The United States Supreme Court on Monday voted 7-2 in favor of reversing the federal ban on sports betting (link via Robert Barnes of the Washington Post). States legislatures will now be free to set their own laws as pertaining to betting on professional and college sporting events. Full details of the ruling are available at the Supreme Court’s web site. From the ruling, as set forth by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.:
The legalization of sports gambling is a controversial subject. Supporters argue that legalization will produce revenue for the States and critically weaken illegal sports betting operations, which are often run by organized crime. Opponents contend that legalizing sports gambling will hook the young on gambling, encourage people of modest means to squander their savings and earnings, and corrupt professional and college sports.
The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make. Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own. Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution. [The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act] is not. PASPA “regulate[s] state governments’ regulation” of their citizens, New York, 505 U. S., at 166. The Constitution gives Congress no such power.
Major League Baseball has issued the following statement on the matter:
“Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court will have profound effects on Major League Baseball. As each state considers whether to allow sports betting, we will continue to seek the proper protections for our sport, in partnership with other professional sports. Our most important priority is protecting the integrity of our games. We will continue to support legislation that creates airtight coordination and partnerships between the state, the casino operators and the governing bodies in sports toward that goal.”
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark has also weighed in on the subject:
“The court’s decision is monumental, with far-reaching implications for baseball players and the game we love. From complex intellectual property questions to the most basic issues of player safety, the realities of widespread sports betting must be addressed urgently and thoughtfully to avoid putting our sport’s integrity at risk as states proceed with legalization.”
[Related: Hoops Rumors on impact of Supreme Court ruling on NBA]
Of course, sports betting already exists in prominent fashion throughout the United States. Barnes’ piece above cites an estimated $150 billion annual valuation of the underground sports betting market in the U.S., which doesn’t include already legalized betting at sportsbooks in Nevada casinos. Certainly, though, widespread legalization of the matter creates many potential causes for concern and also for revenue; NBA commissioner Adam Silver, for instance, has openly expressed a desire to be compensated for the compensated for his league’s “additional costs involving integrity,” (via Michael Scotto of The Athletic). ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier this year that the NBA could seek one percent of every bet legally placed on its outcomes.
The state of New Jersey had the support of 18 other states, per Barnes, in seeking to legalize betting in their state. Justine McDaniel of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the state of Pennsylvania, for instance, legalized sports betting last year in anticipation of federal legalization.
What they mean is, “we will have to diligently find out how we can profit from this new found revenue stream. ” Signed all players associations and owners.
You mean like Major League Baseball having an ownership stake in Fan Duel?
Please. These people have been profiting off gambling since forever, There’s little distinction between organized crime and the filthy rich these days.
Will it be allowed at Bushwood?
Was it really illegal to bet on sports? Seems crazy
Ask Pete Rose 🙂
I’ll say this in response. It was and still is against baseball rules. He broke a very strict rule in a big way. That being said I am a proponent of Pete being a HOF’er
Sorry wrong comment….
Yes. If you bet on a game, you may try to make your team lose. Only GMs and owners are allowed to do that. If they call it “rebuilding” and all the fans and sports media calls it “tanking” you’re golden. Otherwise, you’re thrown out for life.
I understand players,coaches etc but i still thought that fans could gamble
The integrity of the game was a factor when players weren’t making any money. Now most are making millions.
Great point
Sometimes it is never enough.
Great point
“bingo”.
The only part of that is that, with some, gambling is every bit as severe an addiction as is drugs or alcohol, for example. Other side of that coin is that history shows us it’s impossible to legislate either morality or good decisions…
If somebody has the sort of psychological makeup where they cannot avoid throwing their life away for gambling, it will happen whether it’s legal or not. We all just have to hope it doesn’t become more prevalent as it becomes easier.
Not true, the great majority of players do not make millions. But legalization of gambling will not make it more likely to corrupt the game.
What does this possibly mean for Pete Rose?
I can’t imagine the overall opinion on players or members of team management gambling being changed but who knows.
Not a thing and it shouldn’t.
Pete Rose should be in the Hall. He bet on his team to win. Who cares?
Rose and Bonds and Shoeless Joe Jackson need to go in, who cares if they were banned by MLB, Mantle and Mays got banned in the 80’s too and they were still in the HOF.
“He bet on his team to win. Who cares?”
MLB cares. And it particularly cares that Rose continued to lie about betting on baseball for fifteen years, until he came up with a way to cash in on fessing up. Today’s decision changes nothing for Pete Rose.
