Federal Government To Consider Legalizing Sports BettingLawmaker To Begin Work Drafting Legislation |
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A Congressman from New Jersey has formally signaled his intent to introduce legislation to establish federal regulation on sports betting.
According to a report from ESPN, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone will spearhead a congressional committee’s efforts to review current law related to sports betting and online gaming.
The sports betting law is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which limited that kind of gambling to just a few states. Nevada is the only state with single-game betting, while Delaware has limited sports wagering in the form of parlays. Both states were grandfathered in.
The state of New Jersey has tried to get PASPA overturned through the courts, and even went as far as to pass legislation to legalize sports books in Atlantic City. However, the major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued.
The sports groups have so far been successful, and New Jersey has been unable to convince the United States Supreme Court to take up the issue.
The American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s top lobbying group, has put federal sports betting reform at the top of its agenda. While it doesn’t oppose New Jersey’s efforts, the AGA wants nationwide regulation.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, where Pallone is the ranking Democrat, will also take a look at the 1961 Wire Act and the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Those two laws have relevance for daily fantasy sports contests, which Pallone and many others consider to be a form of sports betting. Fantasy sports were given an exemption under federal law pertaining to online gaming, but that was before DFS become a billion-dollar industry.
As many poker players know, the Wire Act and UIGEA have curbed the growth of online poker. It took until December 2011 for the Department of Justice to determine that individual states could legalize online casino games, with the exception of sports betting, under the Wire Act’s provisions. UIGEA made online gambling payment processing illegal, unless it’s in a state that has legalized those games.
“The laws need a wholesale review to see how they can actually work together and create a fairer playing field for all types of gambling, both online and offline, including sports betting and daily fantasy sports,” Pallone said in a statement. “At the same time, we must ensure the laws are actually creating an environment of integrity and accountability, and include strong consumer protections. I plan to continue discussions with the key stakeholders and then will introduce comprehensive legislation to finally update these outdated laws.”
Pallone gave no timetable for his legislation. No hearings were scheduled as of late October.
Earlier this year, the AGA said that it’s confident the next president will have a bill on their desk.
Any federal sports betting law would allow states to opt in or out to the legal framework. That was once the plan for a federal online poker regime, but that unfortunately never came to fruition.
According to the AGA, nearly $150 billion is bet on sports annually in the United States. Only about $5 billion is bet through Nevada sports books.
About 50 million Americans played some form of fantasy sports in 2015, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Between the U.S. and Canada, the market is worth $26 billion. DFS, which is still in its infancy, is less than 10 percent of that.
With casinos now in 40 states, there is more money than ever to be made from regulated sports betting. AGA President Geoff Freeman told Card Player that he could see every state with gaming looking at the activity.
“I would hope that just about every state is right there at the front leading the way on sports betting,” Freeman said. “Pennsylvania and New York have been asking the right questions, but there will be a host of other states right there on the cutting edge of this issue.”
The NBA is an advocate for repealing or reforming PASPA, while the NHL and MLB still appear neutral to the idea. The NFL remains opposed to legalized sports betting, but it is seriously considering letting the Oakland Raiders relocate to Las Vegas.
The NFL’s position is most important because $90 billion is now bet on it annually, according to the AGA.
All the leagues are stakeholders in the fantasy sports industry.
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