Louisiana jumps off the sports betting bandwagon
A Senate committee in Louisiana rejected a bill to legalise sports betting should PASPA get revoked by the Supreme Court of the US.
US.- The potential revoking of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 has nearly every state in the US debating ways to regulate sports betting should the segment be legalised nationwide. However, Louisiana won’t be among those ready once the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rules after a Senate committee rejected a bill that would have set a framework for sports betting.
The Louisiana Senate Finance Committee voted 6-3 against the proposal since there were some concerns over a potential expansion of gambling in the state being triggered by it. The bill would have allowed the Harrah’s casino in New Orleans and the state’s 15 floating casinos to take bets on sports, only if local voters would allow it.
Several attempts have been made already to regulate sports betting, but all have been struck down either due to anti-gambling expansion efforts or due to financial concerns. The latter surged as the Louisiana Fiscal Office calculated that a centralised computer system to monitor sports betting would cost the state US$25 million – an amount Louisiana can’t afford to spend.
The SCOTUS is expected to rule on the Christie v. NCAA case and the industry is confident that it will revoke PASPA and federally allow sports betting. That’s why more than 20 states have already passed or started debating potential ways to regulate the segment should the ruling favour the gambling industry.
