Sports betting seems to be gaining momentum as an important legislative topic around the US, after the US Supreme Court decided to hear New Jersey’s call for the removal of a long-standing federal ban on this type of gambling activity.
California may be the next state to consider amending its existing gambling laws in a manner that would allow legal sports betting, provided that the federal ban is lifted in future. Local media reported that Assembly member Adam Gray, who currently chairs the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee, has produced a constitutional amendment that, if approved, will legalize the provision of sports betting services within California’s borders.
The amendment (ACA 18) will need to gain favor from a two-thirds majority in the California Legislature, in order to be put before residents to vote on it. However, state lawmakers have not been particularly well-favored towards gambling-related issues over the past several years, or at least have not been able to act very quickly on such matters.
They have been discussing the legalization of online poker for quite some time now, but multiple stumbling blocks have prevented the effort from progressing much further. In addition, a daily fantasy sports bill was approved in the Assembly last year, but lost momentum shortly after. The topic has never been brought up for discussion since then.
Under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), sports betting is prohibited in all but few states around the nation. The act came into effect back in 1992 and although it has been contested many times since then, there have not been any significant indications that it might be nulled or at least amended.
In June, the US Supreme Court announced that it would hear New Jersey’s case against the Act. The move was seen as a good sign for the US sports betting market, which has been estimated to be a particularly large one. According to recent reports, the amount of $400 billion is wagered illegally every year.
California is the nation’s largest state in terms of population with over 39.25 million residents, according to the July 1, 2016 census. In other words, a potentially huge market is on the road to legalizing sports betting.
Commenting on his decision to introduce ACA 18, Assembly member Gray said that Californians are already wagering their money on illegal sports betting websites and that it is time for lawmakers to put an end to this and regulate a multibillion industry in a manner that would protect customers.
The Supreme Court’s decision encouraged several other states to consider the legalization of sports betting. Connecticut was the quickest one to sign a law that would open the state’s market for this type of activity once the federal ban is lifted.
