Consortium of Universities of the & Washington Metropolitan Area 1020 19" Street NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20036 (202) 331-8080 May 14, 2019 Beth Bresnahan Executive Director Office of Lottery and Charitable Games 2235 Shannon Place SE Washington, DC 20020 Dear Director Bresnahan: The Consortium of Universities (Consortium) is a nonprofit educational association of 17 member colleges and universities in the Washington Metropolitan Area that is committed to the advancement of higher education and includes members that serve nearly 290,000 students. As a higher education partnership, the Consortium is one of the world’s foremost educational collaborative, and represents one of the largest single non-governmental employment sectors in the District, and one of the largest in the region. We write on behalf of the members listed below regarding the recent legalization of sports wagering in the District of Columbia. Title Ill of the Sports Wagering Lottery Amendment Act of 2018 (Sports Wagering Act) provides that the Office of Lottery and Gaming (DC Lottery) shall be responsible for rules and regulations to “ensure fair and honest play in sports wagering and to protect the economic welfare and interests of the District and participants of sports wagering ...” To this end, the Consortium strongly opposes both legal and illegal sports wagering on amateur sports contests in the District because it jeopardizes the welfare of our student-athletes and exposes students and the intercollegiate athletics community to undue influence. We respectfully request that the DC Lottery include language in DC's regulations governing sports wagering to prohibit the acceptance of any wagers or proposition bets on any amateur sports or athletic events (including those with collegiate or university teams), that take place in the District; or on any amateur sports or athletic event in which any District, school, college or university team participates Each year, the District attracts tens of thousands of students from every state in the US and from hundreds of countries around the globe. We feature world-renowned urban campuses that are woven into the District economy, culture, and community. DC's regulations must lead the way and include protections for our student athletes. College and university policies alone are insufficient to protect our student athletes and athletic communities. The authority of university policies, prohibitions, and penalties are limited to the students and staff for that particular institution, and universities have limited ability to take action with respect to activities that occur off campus. “American University + The Catholic University of America «Gallaudet Univesity » George Maton Univraty «The George Washington University {Georgetown University + Howard Unwersty = Marymount University «Montgomery Colle = Norther virginia Community College» Prince George's Commursty College Tiity Washington Univesity = Univesity of the Oise of Columbia Univesty of Mar nd College arkThe monetization of student-athletes through legalized sports wagering will expose collegiate athletes and their community of classmates, friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors to the Pressures of a gambling industry. The negative effects of this monetization grows exponentially with the legalization of proposition bets — bets made regarding the occurrence or non- occurrence of any event related to the game. Bets on a student athlete's anticipated number of Points scored have the effect of placing every aspect of that student's life under pressure and public scrutiny - exam results, sleep schedules, and all private information could carry a dollar value. In the context of professional athletes, this may be understood and better withstood, but certainly not for amateur student-athletes. Our students are deeply engaged in the greater DC community and actively live, work, and volunteer throughout the city. Regulations by DC are necessary in order to ensure their welfare and privacy. ‘A number of college and university athletics events take place outside of campus boundaries, ‘An example of this would be Georgetown University's men’s basketball program, which hosts their home games at Capital One Arena. The Sports Wagering Act specifically states that Capital One Arena is eligible for a sports wagering facility within that location. The Consortium does not take a position on the larger issue of sports wagering, but is deeply concerned about both the appearance and deleterious effect of wagering that will take place in such close proximity to college and university athletic events, our student fans, and student athletes. Finally, we would highlight for you that the legalization of sports wagering is still an emerging Public policy issue; however, jurisdictions have already recognized the need to protect student- athletes and have taken steps to enact rules that prohibit wagering on amateur sports. Examples of this on the East Coast already include Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. We urge the DC Lottery to take the steps necessary to protect the welfare of our student- athletes, ‘Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, C John C. Cavanaugh President and CEO