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The U.S. Supreme Court could determine if sports betting should be legalized in all 50 states this Tuesday or Wednesday.
An original assessment of when the Justices would release their decision widely had June as the most likely month, but the suspense keeps building.
Noted gambling attorney I. Nelson Rose's provided his analysis late last month based on oral arguments.
Admittedly It is always difficult to predict a Supreme Court decision based on oral arguments; although, it is clear that at least six Justices don't like PASPA. The conservatives and one or two of the liberals appear ready to declare PASPA unconstitutional in full, because Congress required states to pass laws against sports betting without a coherent federal regulatory policy.
I believe that at least five and perhaps six or more of the Justices will rule that Congress does have the power, under the Interstate Commerce Clause, to regulate and even outlaw sports betting. But in the absence of a coherent federal policy, let alone a comprehensive regulatory system, the states are free to deal with sports betting as they wish.
Which means we will have a dozen states with legal, regulated sports betting by next year.
This March Madness illustrates the potential that legalized sports betting could have on state coffers.
Of the $10 billion estimated to be wagered on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this year, only three percent will be bet legally through Nevada's sports books. That's a mere $30 million.
“Our current sports betting laws are so out of touch with reality that we’re turning tens of millions of Americans into criminals for the simple act of enjoying college basketball,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “The failed federal ban on sports betting has created an illegal, unregulated sports betting market that offers zero consumer protections and generates zero revenue for state and tribal governments."
- Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
