Nick Santoriello @NickSantoriello
11/20/18
William Hill made $2.37 billion in 2015.
To most that sentence sounds like some wealthy hedge fund manager hitting it big on some investments. However, it is not a wealthy hedge fund manager. In fact, William Hill isn’t even a person at all.
Well he probably is, it’s a common name, but he most likely didn’t have a revenue of over $2 billion in 2015.
No, this William Hill is the William Hill sportsbook in Las Vegas, Nevada, where prior to 2018, was the only state where sports betting was legal.
It took the efforts of two New Jersey governors, two supreme court cases and lots of petitioning from the state, but after years of work, the federal ban on sports betting was lifted on May 14, 2018.
In 1992 the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was put in place that effectively banned all forms of sports betting excluding certain events in a few states. However, in March 2009, PASPA was formally challenged in the state of New Jersey. State Senator Raymond Lesniak filed a lawsuit claiming that the PASPA unconstitutionally discriminated among the states by allowing four states to offer sports betting while disallowing the other forty-six states from enjoying the privilege. Enticed by the money to be made by the state, then governor at the time, Christ Christie, took up the cause
Under the direction Christie, the state of New Jersey voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting. The move put New Jersey in prime position to capitalize on the money to be made should the federal ban on sports betting be repealed.
The law was immediately challenged most notably by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in August of 2012 arguing that the state law violated the federal law PASPA. In response, the state argued that PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment.
And so ensued the court case of Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
After bouncing from circuit courts to appeals courts for five years the case finally was to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. By this time Phil Murphy was elected governor of New Jersey and so, the case was renamed Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
The case was presented during the October 2017 term of the Supreme Court. Murphy advocated for the advantages to be had should the federal ban be lifted.
Finally, on May 14, 2018 the court ruled in favor of Murphy and PASPA was ruled unconstitutional. The victory was a huge one for those like former State Senator Lesniak who was one of the early supporters of legalized sports betting.
“It was a long fight, with the odds against us,” Lesniak said. “But New Jersey spirit and determination prevailed.”
In the opinion of the court Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said the problem with the federal law is that “state legislatures are put under the direct control of Congress.”
“A more direct affront to state sovereignty is not easy to imagine,” Alito wrote.
The sports gambling world is expanding exponentially. Daily fantasy sites, online sportsbooks, and an increase in sportsbooks at casinos and racetracks have exploded since the federal ban on sports betting was lifted.
“Today’s ruling will finally allow for authorized facilities in New Jersey to take the same bets that are legal in other states in our country,” Murphy said.
Some, including those associated with the NCAA still feel that the concept of sports betting is heinous especially considering the student-athletes are amateurs. In response to that, sports bettors ask if it is immoral to make money off of these amateurs without pay.
Texas A&M’s football program alone averaged $107 million during a three-year span from 2014-2017.
However with so much money to be made in the coming years, the legalization of sports betting makes many states who choose to follow New Jersey’s path, winners.
“We knew in our heads we were right,” Murphy said. “And we knew in our hearts that we would win. And we did.”
SHU Sports Focus 
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