The Supreme Court finally came to a long-awaited decision regarding the Murphy vs. NCAA case (previously known as Christie vs. NCAA), in turn striking down the law prohibiting sports betting in the United States and deeming PASPA unconstitutional.
Initially passed in 1992, the law, known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was aimed at curbing the spread of sports betting and match-fixing; the bill would later appear to better serve as a driver behind a larger gambling black market in the United States, prompting the question of its role in US legislation.
Today, the Supreme Court ruled against PASPA, giving states the green light to legalise sports betting, at their own discretion. The decision suggests a wealth of opportunities for the US gambling market, extending sports betting across a much larger scope whereas before Nevada was the only state with a complete betting menu. Prior to this announcement, there was plenty of speculation surrounding how a ruling in favour of New Jersey would shape the future of the US betting market – we outlined the notion quite comprehensively in a report back in March. Now, with the statement this morning making sports betting a reality, we can safely assume the US gambling market is on the cusp of some major renovations – esports betting included.
PASPA formerly blanketed esports under this law, preventing wagering on the digital sport alongside the rest in the US. With the federal law now out of the picture though, esports is about to be opened up to an entirely new region – one that’s gambling market is valued at $150 billion (£106,261,500,000), 97% of that being traded on the black market. Ranking high in terms of overall esports interest, the United States having issued this repeal will likely impact its betting market in more ways than one. For one, the legality having previously been a barrier for potential bettors, its recent lawful status should welcome some new clientele. Additionally, it can be anticipated bookmakers begin to take esports more seriously as these numbers swell hand-in-hand with the verdict at a speedier rate.
Leading up to this moment, states and bookmakers were reported initializing premeditated movements en route to a potential ruling against PASPA intended to wax the transition between illegal and legal sports betting.
As news affecting every gambling industry member, we decided to reach out to Chief Marketing Officer at Rivalry.gg, Kevin Wimer, to hear his initial impression on the headlining announcement and what the next steps are for an esports bookmaker:
“This Supreme Court decision doesn’t mean we can just start accepting US customers. But this decision is the first step of many towards getting us there. Each state will be handled on a case-by-case basis, almost if each is its own country. Each state will have its own licensing regiment and own ways which money will need to be handled. Nobody is quite sure how this will unfold but this decision has put that discovery process in motion.”
ESI Says: The dismemberment of PASPA is going to onset a horde of changes in the betting industry; while we don’t exactly know how the repeal will play out quite yet, we deduce adaptations will start arriving swiftly. As the market continues to morph in alignment with the latest breakthrough in esports betting we’ll be keeping you readily up to speed with the latest.