Some appear to believe that legalizing sports gambling today makes what Rose did OK. Even with today’s SCOTUS ruling MLB players are unlikely to be able to bet on baseball themselves. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean that it’s permissible for players or managers. Rose would be sanctioned by mlb exactly the same post ruling as before. He broke baseball’s one clear cut rule—and that rule isn’t gonna change either.
Please. There is a chasm-wide difference between working for a casino in a PR capacity and managing a big league team which you are betting on or agreeing to throw games.
Pete Rose is a lying POS. he broke the rules, lifetime ban was agreed upon. Anyone with half a brain knows he belongs, but he did it to himself, hope he never gets in.
I hope you feel the same way about every PED fraud, both known and still hidden. Because if you do, the HOF better not consider adding a new wing in the next ten decades.
Meanwhile, PED abusers like Braun have “earned” exponentially more than Rose ever did betting on baseball. One is still earning while another is a pariah. Makes sense.
brewcrew08….do yourself a favor and read the Dowd Report. Do you realize that he was so in debt with NY mob bookies they threatened his life and his family. He quite paying the Cincy bookies so he could pay the NY ones and not be hurt. Do you know how easily he could have been persuaded?
He should never be removed from the list especially now and his admission of “yes I did have an affair with her but I thought she was 16” but she was younger.
twentyforty…..I do….I agree with Joe Morgan
“Rose and Bonds and Shoeless Joe Jackson need to go in, who cares if they were banned by MLB, Mantle and Mays got banned in the 80’s too and they were still in the HOF.”
Rose admitted he broke the one rule posted in every clubhouse since the 1920’s a rule he saw thousands of times….he should remain banned. Evidence shows Bonds cheated….he should never get in.
Evidence shows Jackson did not throw games and was railroaded.
Mantle’s and Mays’ ban where legally overturned….apples and oranges JTO
Stop showing your age.
“Pete Rose should be in the Hall. He bet on his team to win. Who cares?”
And if the fact that he had a wager on the game affected his decisions in that game? Does it matter then?
Pretend he’s the manager of the Mets right now, and he has a big bet on a game in which Syndergaard is pitching. It’s a close game, but Syndergaard thrown a lot of pitches, and is tiring, but because he’s the best Rose has—and he needs to win his bet—he leaves Syndergaard in longer, who then ends up hurting his shoulder/arm and destroying his career. Wouldn’t that be an issue even though he “bet on his team to win”?
We don’t know how Rose’s gambling impacted his decisions as a player/manager, all we have is his word. And for twenty years he lied about ever gambling in the first place, so his word isn’t worth much.
At the end of the day he knew the rules, and the punishment for breaking them. Then he expected his punishment. Why should any of it be changed now?
@ Tom…excellent points. We do know that Rose averaged $15,000 per day and was a pretty bad gambler. We also know that he never bet on the Reds when a certain pitcher was starting (the name escapes me but I will look it up in the Dowd report when time allows).
We also know that Pete stood on the top dugout step, not because he was a great manager but because he had to in order to see the score board and keep track of his bets.
At one point the scoreboard in Cincy was broken for quite some time. He was so obsessed that he paid his bookie to sit in certain seats where Pete could see him. The bookie would go to the phones each inning and call to get the scores and then, via hand signals, would let Rose know if he was up or down for the day. Such a shinning example of a committed manager.
Car Mando – I have no problems with players getting banned from MLB, my issue is that the HOF isn’t actually connected to whether or not people are banned from MLB, and their “rules” of getting in are always on a sliding scale. Separate the HOF from MLB and everything makes sense.
But Rose still works in a Casino everyday profiting from his days in MLB
He was also the money man behind a major cocaine distribution ring
and still gambles on baseball ! He signed a lifetime ban
Plus a speed freak
and a child molester!
and that’s what he deserves! He still thinks he did no wrong
and doesn’t show any remorse! Read the DOWD Report !
You don’t really know how Rose bet regardless of what he said he did. He’s a lying degenerate gambler and they aren’t exactly known for their truthfulness.
“HOF isn’t actually connected to whether or not people are banned from MLB,” Wrong, although the BBWAA elects members (along with various HoF committees) the rules are established by the HoF.
Rule 3E “E. Any player on Baseball’s ineligible list shall not be an eligible candidate.”
Yes, I know this rule is at times referred to as the “Pete Rose Rule” in that it was instituted after he retired and before voting could take place.
Ask pitchers he managed. My guess is he used them differently because he bet on them to win. Just a guess on my part. That said, who says he also never bet against his team? The man was brilliant as a player but a compulsive liar since then. Who also knows for sure whether he bet as a player?
