The war on sports gambling in the United States took a sharp turn on Wednesday when the NBA presented a set of laws it would like to present to Congress that would create legalized sports gambling across the country.
History of Legalized Sports Gambling
Since 1992, the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PAPSA, prohibited states from authorized sports betting outside of the state of Nevada. All of the major sports have lobbied for decades to enforce PAPSA as outsiders have tried to lobby for its reversal.
Most recently, the State of New Jersey has challenged PAPSA and wants to legalize sports gambling in its borders. The case, which is now in U.S. Supreme Court, would pave the way for the other 48 states to legalize sports gambling as well.
The NBA and Legalized Sports Gambling
Adam Silver and the NBA have been the most instrumental of the four major sports in the push to legalize sports gambling. Silver has stated several times that he isn’t in favor of gambling on professional sports, but he also dubs himself as “a realist.”
In 2016, Nevada reported $4.5 billion in sports wagering. In comparison, the American Gaming Association estimated there was $4.7 billion wagered on Super Bowl 51 alone. Of that $4.7 billion, an estimated 95 percent of it was done illegally through offshore sportsbooks.
The NBA wants its slice of the pie to boost revenues. The league has laid out a plan where it will receive one percent of all wagers made, funds that will be used in part for regulation of the gambling.
Most interesting is the fact that the NBA is willing to present its case to Congress to make this a national law even if the Supreme Court rules against the State of New Jersey in its quest to overturn PAPSA.
Though MLB is not a part of this plan, it has already stuck its hat in the ring over the one percent fee, a fee being referred to as the “integrity fee.”
Odds on Legalized Sports Gambling
On Wednesday, BetDSI Sportsbook released odds on whether the Supreme Court would overturn PAPSA. The oddsmakers have lined ‘Yes’ at a price of -150 while the Supreme Court upholding PAPSA would pay a price of +120.
Will the Supreme Court Overturn Sports Gambling Ban in the U.S.?
Yes -150
No +120
Opening Odds Courtesy of BetDSI.eu. Odds subject to change.
