HR8723Referred to Committee

FIGHT Act of 2026

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-05-11
Introduced
0
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Don Bacon
Don Bacon
Republican · NE · Representative
Votes with party: 93.1% (592 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/B001298

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (0)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

2026-05-11

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The legislation would make it illegal to gamble on or place bets related to animal fighting activities, strengthening existing laws that already ban animal fighting itself. This would apply to anyone who bets money or anything of value on cockfighting, dogfighting, or similar animal combat events, whether the betting happens in person or online. The measure aims to reduce financial incentives for these illegal animal abuse activities by targeting the gambling that often accompanies them.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Animals

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8723 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8723 To amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit gambling on animal fighting ventures, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 11, 2026 Mr. Bacon introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit gambling on animal fighting ventures, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High- risk Trafficking Act of 2026'' or the ``FIGHT Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. ANIMAL FIGHTING. Section 26 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2156) is amended-- (1) by striking the section designation and header and all that follows through ``It shall be unlawful'' in subsection (a)(2) and inserting the following: ``SEC. 26. SPONSORING OR EXHIBITING AN ANIMAL IN, ATTENDING, CAUSING AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 16 TO ATTEND, OR GAMBLING ON, AN ANIMAL FIGHTING VENTURE. ``(a) Sponsoring or Exhibiting.-- ``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly sponsor or exhibit an animal in an animal fighting venture. ``(2) Attending or causing an individual who has not attained the age of 16 to attend.--It shall be unlawful''; and (2) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following: ``(3) Animal venture gambling.--It shall be unlawful for any person to gamble on an animal fighting venture, including an in-person or broadcast event.''. <all>
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