Regulating Sports Gambling in the Aftermath of Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Abstract

On May 14, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its seminal ruling in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, which held that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act violated the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that U.S. states are now free to legalize commercial sports gambling. At present, six states have initiated plans to allow for state-sponsored sports gambling in response to the Supreme Court’s Murphy decision. Meanwhile, numerous other states, including New York, will potentially legalize sports gambling in 2019.

This Essay explores newfound legal questions that arise from the expansion of state-sponsored sports gambling in the aftermath of Murphy. Part I of this Essay explores the history of sports gambling in the United States prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy. Part II explains the legal rise and fall of PASPA, culminating with the Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy. Part III describes six new state laws to legalize and regulate sports gambling in the aftermath of PASPA’s demise. Finally, Part IV addresses seven important public policy issues that state legislators should consider when proposing new sports-gambling laws in the wake of Murphy.

Keywords: gaming law, gambling law, sports gambling, sports law, fantasy sports, DFS, casinos, Murphy v. NCAA, NCAA, Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, Constitutional Law, Tenth Amendment

JEL Classification: K00, K2, Z2, Z21, Z28, K4, K12, H1, H2