Sometime in the near future there’s a good possibIlity that you will be able to open up an app on your phone and gamble on whatever game is going on that night. Today, the Supreme Court has ruled to overturn the federal ban on sports gambling which is set to open the floodgates for legalized gambling in the U.S..
The United States Supreme Court agreed on Monday to allow New Jersey’s bid for sports betting at its casinos and racetracks, effectively ending on a prohibition on a $100 billion industry and striking down restrictions on wagering outside of Nevada.
“The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make,” the Supreme Court announced. “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.”
The ruling could allow as many as 25 other states to seek similar allowances.
So while the Supreme Court’s ruling doesn’t immediately allow anyone to gamble at the moment except for a few states it opens up the opportunity for congress to enact a federal law allowing sports gambling across the entire nation or leave it up to the states to figure it out for themselves.
New Jersey, the state at the heart of the Supreme Court case, can probably start taking bets in a few weeks. A couple other states perhaps in the fall. But many legislatures are in recess or at the end of session so for many states it could be a year or more before it happens
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) May 14, 2018
Can’t wait.