City of Philadelphia
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Legalized sports betting has swept through states across the U.S., reshaping fans’ and athletes’ relationship to their favorite pastimes along the way.
In 2025, Americans wagered a record $165 billion on sports.
And during the last 18 months, federal authorities have indicted a pair of Major League Baseball pitchers, former NBA players and coaches, and Division I college basketball players in separate schemes to rig the outcomes of games.
In response to those scandals, a U.S. Senate subcommittee has planned a hearing for Wednesday to examine the impact that the gambling industry’s growth has had on the integrity of professional sports.
Some of the individuals who are scheduled to testify in the Russell Senate Office Building are affiliated with the industry: the president of the American Gaming Association, a senior adviser to the Coalition of Prediction Markets, the executive director of a sports wagering council.
Senators will also hear from Harry Levant, a former Philadelphia attorney who has emerged as an incisive critic of the close relationship between sports leagues and gambling companies.
“The American public needs to understand how the leagues have monetized their data, and have monetized their relationship with gambling companies,” Levant said during a recent interview. “And they’re doing it on the backs of younger and younger Americans.”
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