Thus, after more than six years of litigation, including three lower court losses, New Jersey finally defeated the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL as it fights to legalize sports betting just like Nevada.But today’s victory is not absolute. It left the door open for Congress to go back and ban sports betting entirely by implementing a law that is directed toward individuals that the federal government would enforce. The problem with PASPA is that it forced the states to prohibit sports betting when Congress could have just done it directly.Of course, getting Congress to agree on anything these days is nearly impossible, so a sports betting ban Version 2.0 is highly unlikely.More importantly, is that today’s decision is not limited to New Jersey. By declaring PASPA unconstitutional in its entirety, the Supreme Court removed the federal roadblock that prevented any state from hopping on the sports betting wagon. States can now decide for themselves if they want to allow sports gambling and figure out the manner in which to make it possible.“The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make. Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own. Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution. PASPA is not. PASPA “regulate[s] state governments’ regulation” of their citizens, New York, 505 U. S., at 166. The Constitution gives Congress no such power.”
So while sports fans cheer the newfound ability to legally wager on games, advocates for legalized marijuana and sanctuary cities might see a pathway to blocking federal authority in contravention of states’ rights. The sports betting case could prove to be a litmus test for just how far the conservative majority on the Supreme Court will allow federal authority to reach.While the wide-ranging implications of this decision play out, the large takeaway is that legal sports betting is coming and many different entities stand to reap significant rewards.So while you might have to wait a bit before your state acts, it might be a good time to start figuring out how to dump your bookie gently.Steve Silver is a former sports reporter for the Las Vegas Sun and is now a lawyer in Portland, Maine. He is teaching a class on the law of sports betting at the University of Maine School of Law in the Fall. You can reach him at steve@thelegalblitz.com or on Twitter @thelegalblitz .This post originally noted the official decision as 6-3, however it has been updated to reflect Justice Breyer's concurrence in part will count as a vote in favor and thus a 7-2 ruling.The PASPA provision at issue here — prohibiting state authorization of sports gambling—violates the anticommandeering rule. That provision unequivocally dictates what a state legislature may and may not do. And this is true under either our interpretation or that advocated by respondents and the United States. In either event, state legislatures are put under the direct control of Congress. It is as if federal officers were installed in state legislative chambers and were armed with the authority to stop legislators from voting on any offending proposals. A more direct affront to state sovereignty is not easy to imagine.