Triple Crown Betting To Go On Unimpeded After PASPA Repeal
The recent majority decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn a longstanding federal anti-sports betting law made waves in the gambling community, but for horseplayers there won’t be any negative effects when it comes legal betting sites serving their hobby.
That’s good news for sure, as today is the day of the 143rd running of the legendary Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, located just outside the city limits in Baltimore, Maryland. Headlining all the betting boards at the major online racebooks from Bovada to 5Dimes is Justified, the winner of the Kentucky Derby a few weeks ago and a serious contender for Triple Crown glory. Justify is handily leading the small field of only eight rival horses with moneyline odds of an astounding -250 going into today’s race, with similarly good Triple Crown futures odds of +150, so time is of the essence if you want to lock in a bet on Justify while the odds are still so favorable and relatively inexpensive to boot.
But back to the issue at hand. On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court wisely ruled by virtue of a 6-3 majority that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) was unconstitutional, violating the states’ rights principles found in the 10th Amendment. By striking down the overreaching law and ruling in favor of New Jersey, the plaintiff in the case, the Supreme Court gave power back to the 50 states to chart their own course in terms of the authority to pass laws legalizing, regulating and taxing sports betting activities. That means that, for the first time in a quarter of a century, sports betting is legal nationwide from a federal perspective, or, at the very least, is legally able to be legalized.
If you’re a horse bettor you won’t have to worry about any of the ongoing talks regarding how to implement regulatory schemes for sports betting though. That’s because playing the ponies across multiple platforms and via many different methods from conventional racebooks to online options has long been a reality for American horseplayers thanks to several federal protections. The US Congress, recognizing the important and enduing role played by horse racing betting in the industries centered around breeding thoroughbred racehorses, passed the Interstate Horse Racing Act in 1978 and updated it with an amendment in the year 2000 that permitted domestic operation of horsebook websites.
The main takeaway from this SportsBettingStates.com explanation is that fans of betting on the ponies have got plenty of choices for wagering and winning real money in time for today’s race and the upcoming Belmont Stakes, the “Third Jewel of the Triple Crown.” You can bet live in person at the races in Maryland, you can visit any number of off-track betting locations from your local track to your favorite bar, you can even get in on some live simulcast wagering or visit a legal racebook site based here in the US or overseas. Betting on today’s race has got to be the best way to show your appreciation for the fact that you have so many choices as a horseplayer – your counterparts in the sports betting community had to wait 25 years before they could have the same rights.