What it does: Prohibits operators from offering or accepting any sports wager placed after a sporting event begins, requiring that all wagers be placed pre-game (before the opening whistle/pitch/tipoff).
Sources
$10,000–$25,000 per in-game wager accepted is a workable baseline; consider
escalation for systemic failures, repeat violations, or failures during high-viewership events.
12 months of logs showing market open/close times and
accepted wager timestamps for each event.
60–90 days is typically sufficient for market-closure logic, data
provider integration, and compliance testing.
CASPR is available for legal and technical support adapting this bill to specific state contexts.
Download as Word .docxA BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO SPORTS WAGERING; PROHIBITING IN-GAME (IN-PLAY) WAGERING AFTER A
SPORTING EVENT BEGINS; REQUIRING MARKET-CLOSURE CONTROLS AND AUDIT LOGS;
PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT, CIVIL PENALTIES, AND RULEMAKING; AND PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF [STATE]:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "In-Game Sports Wagering Prohibition Act".
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) "Commission" means the [STATE GAMING COMMISSION] or successor agency.
(2) "Operator" means a person licensed or otherwise authorized under [STATE LAW] to
conduct sports wagering in this State, including retail and mobile sports wagering.
(3) "Sports event" means a professional, collegiate, Olympic, or other athletic event,
match, or contest, including any portion, period, or statistic of such event.
(4) "Event start time" means the moment a Sports event begins, as determined by:
(A) an official league/organizer start signal; or
(B) a Commission-approved independent data provider timestamp;
and includes any later "restart" after a suspension of play, if the Commission so
specifies by rule.
(5) "In-game wager" means a Sports wager that is:
(A) placed, accepted, modified, or increased after the Event start time for the
Sports event to which the wager relates; and
(B) offered or accepted while the Sports event is ongoing.
The term includes in-play bets, "live" bets, microbets, and any product that allows a
patron to place or adjust a wager during a Sports event, including "cash out" or
partial cash out features, to the extent they function as a new or modified wager.
(6) "Sports wager" has the meaning given in [STATE SPORTS WAGERING LAW].
SECTION 3. PROHIBITION ON IN-GAME WAGERING.
(a) Prohibition. An Operator shall not offer, advertise, accept, or facilitate an In-game wager
from a person located in this State.
(b) Pre-game wagers permitted. Nothing in this Act prohibits an Operator from offering or
accepting a Sports wager placed before the Event start time, provided that no additional
wagering, modification, or increase occurs after the Event start time.
(c) Market closure required. An Operator shall ensure that wagering markets for a Sports event
are closed to new wagers before the Event start time and remain closed for the duration of
the Sports event.
(d) No circumvention. An Operator shall not offer any feature that allows a patron to:
(1) add to, increase, edit, or re-price a Sports wager after the Event start time; or
(2) engage in any functionally equivalent in-event wagering mechanism,
including through a "cash out" product, to the extent it constitutes a new or modified wager.
(e) Settlement and error correction permitted. Nothing in this Act prohibits an Operator from:
(1) settling, grading, voiding, canceling, or refunding a wager; or
(2) making non-wagering account adjustments necessary to correct an error, resolve a dispute,
or comply with law,
provided that the Operator does not offer or accept any In-game wager.
SECTION 4. COMPLIANCE CONTROLS; RECORDKEEPING.
(a) Controls required. Each Operator shall implement technical and operational controls designed
to reasonably prevent acceptance of In-game wagers, including:
(1) automated market-closure triggers based on Event start time signals;
(2) conservative closure defaults when start time is uncertain or data is delayed; and
(3) monitoring and alerts for any wager accepted after Event start time.
(b) Logs. Each Operator shall maintain auditable logs for each Sports event offered for wagering,
including:
(1) Event start time source and timestamp;
(2) market open/close timestamps; and
(3) all wager acceptance timestamps and any attempted in-game wager rejections.
(c) Reporting. An Operator shall report to the Commission any confirmed acceptance of an In-game
wager within [24] hours, in a form prescribed by Commission rule, including a root-cause
analysis and corrective action plan.
SECTION 5. ENFORCEMENT; PENALTIES; RULEMAKING.
(a) License condition. Compliance with this Act is a condition of licensure.
(b) Civil penalties. The Commission may impose a civil penalty of up to [$25,000] per violation.
Each In-game wager accepted constitutes a separate violation.
(c) Rulemaking. The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this Act, including rules:
(1) defining Event start time signals and approved data sources;
(2) clarifying the treatment of event suspensions, delays, and multi-day events;
(3) specifying minimum compliance controls and audit log standards; and
(4) specifying reporting, recordkeeping, and testing requirements.
SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or its application is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect
other provisions or applications of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application.
SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act takes effect on [DATE].