Unlike many European countries, the United States of America has had strict laws surrounding gambling and sports betting over the past several decades. However, 2018 was a breakthrough year, as it was marked by the fall of PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act). By ruling against it, the US Supreme Court decided to give each state the right to decide whether sports betting will be legal inside their territory and to what extent.
The state of New Jersey was a cornerstone in this fight, with its senator Raymond Lesniak filing a suit over PASPA in 2009. It took several years for the case to get to the Supreme Court, but it finally paid off. In May of 2018, a 6-3 ruling decided that PASPA was unconstitutional and that the states will from now on be free to implement their own gambling laws.
Since the decision, four more states have joined Nevada and New Jersey in making sports betting legal: Mississippi, Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Several more have introduced a bill and are waiting for the legislation cycle, while a few others have existing betting laws that are in need of modification. The only state in the US that has no plans to legalize sports betting is Utah.
While gambling of any sport may create financial issues for certain individuals, a country as a whole will see a lot of benefits from it in the future. There will be more employment in the gambling industry, with both direct and indirect incomes reaching billions in total. State and local tax shares may rise up to 15%.
To better help you understand all of this, check out the infographic below. Here, we included some details about the legalization process, a map of the states that have legalized or are soon to legalize sports betting, an economic impact the US might expect, and the effects that this will have on professional sports.
The best NJ online casinos were starting to look at a bright future with great opportunity.
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