Almost every time you place a bet at a sportsbook, they charge you a commission (and you might not even realize it). This commission goes by many names in the sports betting lexicon, the most common terms being “vigorous”, “big” and “juice”. An integrity commission, then, would send a fixed amount of bets from sportsbooks to leagues, regardless of the sportsbook's revenue landscape. With a commission of 1% and a retention of 5%, an integrity commission of one percent would be equivalent to approximately 20% of the revenues that would go to leagues.
In the initial stages of the legalization of sports betting, professional sports leagues competed for the implementation of “integrity fees” that would be paid to professional sports leagues, essentially as compensation for the increase of anti-corruption police within the league. While this idea didn't gain momentum, three states (Illinois, Michigan and Tennessee) have included requirements for sports betting operators to use official league data to set odds for certain types of bets (usually in-game betting). The ruling was welcomed with joy by supporters across the country, who hope it will usher in an era of online sports betting in which residents of every state can legally and comfortably bet on all types of sports, from the Super Bowl to NCAA squash games. None of the states that have passed laws on sports betting have included the integrity fees payable to sports entities.
In Nevada, where the country's most mature sports betting market is located, most major sportsbooks allow bettors to deposit funds into a prepaid account or card at the sportsbook with a credit card, but this can result in high fees. Integrity rates, as proposed in some states, are basically taxes on legal sports betting. Making some transactions won't entail a lot of fees, but it can add up if you want to place a lot of bets over the course of a year. This means that the player will be charged a commission that is usually 5% of the amount and will immediately accumulate interest of up to 25% on that cash advance without the usual grace period.
Credit cards issued by Chase can now be used to place bets at online early deposit betting companies. For example, a sportsbook may offer lower commissions when placing basketball bets, but higher rates when placing soccer bets. This may surprise bettors who have gotten used to using their credit cards to place bets on popular daily fantasy sports leagues, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. The Interstate Horse Racing Act, which has been in effect since 1978, allows betting on legal and regulated horse races both in the state where the race is held and in the state where the bet is being held.
Given the convenience offered by credit cards to consumers, most sports bettors will wonder if they can place their bets with credit cards. An integrity fee, as proposed, would impose management taxes at a rate of 1%, payable to each league in which sports betting was made.
