Research Brief: Sports Betting & Recent U.S. State Legislative Action

Brendan Bussmann

Research Brief: Sports Betting & Recent U.S. State Legislative Action

As the calendar reaches the midpoint, many state legislatures are adjourning for the summer or finalizing their budgets prior to the start of the fiscal year. The end of June is also the time when the Supreme Court of the United States’ (SCOTUS) term comes to an end, decisions are rendered, and announcements made for cases to be taken up in the next term that begins in October. GMA provides the following summary of relevant legislative happenings across the United States.

Last week, SCOTUS changed the dialogue within the United States gaming landscape when it announced that it would hear the New Jersey sports betting case (Christie Vs. NCAA) in its next term. Currently, only Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon allow some form of sports betting. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that the illegal, unregulated sports betting market is a $150 billion-a-year industry. Many estimate that number to be far greater. While most in the industry see this as an opportunity on sports betting, a ruling by SCOTUS in this case has far more to do with states’ rights than wagering on sports.

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