Legislators from West Virginia have introduced a bill seeking to protect officials, coaches, and athletes from being harassed by sports bettors.
HB 3310 is a bipartisan piece legislation that was drafted by the four lawmakers from the West Virginia House of Delegates.
The goal is to grant an organization like the West Virginia Lottery the power to ban any bettors that are threatening a coach, player or athlete.
The bill is as the following: "A patron may be exempt from sports betting according the subsection (d) in this subsection if the Commission is of the opinion that the person has harassed or shown a harmful behavior directed at a sports official, coach, or any other participant in a sporting event."
It follows the news that The Ohio Casino Control Commission has floated the idea of prohibiting sports bettors who harass college athletes.
University of Dayton basketball coach Anthony Grant said his players were targeted by angry gamblers through social media after a home loss to VCU at UD Arena this past month.
Hofstra University and the University of New Mexico have reported similar problems.
The law that was passed in West Virginia includes professional and college athletes, however it does not provide any specific standard for what is considered harassment, or an unintentional behavior.
Its session in the legislature runs until March 11, giving legislators just a few weeks to push the measure through both houses, if it's to be enshrined in the state's law.