Massachusetts, New York, and Oklahoma are said to be the states most likely to pass sports betting regulations.
Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, which tracks gambling legislation throughout the world, released a report this week estimating up to 18 US states might introduce sports betting bills in 2018. Eilers & Krejcik’s report stated as many as 11 states might pass sports betting legislation.
The states most likely to pass such legislation are New York, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma, according to the report by Eilers & Krejkic Gaming. Other states listed as possibilities were Rhode Island, New Jersey, West Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, and California.
Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisiana have introduced bills, while Connecticut and Mississippi already have passed sports betting legalization. In all 5 cases, PASPA would have to be struck down by the Supreme Court for the regulations to go into effect.
Eilers & Krejcik Sports Betting Report
The report was released as the U.S. Supreme Court deliberates on the future of land-based sports betting in the United States. On December 4, lawyers for the State of New Jersey and the major US sports associations argued the case Christie v. NCAA in front of the Supreme Court.
A decision on Christie v. NCAA is expected sometime in the first half of 2018. At stake is the future of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which went into effect in 1993 and continues to govern federal sports betting law. Under PASPA, Nevada is the only US state with legal sportsbooks, while 3 other states have legal sports lotteries.
If the US Supreme Court strikes down PASPA, the other 46 states could pass regulations on brick-and-mortar sports betting. Many states have shown the inclination to legalize and regulate sportsbooks inside casinos. 20 states signed New Jersey’s amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court. Those states are likeliest to pass sports betting regulations.
Chris Grove on US Sports Betting Laws
Chris Grove, the managing director of Eilers & Krejcik, wrote in the report, “Assuming a Supreme Court decision or action by Congress permits it, we could see the largest simultaneous expansion of regulated gambling in U.S. history with sports betting in 2018.”
Of course, a US governor or state attorney general might support New Jersey’s challenge to US federal law by signing an amicus brief, while not necessarily wanting their own state to legalize sports betting. Many libertarians believe the PASPA is unconstitutional. Thus, Eilers & Krejcik does not suggest all 20 signatories to the amicus brief will take up sports betting regulations.
Legislative Debates on Sports Gaming Law
Also, a state’s leaders might support sports betting regulations, yet face opponents in the legislature who block any such legislation. That is why as many as 18 states might introduce sports betting bills, but only 11 states might pass that legislation. If online gambling legislation is any indication, passing regulations is fraught with peril, due to the many competing interests and general partisan upheaval in most state legislatures.
Why Gaming Legislation Is Complicated
California is a good example. Since 2013, a half-dozen California state legislators have introduced online poker bills. None of those bills ever gained traction, because the competing land-based gaming interests in the state could not agree on the framework of California online poker.
Two factions among the dozens of tribal casinos have had a stalemate over whether PokerStars should be allowed into California online poker. One group thinks PokerStars should have access, but that group signed a corporate partnership with the world’s largest online card room. The other group thinks PokerStars should be banned as a “bad actor” — or forced to wait as many as 10 years before entering the market. Neither side would give ground, so no California online poker bill has got close to passage, despite much interest and a huge potential windfall to the tribal casinos of California.
Why Casinos Want Sportsbooks
Brick-and-mortar sportsbooks are much different than online poker, of course. Because gamblers would need to visit a land-based casino’s sportsbook, the playing field would be much more even. Also, online poker would generate big revenues for California casinos, but nothing like the revenues that legal sportsbooks would generate. Even though tribal gaming has complications than commercial casinos do not when it comes to sports betting and sovereignty issues, tribal casinos in California would still have big reasons to start the complicated process sooner and not later.
Thus, Chris Grove is correct when he says the end of PASPA might produce a huge amount of activity, because land-based gaming operators should be unanimous about wanting to tap sports betting’s revenue potential.
