.Passed March 2017. Bill would allow state to regulate sports betting under fantasy sports law. Latest news: New Jersey: S 3375: Bill would repeal sports betting prohibition. Latest news: New York: S 1282 A 5438: Bills would broaden legalization of sports betting. Latest news: Oklahoma: S 857: Bill would legalize sports betting as part of tribal gaming package. Chris Christie signed legislation Friday that partially repeals the state's sports betting prohibitions and clears the way for casinos and racetracks to begin taking bets as soon.
During the past half-century various laws prohibiting sports betting in the United States have been enacted; among them The Federal Wire Act Law, The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
The Federal Wire Act (or Interstate Wire Act of 1961 as it was officially called) is the oldest of the three and the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) the newest. It was signed into law by President Bush as recently as October 13, 2006.
But it is the PASPA Law, enacted in 1992, that has mostly been responsible for the absence of sports betting in all but four of the US’s 50 states during the past quarter Century.
Here we look at the effect these laws have had or are having on sports wagering in the United States – and especially at the end result of the recent decision taken by the Supreme Court to scrap the PASPA Law.
Because of its greater significance and the Sportsbook Rush into New Jersey that has resulted from its demise, we look first at the PASPA Law.
The PASPA Law
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 made sports betting illegal in the USA in all but four of its states, these being Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon.All four were exempted from PASPA because in each case they could show that licensed sports betting had been taking place in their states for a minimum of 10 years and they were thus legally entitled to apply for immunity.
This meant, of course, that for the more than the two decades that have since passed, commercial sports betting in the US, in general, has been pretty much restricted to Nevada and to some limited NFL parley card wagering in Delaware.
For some unknown reason, Sports Fantasy gaming has not fallen foul of any US anti-sports betting laws and has thrived, notably in New Jersey where juggernaut operators with millions of players like DraftKings and FanDuel have paid out billions of Dollars in ‘prize money’.
And all this at a moment in history when the age-old practice of making wagers with bookmakers on horse races was rapidly spreading into many human-based forms of sport in other parts of the world, notably in Great Britain, home of many modern forms of sport, continental Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa.
Partly because its authorities, it has been suggested, were unhappy at missing out on the large sums of tax money being earned by Nevada from sports betting, New Jersey took PASDA to court and after a three-year, see-saw battle, eventually saw the Supreme Court throw out the Act on May 14, 2018, on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.
Very quickly after that, New Jersey took advantage of the court’s decision, opened the way to sports betting under its own set of laws and a month later became the first state of the 46 previously not exempts to make sports betting legal – except in the case of high school and College gridiron football and basketball.
Many more US states right now are in the process of joining New Jersey in legalizing sports betting and at the time of writing, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and New York were reported to be those closest to getting there.
New Jersey’s new gambling laws stipulate that you must be 21 and older to participate in sports betting and with a few exceptions where 18 may be established as the stipulated minimum age, most other states are also expected to set an age limit of 21.
When registering in New Jersey right now (and this could be the norm when sports betting becomes legal in other states), sports bookmakers will ask you to confirm your age and identity using ID and/or Driver’s license info and photos. If they don’t, stay away. They are sure to be dodgy.
If they do, make sure you strictly conform to the age restrictions of the state in question. If you don’t you might find that being underage will legally prevent you from withdrawing your winnings.
Right now the sportsbooks that have been launched in New Jersey allow members to register and to deposit and withdraw funds from their sportsbook accounts from both inside and outside of the state’s borders, but at this stage, it is against the law to actually place bets from outside of the state.
If you do attempt to do so, G-tracking will pick it up and you are likely to be warned in a screen pop-up that what you are attempting to do is illegal and that you will be penalized if you persist in trying to do so.
Federal wire act of 1961
The Federal Wire Act of 1961 was essentially brought into being in an attempt to disrupt the activities of gangsters who were using wire and phone services to conduct illegal sports gambling activities.This was before the advent of the internet and this has created some later-day confusion and two different points of view as to whether or not the Wire Act Law can be applied to online gaming.What it doesn’t do, however, is to restrict legal sportsbooks from operating online inside the states where they are licensed and regulated.Nor does it have any impact on offshore sportsbook operators which fall outside of its jurisdiction.
The UIGEA Law
The latest Federal law in the US which can affect sports gambling on the Internet is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA.
The Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006 (SAFE Port Act) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on October 13 of that year.
Originally created to enhance port security throughout the United States, the SAFE Act included a last-minute rider; Title VIII.
This is the UIGEA law that keeps US gambling businesses from “knowingly accepting payments” for bets and wagers over the Internet that are “unlawful under any federal or state law.”
