Another attack on PASPA?

If state Senator Tony Avella has his way, New York will soon join those states that seek to overturn or bypass the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which restricts sportsbetting to just four states and is facing possible challenges by New Jersey and other states.

The New York Post reports that Avella has prepared a bill proposing that New Yorkers be allowed to make sports bets through the state’s land casinos and racinos. The Senator’s bill would enable wagering on five major sports – baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes has backed the Senator, who intends that state taxes flowing from legalised sports betting will go towards improving educational facilities.

Sports betting experts have already commented that Sen. Avella’s claims on potential sports betting revenues may be extravagant. The New York Post report on his initiative quoted him as saying that revenues of around $100 billion nationally and as much as $15 billion to $30 billion in New York City alone were possible.

One commentator said that if Avella’s claims are even close to true, the federal government needs to begin seriously exploring nationwide legalisation…not next year or five years on, but immediately.

“Nonetheless, the numbers proposed are interesting, and with any luck, a few politicians in Washington, D.C., will request to see them,” he added.