BEYOND REGULATION COMBATTING ILLEGAL GAMBLING
At the IAGA Summit Berlin, FBI (Ret.) Supervisory Special Agent Todd Sandstedt opens a global discussion on the persistent threat of illegal gambling, exploring recent enforcement actions, EU-wide research findings, and cross-border strategies for protecting regulated markets.
Todd, you've coached nearly the full gambit of basketball levels – from youth leagues to Division One college. Why did you choose to step away from the sport you love to join the FBI?
Well, it certainly wasn't any discouragement with college athletics. I loved every minute of being involved on a college campus and working with student athletes. It was a tremendous time in my life. It's just that going through college and meeting a lot of professionals from the FBI, I began to aspire to that career opportunity if it ever presented itself and I have never regretted the decision. Tat said, every day I missed college athletics and the people that I had met and worked with during that time.
Where does your passion for college sports come from?
I come from a family of academicians. My father was a college professor, so I spent a lot of time on campuses when I was growing up. I enjoyed working in college athletics because it was wonderful to be around a family of 22, which was usually the size of our men's basketball family, and see those people progress through their college years, get their degrees, and move on to professional life. We didn't have a lot who moved on from college to the NBA or to the professional ranks. So, getting the education and doing those things was extremely important and I enjoyed being part of that.
During your time at the FBI and post-retirement, what efforts have you undertaken to help combat illegal gambling? How would you describe your relationship with the betting industry?
When I got into the FBI, I was looking for any opportunity to continue to engage with college athletics and help in any way that I could. It just so happened that shortly after I got into the
FBI, perhaps around 1998, the NCAA sought a partnership with the FBI to help them with their sports gambling awareness programme which was the precursor to the programme they have today. Te FBI reached out to people in their field offices to determine who they had on staff that had previous experience with professional or college athletics and to see if they would be interested in participating. And of course I jumped at the chance. Tat started a multi-decade relationship with the NCAA and different colleges and universities around the country where I was able to meet with student athletes, teams and their staff to talk about the perils of sports betting not only from the mental health and gaming side, but also the criminal side and some of the things that could happen. Unfortunately, we had examples, and I was part of frequent discussions with prosecutors and other members of the law enforcement community on what happened, how those events started and ways we can prevent them happening in the future. I enjoyed providing that education because I was giving back to the sports that helped me so much.
A 2023 report from the American Gaming Association estimated that Americans bet an estimated $511bn each year with illegal and unregulated gambling operators. What are your thoughts on the current action being taken by regulators against unlicensed gambling and social gaming operators? Is it stringent enough? Are some regulators taking a better approach to enforcement action than others?
I think there is a unified approach by state regulators to address this issue. Tere has been lots of discussion and action taken by state regulators to examine the topic. From a domestic side, there's cooperation and conversation on the illegal gaming activity that occurs within our borders, and I don't think there's ever a blind eye turned to it. It is a sincere
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