How the Repeal of the Bradley Act or PASPA can open up sports betting
In May of 2018, the United States Supreme Court released its ruling on PASPA, also known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act authored by former US senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey. PASPA basically forbidden any gambling involving any sport, either in the professional or in the amateur levels. So, what does it mean for the online gambling industry?
Before the PASPA Repeal: A Backgrounder
PASPA was repealed because years ago, the state of New Jersey decided to amend their constitution to allow sports betting, which went in direct violation of PASPA, a federal law. The NCAA sued New Jersey, and the case eventually went to the Supreme Court.
The highest court of the land then ruled in favour of the state of New Jersey, deciding the PASPA was unconstitutional and infringed on the rights of the state to ratify its own laws, thus in direct violation of the Tenth Amendment.
It is important to note that the Supreme Court’s decision was not to rule in favour of sports gambling as a whole, but simply on whether PASPA should be repealed or not. Of course, with PASPA repealed, states allowing sports gambling are now free to do so, until such time state legislatures or a federal law could be passed which once again disallows it.
What does the repeal of PASPA mean?
You might be wondering how you are still able to bet on your favourite football teams in the MLS even when all that time, sports betting was actually illegal in the United States. To start, the law merely prohibited states from issuing gambling licences on sports betting. So, as a gambler, there is no worry for you to be gambling as long as your state allows gambling. If you have already been betting on sports, chances are you are doing so with an overseas app, using the best pay per head bookie services or are doing so using a betting company that has employed workarounds to the law.
Another rule PASPA maintained was it banned the wagering on sports results and outcomes. Therefore, betting on which side to win in a game between LA Galaxy and Montreal Impact, or betting on who will win the season’s MLS Cup is illegal. People from other countries might find it weird they could not do this as sports betting and gambling is pretty much legal and easily accessible in other parts of the world. Sports gambling has diversified through the years. From just the results, people can now bet on scorers, chances of goals, exact score lines, and many more. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened in the US.
That doesn’t mean sports betting hasn’t altogether found its way in the American market. To work around PASPA, US gambling companies developed Fantasy Leagues. Unlike direct sports betting, American bettors are instead told to pick players to add to their fantasy team. Based on a points system, if their team wins, they win some money. Of course, the fantasy teams’ performances just happened to rely on real-world results. But they are still just “virtual” games, which are not real, did not wager on real-life sports results, and therefore did not violate PASPA.
But now, with the PASPA repealed, it appears the United States is set to witness the rise of sports gambling in the country.