PASPA

A 1992 US federal law that effectively banned state-authorised sports betting nationwide, struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018 — opening the door to state-by-state legal sports betting.

Definition

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), enacted in 1992, prohibited US states from authorising, licensing or operating sports wagering, while grandfathering a small number of states that already had schemes (notably Nevada's full sportsbooks). It did not criminalise bettors; it barred states from legalising the activity. In Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (14 May 2018), the Supreme Court held that PASPA unconstitutionally 'commandeered' the states in violation of the Tenth Amendment and struck it down in full. That decision returned the choice to each state, triggering a rapid wave of legalised, regulated sports betting across the country.

Worked example

Within weeks of the May 2018 ruling, New Jersey — which had led the legal challenge — launched regulated sports betting; dozens of states followed over the next few years, creating a large, taxed, licensed US sports-betting market where PASPA had previously blocked one.

Why it matters

The repeal of PASPA is arguably the single most important event in modern US gambling: it unlocked the country's fragmented but very large regulated sports-betting market and set off years of state-by-state legislation, licensing and taxation. Understanding PASPA and Murphy v. NCAA is essential to reading the US regulatory map.

Related

Note: The 1992 enactment, the grandfathering of Nevada, and the 14 May 2018 Murphy v. NCAA decision striking PASPA down are matters of settled legal record. The pace and details of subsequent state legalisation vary by state and continue to evolve.