Rep. Kevin Kiley, a California independent who chairs a Congressional subcommittee that has held hearings about private equity’s affect in youth sports, has written a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanch and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to request an inquiry into gambling on the Little League World Series.
"The systematic exploitation of children is a genuine concern to myself and the members of my committee," Kiley wrote in his letter dated Sept. 4, which his office shared with USA TODAY Sports. "I’m reaching out today to request an investigation by your respective agencies so we can put an end to this obvious abuse, and if laws were broken to secure swift prosecution of the offending parties."
Kiley chairs the House Subcommittee
on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education on the House Committee on Education and Workforce. USA TODAY Sports recently shared with his office statements made by the brand manager of an offshore sportsbook that more users are betting on a Little League World Series matchup between teams from South Korea and Canada than on some Major League Baseball games.
According to the statement, there was "massive demand" for Little League World Series betting at offshore sportsbooks that are not beholden to U.S. sportsbook regulations and customer protections.
Kiley called the practice "deeply troubling" in late August and vowed to investigate it further.
"If your review determines no laws were broken, then I would be eager to work with your departments to explore statutory changes that could bring an end to his reprehensible business," he wrote in last week's letter to Blanch and Bessent.
Little League International has issued a statement two years in a row denouncing betting on its games.
Kiley shared the statement and a link to the recent USA TODAY article in his letter and cited how one offshore sportsbook has "skirted U.S. gambling laws," including offering "bets on individual children, such as how many strikeouts or home runs a specific player will have. Despite public criticism from parents and coaches, (it) has made clear it has no plans to stop. The company continues to offer odds on children’s games year after year."
Speaking to USA TODAY Sports in an interview about the letter, he said, "We have existing laws that may well be implicated as well, so that’s why we got the Department of Justice to look at it. … I hope that they will undertake an investigation to see whether laws have been broken now, what tools they have to bring this process to an end, and if it’s found that there’s no existing legal authority or tools to stop it then to work on appropriate legislation to provide that authority."
Kiley, who also serves on the House Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of the DOJ, said of the timetable for the next steps: "As soon as possible would be my preference."
The House subcommittee he chairs held hearings in December and July on private equity’s growing influence and privatization of youth sports. Kiley said his committee will also look further into gambling on youth sports. The judiciary committee or other committees could also look into the issue.
"A lot of times you’ll have a hearing, and then it provides sort of the foundation for legislation going forward, so that could be one route here," Kiley said. "I think it could be a hearing or part of a broader hearing and I’d love to see something done on it.
"Unfortunately, we don’t have many sessions left in this year but DOJ should get looking at this immediately. They have the power to do that. … I think the main step is asking DOJ to look into it and then explore what we might be able to do at committee level."
Kiley said there are a number of ways Congress can potentially try to get at this issue and if DOJ’s investigation reaches "the stage where additional authority is needed … we’d be looking into all possible avenues for finding the right solution."
Betting on Little League or youth sports is illegal in the U.S., according to the American Gaming Association. However, offshore sportsbooks and casinos aren’t subject to state gambling regulations.
Kiley says he also wants to determine how prevalent the practice of betting on kids sports is in the United States.
"Obviously, the Little League World Series is what has made this into an issue but I don’t see any reason why there should be a different standard for any youth sports when we’re talking about minors," he said. "Whether or not it’s truly widespread right now is something we’d want to nip in the bud. If it’s happening in the Little League World Series now then it can easily start happening with respect to other youth sports activities, so we want to make sure that that doesn’t happen."
A 2018 Supreme Court decision struck down a federal law banning sports betting in most states. That same year, the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, which analyzes the landscape of youth sports in regions around the country, found that 26% of youth surveyed in Mobile County, Alabama, said they have played in a game where adults bet money on who won or the final score.
Jon Solomon, Aspen Sports & Society’s director of research, wrote in the report that adults gambling on youth games was witnessed by both boys (33%) and girls (19%).
Kiley wondered how much gambling on minors is going on under the table.
"I think that’s part of what we’d want to look into as well and, of course, that’s an issue you see with all kinds of attempts to regulate gaming," he said. "There’s always the potential for some sort of black market to emerge. So we want to make sure that we are able to address that as well."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Kiley asks AG, treasury secretary to probe youth sports gambling
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