Sec. 302. Sports Bribery Act improvements

1,069 words·~5 min read·/bill/115/s/3793/is/section-302

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Section 224 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— in the section heading, by striking and inserting Bribery in sporting contests ; Bribery, extortion, and blackmail in sporting contests; sports wagers based on nonpublic information in subsection (a)— by striking Whoever and inserting ; and Bribery, Extortion, and Blackmail in Sporting Contests .—Whoever by inserting , extortion, or blackmail after bribery each places it appears; by redesignating subsections

(b)and

(c)as subsections

(c)and (g), respectively; by inserting after subsection

(a)the following: It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to place or accept, attempt to place or accept, or conspire with any other person to place or accept through any scheme in commerce a sports wager if the person— is in possession of material nonpublic information relating to the sports wager or the market for the sports wager; and knows, or recklessly disregards, that— the material nonpublic information has been obtained wrongfully; or the placement or acceptance would constitute a wrongful use of the material nonpublic information. Any person who violates paragraph

(1)shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. For purposes of this subsection, material nonpublic information is obtained wrongfully or wrongfully used only if the information has been obtained by, or its use would constitute, directly or indirectly— theft, bribery, misrepresentation, or espionage; a violation of any Federal law protecting computer data or the intellectual property or privacy of computer users; conversion, misappropriation, or other unauthorized or deceptive taking or use of such information; or a breach of any fiduciary duty or any other personal or other relationship of trust and confidence. ; in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by striking This section and inserting ; Rule of construction .—This section by inserting after subsection (c), as so redesignated, the following: There is extraterritorial Federal jurisdiction over an offense under this section. A prosecution under this section may be brought in the judicial district in which the sporting contest (including the sporting contest to which a sports wager relates) occurred or was scheduled to occur, or in which the conduct constituting the alleged offense occurred. A sports wagering operator or sports organization may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other manner discriminate against an employee because of any lawful act done by the employee to provide information, cause information to be provided, or otherwise assist in an investigation regarding any conduct which the individual reasonably believes constitutes a violation of this section, if the information or assistance is provided to or the investigation is conducted by— a Federal law enforcement agency; any Member of Congress or any committee of Congress; or a person with supervisory authority over the employee, or such other person working for the sports wagering operator or sports organization, as applicable, who has the authority to investigate, discover, or terminate misconduct. A person who alleges action or conduct by any person in violation of paragraph

(1)may seek relief under paragraph (3), by bringing an action at law or equity in the appropriate district court of the United States, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to the amount in controversy. In an action under subparagraph (A), a district court may find that a violation of paragraph

(1)occurred and award judgment for the plaintiff only if— the employee demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the actions of the employee to provide information or assist in an investigation were a contributing factor to the discharge or other discrimination; and the employer does not demonstrate, by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action in the absence of behavior. An action under subparagraph

(A)shall be commenced not later than 180 days after the later of— the date on which the violation occurs; or the date on which the employee became aware of the violation. A party to an action brought under subparagraph

(A)shall be entitled to trial by jury. An employee prevailing in an action under paragraph

(2)shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee whole. Relief for any action under paragraph

(2)shall include— reinstatement with the same seniority status that the employee would have had, but for the discrimination; the amount of back pay, with interest; and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under any Federal or State law, or under any collective bargaining agreement. The rights and remedies provided for in this subsection may not be waived by any agreement, policy form, or condition of employment, including by a predispute arbitration agreement. No predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement requires arbitration of a dispute arising under this subsection. ; and in subsection (g), as so redesignated— in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking As used in this section— and inserting ; Definitions .—As used in this section: by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and

(3)as paragraphs (3), (4), and (2), respectively; by transferring paragraph (2), as so redesignated, to appear before paragraph (3), as so redesignated; by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated and transferred, the following: The term employee includes— an employee of a sports wagering operator or sports organization; and an athlete, coach, or official of a sports organization. ; and by adding at the end the following: The terms sports organization , sports wager , and sports wagering operator have the meaning given those terms in section 3 of the Sports Wagering Market Integrity Act of 2018 . . Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking sports bribery and inserting bribery, extortion, and blackmail in sporting contests and sports wagers based on nonpublic information . Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking bribery in sporting contests and inserting bribery, extortion, and blackmail in sporting contests and sports wagers based on nonpublic information . The table of sections for chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 224 and inserting the following: 224. Bribery, extortion, and blackmail in sporting contests; sports wagers based on nonpublic information. .