LAS VEGAS — The casino industry’s largest lobbying group in the U.S. is ramping up its efforts to repeal a federal law that bans sports betting in most states.
Geoff Freeman is the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, which on Monday announced the creation of a coalition involving law enforcement, policymakers and others to advocate for the repeal. Freeman says the ban fuels the illegal sports betting market.
A 1992 federal law bans sports betting in every state except Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon.
Freeman says a recent survey commissioned by the organization shows there is strong bipartisan support nationwide for legal sports betting.
The association says 97 percent of the more than $15 billion that Americans bet on this year’s Super Bowl and the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was done illegally.