Two legislative bills have been introduced in Illinois that look to curb the use of artificial intelligence and introduce mandatory affordability checks.
Senator Bill Cunningham introduced two brief bills, SB 2398 and SB 2399, which have both been referred to the State Assignments Committee.
The Illinois Senator’s proposals are taken directly from the SAFE Bet Act, which aimed to create federal oversight of sports betting. It suggested limitations on the number of deposits, mandatory affordability checks, and limited utilization of AI, all appearing in the two bills.
What’s in SB 2398 and SB 2399?
The full text of SB 2398 seeks to amend the state’s Sports Wagering Act. It would “prohibit a sports wagering licensee from using artificial intelligence to track the wagers of an individual; create an offer or promotion targeting a specific individual; or create a gambling product such as a microbet.”
A microbet is defined as a wager placed on “an outcome or occurrence within a sporting event which may or may not be related to the ultimate result of the sporting event.”
A micro bet is considered in the industry as a bet on a specific play in an NFL match. In contrast, Cunningham’s definition seems to broadly define any in-play bet generated by artificial intelligence.
SB 2399 would make affordability checks mandatory for operators whose customers meet certain conditions. First, it would prohibit any licensee from accepting more than five deposits, regardless of amount, from an individual during a 24-hour period.
Secondly, deposits made by credit cards would become prohibited in Illinois.
Finally, a sports betting operator in the Prairie State would be required to conduct an affordability check before accepting deposits from customers of more than $1,000 within 24 hours or $10,000 within 30 days.
The affordability check would require verification that the intended deposit amount is no greater than 25% of the monthly income of the person trying to make the deposit.
Alternatively, the bill states “verification through a reasonable lender standard based the issuance of an unsecured loan for the proposed deposit through methods normally used by consumer lenders.”
Massachusetts Senator Pushes for Even Tighter Gambling Regulations
Senator Cunningham is not the first to propose affordability checks on a state level, either. Massachusetts’ Sen. John Keenan filed SD 1657, titling it “An Act addressing economic, health and social harms caused by sports betting.”
Keenan is a vociferous opponent of online sports betting and proposes banning in-play and proposition bets (regardless of AI involvement), prohibiting advertisements during live sporting events, and restricting compensation structures for affiliates and/or operators.
For the second time in as many years, he proposes raising the sports betting tax rate in Massachusetts from 20 percent to 51 percent, matching that of New York.
In addition, Keenan’s bill would legislate monthly wagering capped at 15% of the customer’s bank balance.
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