Over the past few months now, talk of online poker legislation has been pushed to the wayside as gaming operators begin to focus on sports betting services. With the May ruling by the US Supreme Court, sports betting is now open to any state that chooses to legalize the activity. However, despite this ruling, some lawmakers are vying for federal intervention, planning on trying to create legislation that will cover sports betting on a federal level. New Jersey Senator Frank Pallone was part of the discussion for federal legislation but has since decided to opt out.
Last year, Pallone pushed for legislation to be create for state-sanctioned sports betting with federal oversight. He has now decided to stop fighting for the changes. During the National Congress of American Indians last week, the Senator stated that he will no longer be trying to pass his measure, known as the Gaming Accountability and Modernization Enhancement Act.
Introduced in December of last year, the GAME Act will no longer be at the forefront of Pallone’s efforts. According to the Senator, his position now is that the US should not move to create federal legislation involving sports betting.
It was last year that the US Supreme Court began hearing testimony involving the New Jersey case for sports betting, which is when Pallone introduced his federal bill. If passed, the bill would have allowed states to offer sports betting within their borders. The bill also declared that any gaming option considered legal in the state would protect bettors based on federal law. For gaming groups to be able to submit consumer protections, they would have had to be first cleared by the Federal Trade Commission.
Now that sports betting is in full swing, the Senator seems to have had a change of heart. So far, several states, including New Jersey, offer some form of sports betting, be it online or land-based options. It seems states are having no trouble coming up with legislation on their own to regulate the industry themselves, without interference from the federal government.
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