The Case Against Re-Banning Sports Betting

Effective governance requires laws that work in the real world among imperfect people. Policies built on abstract theory, no matter how well-intentioned, often collapse under real-world conditions. The American experiment prohibiting sports betting is a perfect illustration. Rather than curtailing betting, the ban resulted in widespread law-breaking, greater risks to sports integrity, and revenue funneled into criminal enterprises. Renewed calls to restore bans risk repeating that mistake.

In 1992, Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), barring state-authorized sports betting. The law reflected beliefs that outlawing sports betting would contain its harms. But, in addition to violating federalist principles, PASPA was a spectacular failure. By the time the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018 — with all of the conservative justices agreeing that the law unjustly commandeered state powers in its 6–3 decision — Americans were spending an estimated $150 billion a year in the illegal sports-betting market. Demand didn’t disappear. It simply became less visible.

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Michelle Minton

Michelle Minton is the managing director of drug policy at Reason Foundation.

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Effective governance requires laws that work in the real world among imperfect people. Policies built on abstract theory, no matter how well-intentioned, often collapse under real-world conditions. The American experiment prohibiting sports betting is a perfect illustration. Rather than curtailing betting, the ban resulted in widespread law-breaking, greater risks to sports integrity, and revenue funneled into criminal enterprises. Renewed calls to restore bans risk repeating that mistake.

In 1992, Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), barring state-authorized sports betting. The law reflected beliefs that outlawing sports betting would contain its harms. But, in addition to violating federalist principles, PASPA was a spectacular failure. By the time the Supreme Court struck down PASPA in 2018 — with all of the conservative justices agreeing that the law unjustly commandeered state powers in its 6–3 decision — Americans were spending an estimated $150 billion a year in the illegal sports-betting market. Demand didn’t disappear. It simply became less visible.