invalidity of any provision of the Act, amendment made by the Act, regulation promulgated under the Act or an amendment, or its application to any person or circumstance does not affect the remainder, which shall continue to be enforced to the maximum extent practicable.