Two wrongs don’t make a right. As a Sox fan, I don’t want Papi in the HOF because I believe he cheated. Forget proof. My belief is my belief. While I commend him for his 2013 marathon aftermath and charity work, they are distinct in my eyes.
deweybelongsinthehall – People always assume he didn’t bet as a player and that is false. He was player/manager from 84-86 and Dowd uncovered betting slips when he was such.
It is very similar (not exact, I understand) to a work environment that prohibits drinking on the job, as most do. It’s legal, but you CAN’T do that while you’re representing the company who pays you, and you signed the piece of paper going in, thus supposedly having knowledge of the rules.
If you break that company rule, whether it’s legal or not, you’re going to pay a price.
Thanks Cat.
“Mantle’s And Mays’ ban where legally overturned . . . “ (sic)
Nope. Factually incorrect. Mays and Mantle were un-banned by then mlb commish Ueberroth, not as a result of any legal action(s).
articles.latimes.com/1985-03-19/sports/sp-31804_1_…
Cheers.
I stand corrected. For some reason, as I was remembering those days of Kuhn, who also banned Jenkins, his arbitration win entered my head and I spoke in error.
Fair enough. Been misled by my own (usually reliable) memory on occasion. Happens to the best, if you stick around long enough.
@ Tom…I looked it up as I mentioned and Rose wouldn’t bet on the reds when Bill Gullickson pitched and in ’87 when Bill Gullickson or Mario Soto despite what he later admitted to.
majorflaw…..I’ve been around and watching baseball 2 years before Dick Allen (regrettably called Richie then) was RoY. Memory fades, I usually try and check my memory unless I am hurried. I will always admit my mistakes though.
“2 years before Dick Allen (regrettably called Richie then) was ROY.”
That’s funny as I would trace my own baseball fandom to the same year, although it was more notable for me as the first year of the new team in NY. Not saying I was completely ambulatory at that point, but my memory is clear and I still retain several kitschy Mets giveaways from that era.
“I will always admit my mistakes though.”
Which is a quick way to end the issue. Rather than moving the goalposts, changing the subject or the ever popular ad hominem. Always wondered why folks are so resistant to admitting error, particularly when it concerns a relatively minor point. That’s obviously not directed at you, Cat Mando, but at others who may be tuning in.
Bingo Tom—I have had this same argument against Pete for years. A manager can cause injuries to any number of players because he uses a player that should be sitting a particular day due to fatigue or minor injury because it is the best opportunity. What if he loses several games that he bet on his team to win and suddenly owes his book a ton of money? He would more than likely get an offer to send out an obviouis inferior line up or pinch hit when he shouldn’t or send in the wrong reliever who gives up some runs because the book needs his team to lose a particular night.
Agree!
You had to know this comment wouldn’t get you any love.
Nothing. He still violated policy which will not change. Players will still not be allowed to bet on a league game.
The refs and umps will be harder to protect though. Large gambling interests will look to gain any competitive edge they can. Illegal cash will flood in extortion and blackmail and threats will follow when hundreds of millions more dollars are at stake. The supreme court was right in their ruling, too bad congress will do nothing to help steer this runaway train leaving the station.
Betting on sports has been going on forever. So are you saying super bowl referees are corrupt for example? Billions were bet on the super bowl this past year.
Not saying they are corrupt just saying that with even more money at play it will be harder to protect the officials from those that wish to corrupt them. I think the larger problem will be collegiate athletics and trying to keep tabs on players or officials being manipulated at that level.
To be fair, college sports was already corrupt before this SCOTUS ruling was issued.
Electronic strike zone, the same for all players. The home plate ump won’t be able to influence the game.
With replay, most calls can be challenged. If an ump has 2 calls overturned in a 1 week period, he is given a warning, 3 overturned and he is suspended, w/o pay, for 8-9 games. If it is a repeating pattern…he is gone.
I agree on the electronic strike zone. So sick of umpires affecting the outcome of a game based on them trying to distinguish themselves with their own interpretation of the strike zone.
Not sure about the overturned calls thing. The union would never allow it but besides that it’s a little harsh. I think there should be some kind of trouble for an ump that gets a lot of stuff wrong. But there’s degrees of how wrong. Something could be close and others could be obviously blown calls.
How do you get a warning for getting calls overturned? If there is a bang bang play 3 times and you get it wrong you lose pay? And electronic strike zones are sort of dumb. That would really eliminate a lot of value.
How are electronic strike zones “sort of dumb” when you have less chance of a mistake by an umpire?
