Congress to Review US Gambling Laws

This story was published more than 7 years ago.

A report filed by ABC News this week revealed that the United States Congress is gearing up to review the country's gambling laws, with possible overhauls coming as the landscape of gambling changes in the land of more than 300 million people.

The article reveals that US Representative Frank Pallone Jr. from New Jersey is introducing legislation that reviews the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, the Federal Wire Act of 1961, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, looking for ways that the country can effectively regulate online and land betting. The decision seems to have a large base aimed at daily fantasy sports, as there's a question as to whether or not the activity is sportsbetting, which is prohibited in all but a handful of states.

Speaking about his legislation Pallone said, "The laws need a wholesale review to see how they can actually work together and create a fairer playing field for all types of gambling, both online and offline, including sports betting and daily fantasy sports. At the same time, we must ensure the laws are actually creating an environment of integrity and accountability, and include strong consumer protections. I plan to continue discussions with the key stakeholders and then will introduce comprehensive legislation to finally update these outdated laws."

Currently more than $149 billion is bet illegally on sports in the United States, while just $4.3 billion was spent in regulated Nevada sportsbooks. The huge gap could be closed a bit by legalizing the activity, while also raising tax revenue on the state and local levels.

The most recent challenge against PASPA came from New Jersey, who passed their own laws legalizing the activity. The federal government and an assortment of major sports leagues sued to stop bets on events, claiming that the state law is superseded by the federal law, and that argument has been backed up by multiple courts. Because of this, it appears that federal overhauls of the laws are the only way to expand betting within the United States.

Casino Listings will update this story as we learn more.

About the author

Dustin Jermalowicz // News Editor
Dustin Jermalowicz
Dustin has a long-standing passion for gambling. He has been writing professionally on the subject and breaking industry news for Casino Listings since 2011. His favorite casino games include Blackjack, Poker, and Hi/Lo. A proud native of Detroit, Dustin currently lives in Michigan.
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bgsharpe
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11 November 2016 - 10:14pm
#1
barbadosslim93 wrote:

Currently more than $149 billion is bet illegally on sports in the United States, while just $4.3 billion was spent in regulated Nevada sportsbooks. The huge gap could be closed a bit by legalizing the activity, while also raising tax revenue on the state and local levels.

This numbers says all really, if the congress wants all this money and a lot more of course flowing in the state budgets they should legalize betting I think, and I'm quite sure those $149 mill are unofficial number....

lvblck
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13 November 2016 - 5:21am
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With Trump becoming the new president of the United States, I am sure that there will definitely be some changed into gambling laws. I do think that people should be allowed to gamble legally.