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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 3, 2019 01:35 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative John A. Lawrence |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | COSPONSOR MEMO – Sports Betting on Pennsylvania High School and College Athletic Events |
SUMMARY Recent court rulings struck down the federal ban on sports betting, giving states the ability to legalize and regulate the practice. Recognizing that amateur youth athletics are much different than professional sports, New Jersey has prohibited wagering on New Jersey college athletics. This proposal would prohibit sports wagering on Pennsylvania high school and college sporting events, protecting underage youth from adults betting on their athletic performance. DETAILS For decades, gambling was illegal in 48 states. In the 1990’s and into the early 2000’s, both federal and state laws relating to slots and table games got a fresh look, with many states choosing to relax long standing provisions to legalize gambling. Seeing this trend, the US Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 1992, which outlawed most betting on sporting events in the United States outside the state of Nevada. For many years, this congressional carve-out prevented states from legalizing any new sports betting. In 2010, New Jersey began to move to challenge the federal sports betting ban with a number of attempts to legalize sports betting within the state. After several attempts in the legislature, and even a state constitutional amendment, New Jersey eventually challenged provisions of PASPA in several court cases, culminating in a US Supreme Court ruling in Murphy vs NCAA. Pennsylvania legalized slots under Governor Rendell in 2004, with table games following in 2010. Both bills legalized and heavily taxed gambling, with monies going to property tax relief, the equine industry, and the General Fund. In the past 15 years, billions in taxes have been paid into state coffers, and a growing appetite for gambling revenues has pushed the General Assembly to consider more and more gaming legalization. Two years ago, Governor Wolf signed HB 271 into law creating Act 42 of 2017. While the major focus of this legislation was legalizing online gambling (igaming), the bill also legalized VGTs at truck stops, established category 4 “mini” casinos, and regulated fantasy sports. The bill also contained a provision legalizing sports betting in Pennsylvania if PASPA was repealed or struck down in court. New Jersey’s Murphy vs NCAA case was winding its way to a Supreme Court decision, and many anticipated PASPA was on shaky constitutional ground. In May 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of New Jersey, striking down PASPA as an unconstitutional federal commandeering of regulatory power left to the states. With PASPA out of the way, states were free to legalize and regulate sports betting. In Pennsylvania, the sports betting provisions of Act 42 came into effect, leading the state Gaming Control Board to issue temporary regulations regulating sports betting in the Commonwealth. In November 2018, Pennsylvania’s first legal sports bets were placed at Hollywood Casino. The Gaming Control Board’s temporary sports betting regulations are in place for two years. These regulations were enacted without IRRC review as stipulated in Act 42. It can be anticipated that new regulations will be forthcoming in the months ahead. Section 1401.7 of the temporary regulations establish specific prohibitions on sports betting in the Commonwealth, including a prohibition on high-school sports betting. Coaches, athletes, and referees are banned from placing bets on a game in which they participate. Also prohibited is betting on amateur athletic events, with a specific exception that legalizes betting on college sports. While there is much ongoing debate about the monetization of college sports and how college athletes should be recognized and compensated, the vast majority of college athletes are amateurs who will never receive a paycheck for playing sports. Most college athletes are under 21, and thus unable to legally gamble themselves. But with online sports betting, there is absolutely nothing that prevents a college professor from teaching a student-athlete in the morning, and placing bets on that same student-athlete’s athletic performance in the evening. It is easy to envision a host of situations putting professors, potential employers, and even older friends in a position to threaten or influence a student-athlete’s performance on the field of play by promising or withholding grades or other opportunities. Again, these mostly underage students are amateur athletes, not professionals receiving a paycheck for playing. New Jersey has taken action on this front, specifically outlawing betting on a college sporting event that takes place in New Jersey, or an event in which a New Jersey college team participates regardless of where the event takes place. This prohibition puts an important protection in place for New Jersey amateur student-athletes and those who would directly seek to influence them while gambling on their athletic performance. This proposal will outlaw Pennsylvania sports betting on high school and college sports involving a Pennsylvania high school or college team. Wagering on college sporting events that do not involve a Pennsylvania team would remain legal. I invite you to join me in this effort to protect the integrity of our Commonwealth’s amateur athletics and participating athletes. |