New Bill Would End Sports Betting Ban, But Does It Stand A Chance?
A new bill looking to end the United States’ long time ban on sports betting emerged in Congress on Thursday.
But with the way things are going in Washington, its fate remains mired in question marks. And we have to wonder, will it pass?
The Latest Legal Sports Betting Bill
The bill — called the Gaming Accountability and Modernization Enhancement Act or GAME Act — was first reported by ESPN. It surfaced Thursday morning in a release by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone (D) — is the main man behind the bill. Pallone has been a prominent voice in the fight to lift the federal prohibition. You can see the draft here.
The bill surfaced a day after New Jersey’s own fight for legalization took a major blow. In what many see as the last straw for this case, acting US Solicitor General Jeffrey B. Wall recommended to the SCOTUS that Jersey’s latest request for appeal be denied.
New Jersey has twice passed laws trying to repeal its own sports betting prohibition — with Pallone at the helm of those endeavors. But US professional sports organizations and the NCAA have made every attempt to block the state’s efforts thus far.
With the surfacing of the SG brief, the Supreme Court will likely announce whether it will field the appeal by late June.
In the mean time, Pallone and company have once again taken to Congress to fight what they believe to be unconstitutional prohibitions on the sovereignty of states’ rights.
What’s Behind the Congressional Fight for Sports Betting
PASPA is a law passed by Congress in 1992 that makes sports wagering of any kind in most states illegal — with the exception of single-sport wagering in Nevada, but nowhere else.
While in three other states — Delaware, Montana, and Oregon — more limited forms of sports betting are permitted.
But as with most prohibitions, entities and organizations always seem to find a loophole. According to the American Gaming Association — the Washington-based trade association representing the casino industry and the leading US sports betting lobbyist — hundreds of billions of dollars are being poured into illegal sports wagering in the US alone each year.
While there is no doubt that sports betting is one of the most lucrative industries in America and worldwide, it continues to face an uphill battle towards true legitimization.
In fact, two other bills of similar caliber were introduced earlier in the year — one of them authored by Pallone. Of that effort Pallone said, “Sports-betting is already happening across our state and across the country, but instead of being appropriately overseen and raising needed revenue for our casinos, racetracks, businesses, and the state, these bets are placed through illegal enterprises. It is time to bring this activity out of the shadows.”
The New Jersey Betting and Equal Treatment Act was introduced to the House on February 1, 2017 — where it has remained in limbo amidst ongoing stagnation and scandal in Washington.
Now, Pallone has submitted this newest bill in hopes of bolstering his attack.
What’s In This Most Recent Sports Betting Bill?
There’s a lot to this bill. But the gist of it is this: it would repeal the 25-year old PASPA and gives states the final authority to do as they please with regards to legalizing and regulating sports betting.
On top of that, the bill offers a detailed redefinition of what constitutes ‘betting’. According to a summary provided by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, this draft of the bill “defines “bet or wager” to mean the risking of something of value, including virtual currency or virtual items, upon the outcome of a contest of others, a sporting event, or a game of skill or a game of chance, on the expectation that the person will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome. The term includes participation in lotteries, sports betting, and participation in fantasy sports and fantasy e-sports.”
What’s In the Way In Congress?
Well, lots of things. For one, the status of the New Jersey case does deal a blow to this effort towards legalization. It’s clear from the Solicitor General’s statements that the legalization of sports betting remains relatively low on Washington’s priority list.
Among the more prominent efforts underway in the nation’s capital are the Republicans’ healthcare bill which is currently facing opposition in the Senate as well as Trump’s new budget for the coming term.
Add to that all this controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s potential ties to Russia, it’s unlikely that any significant short-term progress will be made regarding Pallone’s newest bill.
Sports Leagues Remain Pivotal in the Fight
As we’ve said, professional sports leagues have been consistently in public opposition to legal sports betting outside of Nevada for some time. That said, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has expressed a number of times that he supports regulated sports betting, but has stopped short of public advocacy. The MLB has taken a similar stance as the NBA, but has also stopped short of saying they would actively lobby for regulation. With the NFL and NHL moving to Vegas, we may begin to see a policy shift for those two sports, but that may be a ways out. As for the NCAA, they continue to oppose legalization efforts.
What’s Next?
As with everything else in Washington, it may be some time before we see any major progress in this arena. Depending on which direction SCOTUS takes next month on the NJ appeal request, we may see some forward movement — or we may not. But either way, efforts are ongoing and it’s clear that whether sports leagues and the federal government like it or not, the sports betting legalization train will keep on going.
