United States

Supreme Court to Decide If More States Can Legalize Sports Betting

Professional sports leagues and amateur associations say the law prevents the corrupting influence of organized crime in athletics

Nevada's decades-long monopoly on legal sports betting could be broken by the U.S. Supreme Court, depending on the outcome of a case to be argued Monday, NBC News reported. 

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, backed by 18 other states, is asking the justices to strike down a federal law that prevents the state from allowing gambling on sports. Some see it as an important test of states' rights, while others are simply eager to reap the tax revenue that would come from legal sports wagering.

They are challenging a 1992 law, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prevents states from allowing any sports gambling schemes. It's unusual because it does not ban sports gambling nationwide as a matter of federal law. Instead, the act says states cannot permit it.

Professional sports leagues and amateur associations say the law prevents the corrupting influence of organized crime in athletics — they're urging the court to uphold it.

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