After PASPA was struck down by the Supreme Court, states are racing to flip the switch on legal sports betting. As they do, a number of them are attempting to add a bit of structure and standardization to their markets. One of these efforts involves requiring sportsbooks to use official data in bets placed on live events. It’s a gambit that’s been met with fierce resistance by the sports leagues, and it should be a red flag for state regulators who take their duties seriously.

In Illinois and Tennessee, for instance, a qualifier in the sports betting law specifies that operators may circumvent the requirement by demonstrating that league data isn’t available on commercially reasonable terms. That language is a direct shot at the initial pricing dictated by the leagues, and it artificially constrains competition. It’s also a veiled attempt to coerce operators into commercial agreements with the leagues and give them a monopoly on their data.

Official betting is a bad idea because it undermines the integrity lawmakers seek in legal US sports betting. The utility and reliability of official data remains a subject of debate, and mandating its use in sports betting places the onus of ensuring integrity on private operators who are competing with each other. It’s a policy that is unlikely to stand up to a constitutional challenge, as well.