6.28.17

On Tuesday, June 27, 2017, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear a federal lawsuit involving sports gambling. The U.S. Supreme Court’s willingness to hear the case is seen as a potential step toward legalized sports gambling in the United States.

The lawsuit involves a challenge by the state of New Jersey to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”), a federal law that bans nearly all states from legalizing sports gambling. New Jersey’s theory is that PASPA infringes on the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Tenth Amendment, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, generally provides that the federal government will not “commandeer” a state legislative process. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court has often held that individual states should be free to choose their own laws.

The case is expected to be heard during the U.S. Supreme Court’s fall session.

Should you have any questions, we encourage you to contact our firm at (813) 223-1099, Mr. Dennis Leone at dleone@shankmanleone.com, or Mr. Jonathan Stitt at jstitt@shankmanleone.com.