Will it be a Slam Dunk for the US Sports Betting Ban?
Will it be a slam dunk for the US sports betting wagering restriction?
By Natalie Sherman
Business reporter, New York
A restriction on sports betting in most US states could be overturned by a case being thought about by the Supreme Court.
The state of New Jersey is challenging the 1992 federal law that largely forbade sports betting gaming, describing the matter as a “states’ rights” problem.
The case, which began on Monday, comes after New Jersey residents voted in 2011 to legalise sports betting.
A group of sports betting leagues opposes banking on games, which they fear will motivate match-fixing.
Lower courts have consistently ruled against New Jersey, stating it is within the federal government’s power to restrict a state’s policy alternatives.
The opted to hear the case however in the middle of a wider shift in American attitudes towards sports betting.
Before 1976, Nevada – home of the Las Vegas strip – was the only state with legal gambling establishments outside Native American lands.
But over the last few years, states starving for tax earnings in the wake of the financial crash have actually enacted a rash of looser gambling laws, gathering hefty levies on sports betting earnings.
There are now 24 states with industrial gambling establishments – roughly double the number a years ago.
Despite the main restriction, which already exempts Nevada and 3 other states, illegal sports betting wagering is swarming in the US.
Americans place about $154bn in unlawful sports betting bets every year, according to the American Gaming Association.
The association’s president, Geoff Freeman, described the federal ban, external as an “utter failure” earlier this year.
It states the UK is an example of a nation where sports betting is commonplace.
“It’s time for Washington to stop denying states of critical tax revenue and permit them to gain the rewards of a regulated market,” Mr Freeman stated.
More than 15 states filed documents in support of New Jersey in the event. A handful have currently passed laws to authorise sports betting wagering in the event of a change.
‘Times have actually altered’
On Monday, as attorneys started arguments for the Supreme Court, some more conservative judges appeared sceptical of the existing law.
The court is expected to make a decision in June 2018.
“If we are effective here we might have bets being taken in New Jersey within two weeks of a choice by the court,” stated outbound New Jersey guv Chris Christie after going to the court hearing. “We’re prepared in New Jersey – we’re prepared to go.”
Despite the court’s last judgment, Congress may also use up the argument in the middle of broader discussion about online gaming and e-sports betting.
Even a few of the expert sports betting leagues have started to change their positions on the concern of sports betting.
Adam Silver, National Basketball Association commissioner, supported a federal law that would produce an uniform set of rules across the US. “Times have changed,” he composed in a 2014 viewpoint piece, external.
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