Sections 5363 and 5366 of UIGEA “criminalize the acceptance of funds” by operators of almost all gambling websites – and the law does not restrict itself to simply US-based businesses, and attempts to regulate non-US businesses as well.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) argued on behalf of Antigua, however, that US gambling legislation could not govern countries which fall outside of US law.
Antigua sued the United States for $3.4 billion in trade sanctioning because of money lost in its online sports betting and gambling industries due to UIGEA enforcement and the US lost the legal battle.
State Sports Betting Laws
Summing up the US betting law situation as it stands in late 2018, we must underline the fact that states that join Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey and allow sports betting to flourish will be entitled to come up with their own set of rules that best suit the culture of the population they govern – as long as their local laws conform to the Federal Laws.
It’s very possible then, that when the dust from the Paspa implosion has settled, the sports betting laws governing each individual state could differ greatly and it will, therefore, be crucial that sports-betting gamers get themselves clued-up on the gambling laws that apply in their particular neck of the woods.
Under the Federal Laws, could and will most likely differ depending on the needs and requirements of their citizens.
State Sports Betting Laws in The United States
Some states have their own laws set aside that tailor to its specific population. Unlike federal laws, these only apply within their borders. State laws vary, with some governments legalizing certain types of sports betting and others choosing not to enforce any kind of legislation at all. Furthermore, states such as New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Nevada, Rhode Island, and New York have all legalized sports betting but have drastically different regulations.
If you have any other questions or concerns when attempting to learn more about online sports betting laws, consult a legal professional. These professionals have specific, up-to-date information about your current situation, including new laws and regulations in your state.
| Long title | An Act to prohibit sports gambling under State law, and for other purposes. |
|---|---|
| Acronyms(colloquial) | PASPA |
| Nicknames | Bradley Act |
| Enacted by | the 102nd United States Congress |
| Effective | October 28, 1992 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | 102-559 |
| Statutes at Large | 106 Stat.4227 |
| Codification | |
| Titles amended | 28 U.S.C.: Judiciary and Judicial Procedure |
| U.S.C. sections created | 28 U.S.C.ch. 178 § 3701 et seq. |
| Legislative history | |
| |
| United States Supreme Court cases | |
| Struck down by U.S. Supreme Court in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association on May 14, 2018 | |
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (Pub.L.102–559), also known as PASPA or the Bradley Act, is a judicially-overturned law that was meant to define the legal status of sports betting throughout the United States. This act effectively outlawed sports betting nationwide, excluding a few states.
The sports lotteries conducted in Oregon, Delaware, and Montana were exempt, as well as the licensed sports pools in Nevada.[1] In addition, Congress provided a one-year window of opportunity from the effective date of PASPA (January 1, 1993) for states which operated licensed casino gaming for the previous ten-year period to pass laws permitting sports wagering. The latter exception was clearly crafted with New Jersey in mind. However, New Jersey failed to take advantage of this opportunity. Excluded from the reach of PASPA are jai alai, as well as parimutuelhorse and dog racing.
In a May 2018 decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that PASPA conflicts with the Tenth Amendment.
History[edit]
On June 26, 1991, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks held public hearings on sports gambling. It found '(s)ports gambling is a national problem. The harms it inflicts are felt beyond the borders of those States that sanction it.' David Stern, the then-commissioner for the National Basketball Association, testified that 'The interstate ramifications of sports betting are a compelling reason for federal legislation.' In light of these findings, Congress exercised its authority under the Commerce Clause to enact Senate Bill 474 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 1992, codified at 28 U.S.C. § 3701.[2]
Legislative efforts against the act[edit]
New Jersey has been a leader, both in legislation and in the legal process, in support of the legalization of sports betting in New Jersey despite its original failure to take advantage of the carve out in the PASPA of 1992. The law is also known as the 'Bradley Act', named for New Jersey Senator and former NBA star Bill Bradley. New Jersey voters in 2011 voted for a state constitutional amendment that would permit sports gambling. The next year, the NJ State Legislature enacted the Sports Wagering Act ('2012 Act'), allowing sports wagering at New Jersey casinos and racetracks.[3]
Legal challenges[edit]
Proponents of repeal typically assert that the law as written is inherently unconstitutional, as the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reserves to the states all rights not explicitly granted to the federal government—such as gambling regulation. While the primarily legal challenge to the law came from New Jersey, other efforts to overturn it had been set in motion before the Supreme Court's decision in May 2018; this included a sports-betting bill being introduced in Kentucky,[4] as well as the other states who are in the process of creating and or passing some form of sports betting legislation and the formation of the pro-repeal American Sports Betting Coalition, a lobby alliance which includes the American Gaming Association and the National Indian Gaming Association.[5]
Sports Betting Legislation By State
New Jersey Online Sportsbooks
