The American Gaming Association (AGA) is joining a group of like minded organization in an all out effort to repeal the notorious US ban on sports betting. Operating under the banner of the Sports Betting Coalition (SBC), the group is comprised of everything from law enforcement groups to casino owners to politicians – and is dead set on repeal.
Members of the SBC know they’re facing a Herculean task, but they’ve got a pretty good plan they’re following and they’re riding an unprecedented wave of support for bringing back regulated sports betting to all 50 states.
In a statement posted on its website, AGA President Geoff Freeman gave his unequivocal support to the SBC saying:
Big Government’s 1992 sports betting prohibition has failed to protect sports, fans and communities. We are partnering with local and state elected officials, law enforcement and other diverse interests to tell Washington to get out of the way. Regulated sports betting is what fans want and sports integrity demands.
The group’s first order of business is leading an effort to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992. That’s the piece of legislation that made sports betting illegal in every state except Nevada. While the act has kept sports betting from the regulated marketplace, it hasn’t stopped illegal wagering even a little.
That’s a fact that SBC members like Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel are well aware of. He also thinks sports betting is an issue best left to the states, as he noted on the AGA website saying:
PASPA is unconstitutional and a failed law. I, along with several of my colleagues from other states, believe we must respect state sovereignty.
The SBC is, essentially, an AGA operation but that’s not a bad thing at all. Remember, the AGA’s core mission is to lobby lawmakers to make laws and regulations that benefit the gaming industry. In this case, they may harness that power to right a wrong that should never have happened in the first place.