Connecticut, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia stand to benefit from the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act because they recently legalized sports betting in anticipation of the ruling, Governing reports.
Adding sports gambling to casino gambling and horse races could boost the $28 billion industry by $42.2 billion, which the American Gaming Association found would provide state and local governments, about $3.4 billion in tax revenue.
It’s a drop in the bucket compared to what states spend each year, but still, a drop that wasn’t previously available.
However, with the majority of legislatures adjourning for the year, and Louisiana heading into a special session, most states won’t see any revenue boost from the decision until next year. Louisiana legislators did consider a bill during the regular session that would have allowed sports gaming but it failed to win passage.
The five states that have legalized it over the past year still have several administrative or statutory decisions to make. Connecticut, for instance, has yet to work out where in the state sports betting will be allowed.
In striking down the 1992 law in a 6-3 opinion, the justices said the legalization of sports gambling was an important policy choice, one that many state and local governments supported.
The National Conference of State Legislatures called the Christie v. NCAA case a “landmark ruling” that “provides states another tool with which they can continue to craft smart, tailored policies during a time of congressional gridlock in Washington.”
