U.S. Senator Katie Britt Leads Bipartisan Effort Urging Department of Justice to Act on Illegal Offshore Gaming Operations Harming America’s Youth

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Katie Britt, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, led 11 of her colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take robust action on illegal offshore gaming operations. The letter is also led by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

"We write regarding the concerning use of illegal offshore gaming operations by America's youth, and to ask the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to take action to protect young people from these illegal gaming operations," wrote the Senators.

The Senators continued, "Illegal offshore gaming operations allow minors to engage in unregulated sports betting and gaming with no oversight, unlike legal domestic gaming operations. These illegal offshore gaming operations expose young people to numerous harms, including by permitting them to gamble without age verification, on credit, and offering no resources for gambling addictions. Young people, including minors, are increasingly gambling, and illegal offshore gaming operations prey on them for profit."

Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Thom Tillis, (R-N.C.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senators Britt and Blumenthal in signing the letter.

The letter goes on to cite 50 state attorneys general who also wrote to the DOJ earlier this year requesting the Department use their authority under the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act to block access to illegal offshore gaming operations.

In the letter, the Senators request an assessment of illegal offshore gaming operations that have been successfully targeted by DOJ, an assessment of ongoing efforts, how these operations target America's youth, and what steps Congress can take to combat this growing problem.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

In a recent Senate Judiciary hearing, Senator Britt asked Attorney General Pam Bondi about illegal offshore gaming operations targeting minors and received her commitment to working with the Senator to protect minors from this growing and widespread problem.

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