Supreme Court rules in favor of legalized sports betting

Early Monday morning, the landscape of the sports world was changed with one swift ruling;  The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 against a federal law that prohibited legalized sports betting in everywhere but Nevada.  The law was called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act and was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

New Jersey filed the lawsuit against the law citing that it was unconstitutional.  It’s obvious that the reason why New Jersey spearheaded this movement was because of the two new casinos being built in Atlantic City and the fledgling business after the Great Recession that struck A.C. hard.  A boost in tourists is a guarantee, as New Jersey will be the first state to enact legalized sports betting.

What it means overall

This is a monumental moment for all sports bettors and every major league in the United States.  Not only is sports betting now legal, but each state is free to monitor and legislate as they deem fit.  This means that a state like New York can bring in billions of taxable revenue by taking a chunk of the betting scene.  It also means that the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB will now have to take another looking at their collective bargaining agreements to ensure that players are NOT betting on their own games, as it’s still a conflict of interest.  It may not be illegal, but it’s a bad look for anyone to pull a Pete Rose because it may affect the integrity of the game.

On a positive note, it could also bring a lot more revenue in for each sport.  It opens avenues for each sport to have live betting for fans both at home and at the stadium.  The way I see it, a sport as big as football could profit a million times over from letting their fans get in the action AS they’re watching the game.  They could also give special perks and bonuses to fans for attending the game.  Having a live betting scheme could boost attendance for those fans who don’t have a full interest in the team, but rather the outcome of the game.

Additionally, there will still be plenty of underground betting but legalizing betting is a big hit to bookies and those who run Super Bowl boxes, fantasy leagues, etc.  The major four sports could profit from building their own sports books and for-money fantasy leagues and cut the middle man out entirely.  It will be very interesting to see how a league like the NBA monitors sports betting as they’ve been wrapped in tons of point shaving scandals in the past.

Overall, it’s a win for everyone involved.  The fans don’t have to worry about going through a sketchy site in the Bahamas where their banking info could be leaked.  They can bet through a reputable site and be able to see their profits (or losses) immediately instead of having to deal with a bookie on a weekly basis.  The states who allow gambling will profit exponentially from it, taking a chunk of money off the top in taxes and fees that hopefully get put back into the state to help with costs of infrastructure and building projects.  If the leagues choose to embrace legalized gambling, they can get a piece of the pie too.  Having their own platforms will help attendance and interest in their sports while they also are able to garner fees from each bettor.

Once again, this is a MONUMENTAL moment in sports history.  A lot of people were making a joke that Pete Rose is currently on his way to New Jersey, but his situation is just a bit different.  However, for many like myself who choose to bet with close friends and people I trust, I can now say that I will be all in on betting games live through a reputable source.  It won’t be perfect to start, but legalized sports gambling will be a huge win for all involved.  It’s a long time coming, but they finally got it done.  What a world we live in right now.