The American Sports Betting Coalition, which is backed by the American Gaming Association’s Illegal Gambling Advisory Board, has launched a campaign to end the federal ban on sports betting, known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
Citing “a wave of unprecedented support for legalised sports betting” the ASBC is renewing efforts to overturn PASPA, which prohibits sports betting outside Nevada.
Research by Oxford Economics, said the ASBC, showed that legalising sports betting in the US would curb an illegal market worth an estimated $150bn, creating a regulated industry worth approximately $26bn and generating up to $5.3bn in tax.
PASPA, enacted in 1992, “had failed to protect sports, fans and communities,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, which is leading the ASBC campaign.
“We are partnering with local and state elected officials, law enforcement and other diverse interests to tell Washington to get out of the way. Regulated sports betting is what fans want and sports integrity demands.”
“PASPA is unconstitutional and a failed law,” added Brad Schimel, attorney general for the state of Wisconsin and a member of the National Association of Attorneys General Executive Committee.
“I, along with several of my colleagues from other states, believe we must respect state sovereignty. That is why we filed an amicus brief [court papers filed by a non-litigant] to the New Jersey case.
"The rampant illegal sports betting that currently exists continues to fuel other criminal activities and provides no consumer protections. States should be able to determine for themselves how to address the issue.”
