Agreement upon integrity fees seemed to be a bit of a hold up when it came to casinos partnering with professional sports leagues. What exactly are integrity fees? Why was it worth fighting for?
According to the white paper written by Robin Bernhard, senior manager or marketing and education at BMM Testlabs, an integrity fee is “a tax on legal sports betting that goes to professional leagues or the governing bodies of different sports upon which bets are being made.”
Bernhard’s paper titled “Sports Betting and the 1% Integrity Fee Explained,” was written to shine a light on the proposed integrity fee. More specifically, he talks about “the concept as well as the origin of this idea, where integrity fees stand now and what questions vested interests might want to ask themselves.”
Furthermore, Bernhard brings to light important questions that leave room for additional debate:
- Would integrity fees hurt sportsbooks?
- Is any part of the integrity fee going to be reflected on to customers?
- Should a part of the fee be tied to revenue instead of handle?
- Is there any role leagues can play to earn part of the revenue from sports betting?
View the white paper here.