PASPA was formally challenged in the state of New Jersey. In March 2009, New Jersey State Senator Raymond Lesniak filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey claiming, among other things, that the PASPA unconstitutionally discriminated among the states by allowing four states to offer sports betting while disallowing the other forty-six states from enjoying the privilege; however the case was dismissed as the court argued that only then-Governor Chris Christie could bring the suit, and at that time, Christie believed it would be difficult to challenge the law.[6] A 2010 referendum showed overwhelming support by state voters to legalize sports gambling,[7] and by 2012, the state passed a law that would allow for sports gambling at licensed locations.[8] This law was challenged by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball in August 2012, arguing their new law violated PASPA.[9] The state argued that they knew their law likely violated PASPA, but argued that PASPA itself violated the Tenth Amendment's protection against anti-commandeering federal laws that stripped the power of the state to repeal their own sports gambling ban.[10] This case, heard in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, found for the sports leagues, dismissing the state's claims regarding PASPA.[11] New Jersey appealed the decision. On September 17, 2013, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision by Judge Julio M. Fuentes, found for the sports leagues, again ruling that the state law violated PASPA and enjoined the state from enacting the law.[12] However, the Appeals Court also ruled that PASPA did not prevent New Jersey from repealing any existing laws it had.[13]
Based on the Appeal Court's comment, New Jersey, now with Governor Christie's blessing, passed a new law in 2014 that repealed a former state law that banned sports gambling.[13] The four leagues and the NCAA filed suite against this new law, again arguing that it violated PASPA. The leagues and the NCAA prevailed both at District Court and at an en banc decisions from the Third Circuit by August 2016, leading the state to petition the Supreme Court of the United States to hear the case.[14] New Jersey appealed this case to the United States Supreme Court, requesting examination of PASPA under the anti-commandeering provisions of the Tenth Amendment.[15]
The Supreme Court accepted the case in June 2017[16] and heard oral arguments in December 2017;[17] during this time, Governor Christie stepped down and was replaced by Phil Murphy; the case before the court became Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. The case was combined with a separate petition NJ Thoroughbred Horsemen v. NCAA, representing commercial interests related to PASPA. The Court ruled in May 2018 in a 7-2 decision that parts of PASPA were unconstitutional as they commandeered power from the states, and in a 6-3 decision, determined that the whole of PASPA was unconstitutional.[18][19]
References[edit]
- ^Lambert, Troy (July 18, 2017). 'Supreme Gamble: The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act'. Huffington Post.
- ^Rodefer, Jeffrey (March 5, 2007). 'Sports Protection Act'. gambling-law-us.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^Johnson, Brent (October 17, 2014). 'Christie signs law allowing sports betting in N.J.'The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^'New Kentucky Bill Would Legalize Sports Betting In Bluegrass State'. Legal Sports Report. September 20, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^'Tribal, Commercial Casino Alliance On Sports Betting Gains Momentum'. Legal Sports Report. September 25, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
- ^Spoto, MaryAnn (September 25, 2011). 'Casino, horse racing leaders push for legalization of sports betting in N.J.'The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^Spoto, MaryAnn (November 8, 2011). 'Sports betting backed by N.J. voters'. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^Friedman, Matt (January 17, 2012). 'Gov. Christie signs bill allowing gamblers to place bets on pro, college sports teams'. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^Heitner, Darren (August 7, 2012). 'Constitutionality Of Sports Betting Prohibition At Issue In NCAA And Professional Leagues' Lawsuit Against New Jersey'. Forbes. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^Schamis, Axel; Van Bramer, Katherine. 'Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association'. Legal Information Institute. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^Drape, Joe (March 27, 2013). 'Cash-Hungry States Eye Sports Betting, to Leagues' Dismay'. The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^'Appeals Court Upholds Constitutionality Of New Jersey Sports Betting Ban'. United States Department of Justice. September 17, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^ abPurdum, David; Rodenberg, Ryan (March 3, 2018). 'The odds of legalized sports betting: New Jersey vs. the leagues'. ESPN. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^Johnson, Brent; Salant, Jonathan (August 9, 2016). 'N.J. loses again in quest to bring sports betting to state'. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
- ^'Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association'. SCOTUSblog. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
- ^Johnson, Brent; Salant, Jonathan (June 28, 2017). 'U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear N.J. sports betting case'. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^'The NJ Sports Betting Case Gets Its Day In SCOTUS: What We Learned'. Legal Sports Report. December 4, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^Purdum, David (May 14, 2018). 'Supreme Court strikes down sports betting law'. ESPN. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^Maese, Rick (May 14, 2018). 'Analysis | What the Supreme Court's sports gambling decision means'. The Washington Post. ISSN0190-8286. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
External links[edit]
- Opinion for Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. (16-476) from SupremeCourt.gov
- Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, Chuck Humphrey, Gambling Law US