Place Your Bets

Sports fans rejoice! A landmark decision was struck yesterday in the Supreme Court. allowing it to now become legal to gamble on professional sports in all fifty states, not just Las Vegas. According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court on Monday gave its go-ahead for states to allow gambling on sports across the nation, striking down a federal law that barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states. The justices voted 6-3 to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 1992 law that forbade state-authorized sports gambling with some exceptions. It made Nevada the only state where a person could wager on the results of a single game.

So what does this all mean?

Well, in basic terms, it's allowing something to come to the forefront that has already become a major hobby for most Americans. The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans illegally wager about $150 billion on sports each year, an eye popping number. IT now gives people another way to be able to make money, this time legally, on something that they've been doing behind closed doors for years. Of course this has some deterrents.

Some high ranking people inside the sports world aren't happy with the decision because of the effect it could have on games. Some inside Major League Baseball are against the ruling because of the profound effects it could have on the game. I could see that side of the argument. Some people involved with the various teams around the Majors could have a wager on a game, which could effect how the game is played. I'm sure that people inside not only Major League Baseball, but the other major sports as well. The NHL, MLB and NBA could, and should, join MLB in finding a way to keep the gambling on the games. You saw what it did to Pete Rose. If you haven't I suggest you go read about it, there's way too much to that story to get involved with it here. I'm sure, knowing the higher ups in the sports world, they will find a way to make it work so that nobody involved with what's going on on the playing surfaces can make any wagers of any kind on the action.

As far as the fans go, this comes as a nice surprise to them, and a welcomed one at that. Its no secret that people place bets on sporting events. I've done it on a number of occasions, not all of them for money (small money bets if anything) but also for other stuff like a meal or drinks or stuff like that. Now the money can roll in anywhere else in the country just like it can in Vegas. The logistics of it have to be worked out so that everybody can benefit from it, and it can be done in a very positive way.

Any way you slice it, this is a huge step in the world of sports and in the world of finance as well.