Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Sports Betting
May 14, 2018
Today, the Supreme Court announced its decision to strike down the 1992 ban on sports betting saying what many of us have thought all along, that it was unconstitutional. The court favored striking down the PAPSA ban 6-3 and has cleared the way for states to regulate sports betting in their territory.
“The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the 6-3 opinion. “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own.”
Many states are already working ahead of this decision to make the sports betting options a reality. Companies like Verizon, DraftKings, William Hill and others ahve been working diligently to make sports betting an option once the Supreme Court ruling was official. You can bet today is an exciting day for those states and companies mentioned above.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy celebrated the decision, which began with a lawsuit brought by former-Gov. Chris Christie.
“I am thrilled to see the Supreme Court finally side with New Jersey and strike down the arbitrary ban on sports betting imposed by Congress decades ago,” Murphy said today. “Today’s ruling will finally allow for authorized facilities in New Jersey to take the same bets that are legal in other states in our country.”
Major League Baseball released a statement saying the decision will have “profound effects” on the sport.
“Our most important priority is protecting the integrity of our games,” MLB’s statement continued. “We will continue to support legislation that creates air-tight coordination and partnerships between the state, the casino operators and the governing bodies in sports toward that goal.”
The man who started this latest round of challenging the unconstitutional rule , Chris Christie, commented on the decision via Twitter:
A great day for the rights of states and their people to make their own decisions. New Jersey citizens wanted sports gambling and the federal Gov’t had no right to tell them no. The Supreme Court agrees with us today. I am proud to have fought for the rights of the people of NJ.
— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) May 14, 2018
