The US gambling industry has become a “highway without speed limits”, according to a top state regulator, as the nationwide gambling boom continues at pace.

Jordan Maynard, chair of the Massachusetts gaming commission, urged lawmakers in Washington to consider nationwide rules on advertising by betting firms. Operators have spent years lobbying against a federal crackdown.

Nationwide exclusion lists, blocking gamblers who encounter problems like addiction from placing a bet anywhere in the country, are also “ripe for a federal conversation”, Maynard said in an interview with the Guardian.