Also known as: PASPA
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A federal statute that makes it unlawful for a state or its subdivisions to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize by law or compact any gambling scheme based on competitive sporting events. The statute also bars private persons from sponsoring or promoting such schemes when they are authorized by state law.
Governor Preston Pratt signs legislation permitting licensed casinos to accept wagers on professional football games. A national sports league immediately sues the state gaming commission. The court enjoins the licensing program because the federal statute directly forbids state authorization of sports gambling schemes.
The New Jersey legislature repeals prior restrictions so that racetracks may offer sports wagers to adults. Professional leagues file suit against state officials. The district court grants a preliminary injunction after finding that the repeal still constitutes state authorization prohibited by the federal statute.
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The statute bars states and their subdivisions from sponsoring, operating, advertising, promoting, licensing, or authorizing sports gambling schemes. It also makes it unlawful for private persons to engage in those activities when the scheme has been authorized by state law.
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The Supreme Court ruled that the statute violated the anti-commandeering doctrine because it issued direct orders to state legislatures about what they could or could not authorize. The prohibition targeted state legislative action rather than regulating private conduct independently.
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Courts have treated partial repeals that permit sports wagering at racetracks and casinos as state authorization forbidden by the statute. Such measures still trigger the federal prohibition even when framed as deregulation.
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…opinion, in which Sotomayor, J., joined as to Parts I, II, and III. Majority opinion Opinion of Justice Alito The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) generally prohibits States from legalizing sports gambling. 28 U. S. C. §§3701–3704. PASPA makes it unlawful for (1) a State or any of its subdivisions “to sponsor, operate,…