Does anyone feel safer because Alcohol Beverage Control Department agents busted the Super Bowl betting pool at the Valley Hi Country Club in Elk Grove and confiscated $1,800 in money wagered?
Judging by the public reaction to date, the answer is a resounding “no.” People are outraged and justifiably so. Clearly, there are more pressing enforcement actions that should deserve the attention of the ABC. If not, then ABC agents clearly don’t have enough to do.
Memo to state lawmakers: This could be one agency that deserves downsizing.
ABC spokesman John Carr says illegal sports betting pools are not an agency enforcement priority, but agents are required to respond to complaints and that is what they did in this case. But surely the law allows investigators to use common sense and discretion. Not every complaint merits an investigation or a citation.
For the record, ABC is empowered to enforce the law only in establishments it licenses, specifically places where liquor is sold.
So the millions in California who are illegally marking spots on Super Bowl betting sheets at barber shops, teachers lounges, offices and who knows – maybe even at the headquarters of the Alcohol and Beverage Control itself? – can rest easy. ABC has no jurisdiction over them, and we trust local police are too busy tracking real criminals to enforce this silly law.
The Legislature overwhelmingly approved a bill last year by Republican Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries of Riverside that reduced participation in sports betting pools from a felony or misdemeanor to an infraction and lowered penalties from a $5,000 fine and possible imprisonment to just $500.
Jeffries says he authored the bill after a 73-year-old grandmother in his district was detained by ABC agents for organizing a sports betting pool worth $50 at an Elks Lodge where she worked.
The recent Valley Hi Country Club bust shows that Jeffries’ law did not go far enough.