PASPA stands for the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. This act is sponsored by Senator Bill Brady and aims to stop the spread of sports betting in the US. At the moment there are strict rules in place regarding sports betting and it is banned in the majority of states.
PASPA applies to everywhere except Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana. These are exempt as they already have legislation in place allowing sports betting.
It s also possible that states like New Jersey will be exempt from PASPA if they have allowed commercial gambling for the last 10years and they legalize sports betting within the first year of PASPA regulations coming into force.
It is felt that the new PASPA rules were needed as sports betting is expanding rapidly and so has gambling legislation in general.
The Issue With PASPA
Sports betting is allowed in 4 states already and New Jersey appeared to have a way to make it 5 states. They immediately tried to repeal Paspa law in New Jersey by passing legislation allowing sports betting.
However, they were sued by the sports leagues that argued PASPA was constitutional and sports betting should not be allowed.
The sports leagues are for PSPA as they feel it will encourage fraud within the game.
New Jersey has argued twice in front of different judges and lost. The case has now been referred to the Supreme Court where a verdict is expected in May 2018.
The result will be interesting as many other states are waiting to launch their own legislation, if New Jersey is successful.
The Electronic Element
Electronics are already a key part of many machines. However there is now the capability to take this so much further.
New companies are hoping to bring in electronic games machines which will connect with each other. No more will gaming feel like a matter of solidarity. If one player wins big then all other active players will gain a percentage of the jackpot; without affecting the winners take!
In effect electronics can bring a sense of community to gaming.
This application could be extended in sports betting. It would be aided by electronics and the ability to operate from anywhere in the globe.
While the US has strict laws regarding the operation of overseas betting agencies inside the country it is a very difficult area to regulate successfully.
Should New Jersey lose its appeal then it is likely that many foreign firms will set up electronic gaming options which will be available to, although not targeted at American citizens.
This will allow them to stay loosely within the law and US citizens to bet on the games. Of course, the opportunity for fraud will be dramatically increased and a large chunk of funds will not be retained within the US economy.
While this is not something that the PASPA appeal is discussion it is an important consideration. Electronics are about to change the face of gaming which could be seriously detrimental to the US if the judgment goes the wrong way.
