Legal Sports Betting in the US is On the Cards

The U.S Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of the state of New Jersey in its bid to offer sports betting to its residents, effectively seeing off the Professional and Amateur Sports Act that severely limited the industry. For 25 years PAPSA has meant that only one state could offer US based legal sports betting however that's all about to change as that bill was declared unconstitutional, paving the way for states to decide for themselves as to whether or not to allow it.

Which States are Likely to Offer Legal Sports Betting?

New Jersey will of course go ahead and provide licensing for sports betting and there are a few other states that have shown an interest with West Virginia already having the laws in place to allow for sports betting and could even be up and running in three months. There are a total of 17 states that have either passed bills or have bill pending as regards to the legality of sports betting however there will be bumps in the road and much work to do for many of them.

Licensing fees and a regulatory framework will need to be put in place by the majority of those states and then of course there's the professional sports leagues to deal with. The NBA and the MLB have already pushed the idea of a 1% sports integrity fee, which to many sounds much like a cash grab on this potential new industry's revenue, and there is of course always the chance that a new federal law, banning sports betting could be introduced. While there is much still to be done and many hurdles to jump it appears for all intents and purposes that we'll see legal sports betting in some states, however which ones and when is all yet to be decided.