The American Gaming Association (AGA), recently said that it would aim to push for an expansion of legalized sport betting in the United States and is already in the process of setting down plans for the beginning of 2017. The coalition of US industry stakeholders will act on a growing demand by the US public for the right to wager on their favorite sports. They believe the process, if successful, could take up to 5 years to achieve.
The association’s first step is down doubt to overcome what industry analysts see as expanded sports betting’s biggest hurdle, the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), introduced in 1992 and bans all states, barring four (Oregon, Delaware, Montana and Nevada), from offering sports betting. Over the years, a number of states – the most dominant being New Jersey – have attempted to get the federal government to repeal PASPA, stating that times have changed since the bill was first passed in 1992. The bill, also known as the Bradley Act, was introduced to stop the growth of sports betting in the United States, as well as what the federal government viewed as a worrying expansion of gambling and casinos in individual states.
New Jersey had the chance to legalize sports betting after PASPA was passed in 1992, thanks to a clause in the law which said that states which had legal gambling on its books for at least a decade prior to PASPA would be allowed to expand sports betting within one year. However, New Jersey failed to pass a sports betting law by 1993 and lost out. After New Jersey voters indicated their support for sports betting in a non-binding referendum in 2012, the state has been caught up in a constant legal battle with sports associations such as the NHL, NBA and MLB. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has vowed to continue his battle against PASPA.
The AGA said that it would make sports betting expansion its priority in the coming year, throwing its weight behind efforts such as those seen in New Jersey, as well as other states who are just as keen to see changes to their own sports betting laws. Pennsylvania recently called on the federal government to repeal PASPA and then “allow states that authorize, license and regulate casino gaming, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to legalize sports betting through its licensed facilities.”
Sports associations, it seems, are slowly warming to the idea of partial sports wagering, with the vocal being NBA Commissioner Adam Silver who called for a framework for legal, regulated sports betting.
