U.S. feds back sports leagues in Supreme Court sports betting appeal
News on 26 Oct 2017
News on 26 Oct 2017
Speculation on whether the US federal government would defend the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act restricting sports betting to just four US states ended this week when the US Solicitor General, Noel Francisco, filed his brief with the US Supreme Court.
The Solicitor General has sided with the sports leagues in opposing New Jersey’s attempt to more widely liberalise US sports betting.
The Court is to hear New Jersey’s appeal against lower court decisions supporting PASPA, and hopes to be the first to break the grip of the restrictive federal law and benefit by providing sports betting services to a generally receptive and eager betting public.
At stake is a lucrative market worth around $150 billion annually, most of which is being earned outside the law by unlicensed operators.
The Supreme Court hearing is being closely watched by other states looking for a similar opportunity, and the American Gaming Association has mounted an impressive campaign against PASPA in recent months.
It’s been a long, expensive anf so far unsuccessful fight through the courts for New Jersey, strongly opposed by the national sports leagues and the Department of Justice, so perhaps the Solicitor General’s support for PASPA should not come as too great a surprise.
Recent independent polls have shown that 55 percent of respondents are in favour of the wider liberalisation of sports betting in the States, with just 33 percent against such a development.
