Document Type
Portfolio
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
Sports betting has become legal in many states across the Unites States after the Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association United States Supreme Court case was ruled in favor of the former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on May 14, 2018. This case overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), allowing state-sponsored sports betting. PASPA was passed by Congress in 1992 to prohibit state-sanctioned sports gambling, except in four states: Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon, which already established legal sports betting regulations. New Jersey failed to apply in 1991 to be added to the list of exempt states before the exemption window closed, but in 2010 challenged the federal law asserting the loss of potential revenue to illegal offshore entities. The case made it to the United States Supreme Court after the United State District Court rejected the challenge to federal law in March 2011. Colorado’s House Majority Leader Alec Garnett followed New Jersey’s lead and sponsored House Bill 19-1327 titled, “Authorize And Tax Sports Betting Refer Under Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (CO HB1327, 2019). HB19-1327 passed the Colorado House of Representatives and Senate within two weeks prior to the end of Colorado’s 2019 legislative session and was signed by Governor Jared Polis on May 29, 2019 with only $100,000 allocated for prevention, education, treatment, and workforce development, including the payment of salaries of counselors certified in the treatment of gambling disorders, along with $30,000 allocated to the Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners or its successor organization for the operation of a crisis hotline for gamblers. Colorado Proposition DD, the Legalize Sports Betting with Tax Revenue for Water Projects Measure was then added as a legislatively referred state statute to the November 5, 2019 ballot where it was passed by Colorado voters. The Colorado Division of Gaming composed a set of rules and regulations to be discussed at the end of December 2019 and adopted prior to sports betting becoming effective on May 1, 2020. Legalized sports betting is gaining tremendous traction, wagers, and attention throughout the state of Colorado which may consequently increase risk and cause harm to individuals, families, and communities.
