Nearly a year has elapsed since the American Gaming Association sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice urging the department to accelerate efforts to crack down on unregulated, offshore sportsbooks.
In the letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, AGA President and CEO Bill Miller outlined a series of measures that could be taken to diminish the influence of unregulated'sports betting websites that target customers in the U.S. Two years ago, Americans wagered more than $63.5 billion with illicit sportsbooks, according to AGA research, potentially depriving states of about $700 million in tax proceeds.
Since then, the Congressional Gaming Caucus followed suit, pressing the Justice Department to make a more concerted effort to combat offshore books. Last fall, federal prosecutors named former MLB All-Star Yasiel Puig as an alleged bettor in an illegal sports betting ring. Then, weeks later, Miller doubled down on his efforts and expressed optimism that an offshore sportsbook could be indicted in the U.S. in the not-too-distant future.
???? NEW: A quarter of American adults (68M) plan to wager $15.5B on this year's NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, according to AGA's latest survey.