Starters, GoPo Lessons Jonathan Milner Starters, GoPo Lessons Jonathan Milner

How much money is made on sports betting every year?

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, your big brain, the information provided and any links below:

  1. According to the data from the visual above, what was the gross gaming revenue from legal sports betting in the U.S. in 2019?

  2. According to the data from the visual above, what was the gross gaming revenue from legal sports betting in the U.S. in 2022?

  3. Describe the trend in gross gaming revenue from legal sports betting in the U.S. since 2018.

  4. Following its enactment by Congress in 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), effectively banned sports betting everywhere except for Nevada (and three other states that had certain betting games grandfathered in). What section of the U.S. Constitution allows the federal government to make laws?

  5. What portion of the Constitution makes PASPA (or any federal law) more powerful than a state law?

  6. In 2012, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a law allowing betting on professional and amateur sports at New Jersey casinos and racetracks, after which all major sports leagues had sued Christie for violating the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The lawsuit resulted in a long legal battle, which culminated in the Supreme Court’s decision in 2018 in Murphy v. NCAA to strike down PASPA. What happened to gross gaming revenue from legal sports betting in the U.S. after 2018?

  7. The ruling in Murphy v. NCAA (2018) would also allow Congress to regulate sports gambling directly if it so chooses – however, there is no indication Congress intends to do that in the near future. To quote the Majority opinion, “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.” What principal of American government does this scenario illustrate?

  8. So far, states are beginning to make legislation regarding legal sports gambling. According to the visual below*, what is the status of sports gambling in your state?

  9. Now that the court has ruled that states may legalize sports gambling, what political methods might individuals or groups use to try to convince states to legalize gambling?

  10. According to the American Gaming Association, Americans wagered an estimated $4.76 billion on the Super Bowl in 2018.1 Yet, Americans only wagered 3% of that amount, legally, in Nevada. A Libertarian might argue that gambling should be legal and that people should be allowed to do anything to themselves that they want, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Others would argue that the government has an interest in protecting its people and should stop them from actions like gambling that can hurt themselves. Make a claim about whether governments should legalize things like gambling that people do anyway?

Learning Extension

Extra! Extra! Learn all about legal sports betting in the U.S!

Action Extension

Share the status of sports gambling in your state with your classmates and try to convince them of your claim about whether gambling should be legal.

Visual Extension*

Infographic: The State(s) of Sports Betting in the U.S. | Statista You will find more infographics at Statista

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