A bad call by an umpire could mean the difference between a strike out and the guy getting another pitch that they might get a hit on. Not only can that be game changing it might be career changing. A fringe player might get dumped down to the minors after that bad call, to never get another chance yet a timely hit might give them the momentum to stringing a few together and maybe a shot at staying. Don’t underestimate the value of one good at bad increasing a players confidence.
ONE bad call on a pitch can change the result of a game and that’s simply not cool . I just want the game to be fair and consistent.
This is going to be HUGE, HUGE in the way sports get played. Franchise values will be going through the roof……
It’s going to take a while (probably years, though all will attempt to move it along as fast as possible)………It’s a state by state thing, so don’t expect anything overnight……but the impact will be enormous……
huge if true
Won’t this ruling sort of be like the 21st amendment of 1933 repealing the prohibition of alcohol sales ? Seems like it will do the same thing except with gambling !
This will be the sports equivalent to the Citizen’s United ruling.
To me this just seems like the 1% getting another way to take money away from the 99%.
It’s the old saying, gambling is a tax on the foolish.
“foolish” or “the people at the bottom who play by the rules and sayings of the people at the top”
It’s still so disgusting how “bootstraps mentality” is promoted most by those who were born into money, kind of the same lines of what I’m talking about.
“PASPA “regulate[s] state governments’ regulation” of their citizens, New York, 505 U. S., at 166. The Constitution gives Congress no such power.”
Doesn’t this logic nullify almost every federal law?
How are federal laws against drugs, prostitution, etc any different than federal laws against gambling?
This isn’t really the website you need if you want answers to civics questions like that. No one here will have a concise and suitable answer.
PASPA is a bit different–it’s not a blanket prohibition against gambling like the federal laws against the ones you cite are. The SCOTUS decision seems to be saying that the law takes a piecemeal approach to what the states are doing–e.g, what Nevada does is OK, but Iowa can’t do that–which it sees as impermissible by Congress.
AZ will still keep it illegal because everything is backwards here.
Sheriff Joe for Lord Governor of AZ in new Kingdom of Trumperica!
Reading these comments just shows how archaic and outdated MLB is. This of course devolved into the old, Rose should be in the HOF versus Of course Rose should never be in debates. You’re talking about a sport that has the all time HR leader and all time hits leader shunned, yet their records stand. Most old timers will fight tooth and nail about Aaron being the real HR leader, but that’s just not true. Induct them all and let the public decide how they view these guys, don’t play judge and jury.
Exactly, stop acting like the HOF is the same thing as MLB. They are separate entities. Michael Jordan’s gambling got his father murdered but he’s in the NBA HOF, because the NBA is the most sensical sports league in America and they don’t do stupid things like ban them from an otherwise-arbitrary Hall of “fame”.
Unless you’re stating that Jordan is somehow complicit in his father’s murder, implying Jordan is somehow equivalent to Rose is the single greatest piece of nonsense I’ve ever read in the comment section on this site, and that’s a high bar to clear.
Oh god lay off the hyperbole, that is a fairly common narrative.
I agree. Just because Rose gambled and Bonds used PEDs, does not mean they didn’t accomplish what they did. Bonds hit more home runs than Aaron, just that simple. I am even a fan of Hank Aaron and I easily admit that. They should induct Rose and Bonds. It’s like in the NCAA when they strip wins. Just because Louisville cheated, does not mean the 2013 National Championship didn’t happen. While I don’t condone cheating, the implications from cheating do not make sense.
They won because they cheated! Geez.
I’m pretty much at the point where I agree with you. Put them in the Hall based on their stats. In the ends the fans will pass down their opinions of who was the greatest.
In a way this reminds me of an article I read years ago about who should be seen as the single season home run record holder. The writer rejected everyone in the steroids era, rejected Maris because he played more games than Ruth, rejected Ruth because he was in the immediate post-dead ball era, etc. In the end he settled on Harmon Killebrew hitting 49 in two different seasons. As I recall the point of the article was while a number stands as a record you’re going have plenty of people saying “well that’s not the whole story.”
DB Cooper…it comes down to one simple question. Do you believe baseball should have rules of conduct or not? I mean, we could go back to the days when players would literally punch umps and it was OK.
God that would be great. #RoboUmps
Yea they should have rules of conduct like any other business, just don’t try to enforce them now when they in place..PED’s.
Rose should be allowed in on a limited basis, cause him and Bonds records are already displayed. Bonds-Cleamons long before Bud..#He knew and profited
Rose broke the one rule that will get you a permanent ban, Rule 21d
“(d) BETTING ON BALL GAMES. Any player, umpire, or club official or
employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has no duty to perform shall be declared ineligible for one year.
Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall
bet any sum whatsoever upon any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible.
A common misconception with PED, when people say “but it wasn’t illegal when Big Mac, and then Bonds, broke the record is wrong. PED’s where officially banned by Fay Vincent in June 1991. He Asked the union then for testing and Donald Fehr said no. He said It would violate a player privacy. Fehr even used that same line in front of Congress….they disagreed.
Crystal meth would be legal if our government could tax it …
Comparing gambling to meth is ludicrous and yes, they most certainly could tax it.
Ironman_4life is on the right track though…. For years here in Pennsylvania, you could not legally buy nor set of fireworks that launched into the air. The esteemed state officials decreed that the general population could not be trusted with such things as they would do grave harm to each other People went across state lines to buy them, come home with them and then set them off anyway. I guess they realized how much tax money was being collected in neighboring states because they just passed a law earlier this year that now the same people that were not trusted before can purchase and fire off all of the fireworks that they want to buy and now PA will get the tax benefits..
I’m happy. Old laws reminded me of prohibition. I’m not a gambling man, but if I was, I’d be ecstatic, these ancient rules are being abolished.
Literally reminds me of the ban on marijuana, if only it would follow the same route. Waste of time and money. Let the states tax the hell out of it.
As I’ve said before, those who will gamble away everything will go to AC, and gamble away everything anyway. The Good news, for all you purists is I still believe MLB will be the LAST to embrace legal sports betting, unlike the NBA, and NFL (NFL has been doing it for a looong time)
What does this mean for the poker sites they forced to the Islands.
“According to research by UNLV’s Center for Gaming Research, legal sports betting in Las Vegas has nearly doubled in the past decade, totaling nearly $5 billion. Experts estimate illegal betting in the U.S is significantly higher, likely topping $100 billion.” washingtonpost.com/sports/awaiting-supreme-court-d…
It would mean, money back to the states !
Xabial. Where is this money coming back to the states coming from? I realize you mean U.S. citizens keeping their bets in the U.S. but in reality, betting mostly redistributes, not create wealth. Problem is Wall Street banks could stop Internet transactions if they wanted to. Offshore gambling to my knowledge remains illegal.
“Placed Your Bets! Place Your Bets!!!
— Al Czervik
“Gambling is illegal at Bushwood and I never slice.”
— Judge Elihu Smails
The genie was already out of the bottle considering fantasy sports is gambling. The problem is for the jobs and industry it creates, it mostly redistributes wealth instead of adding to it. It will be a wild west situation with oversaturation. While some municipalities and private companies will profit, more will not with some communities losing on their investments.
This was a 6-3 ruling, not 7-2.
Oh! Well that clears everything up.
The only group who should be disappointed by this ruling is the Mob… Everybody already gambles. This just makes it so some goon isnt coming to collect.
Only allows for the possibility for some goon is not coming to collect. There will many who believe that the illegal book has better odds and also a little thing known as taxes—-You can try to avoid those pesky things by going to the illegal book. The legal book causes you to claim any income you should make.
Also usually allows one to bet more than they can afford to lose. Big difference putting your money on the line upfront as compared to scampering to cover your damage once a week.
I think most of you mis the point that pro sports organizations will ban and continue to ban players, coaches, managers and owners from gambling, this allows the fans to gamble and lose their money.
I don’t understand the NBA trying to get paid an “integrity fee” from every bet.
This was the league who had a ref who admitted to fixing games.
What happens if and when the NBA (or any other league who tries to follow suit) collects it’s “integrity fee” and one of it’s refs is caught fixing games? What penalty will they pay? Will they be liable to lawsuits from gamblers?
Also, the phrase “integrity fee” (openly admitting that you need to paid in order to maintain your integrity) is a little too close to “protection money”.
Very scary when I read up on the integrity tax. The leagues si
will do no more than what they’re currently doing to get what is no more than what a casino does at the poker table; they’ll get a cut in every hand (bet). Notice to states that want to impose an integrity tax: it’s called overhead. If there is tax money to collect and alleged integrity issues to protect, do a cost-benefit analysis. People are tired of money grabs without giving back. After a short fad time period, most revenue will be collected from those that can afford it the least. Will States do this themselves like lotteries? Probably not which is why income from casinos or betting parlors should be taxed based on profits, not bets. At least with casino poker games, someone has to win each hand. Sport teams getting a piece? Boy is that scary. Again, they already are supposed to police themselves.
Did Vegas have a betting line on how this ruling would go?
Wtf ?
Signed , Charlie Hustle