Sports wagering seems to gain more public support with every passing day, especially in California, where Assemblymember Adam Gray officially declared the introduction of a sports betting amendment to the law, which will regulate the sports betting industry in case the federal government allows betting on sports events.
California seems to be one of the states, which expressed willingness to introduce sports betting regulated market, if the government changes the federal law and nixes the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which prohibits sports betting in every US state, except Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana, which are exempt from the ban.
On Thursday, 20th July, Assemblymember Adam Gray explained that the bill, which will allow wagering on sports events in California is completely ready, waiting to come into effect. The only setback is PASPA, which effectively outlawed sports betting throughout most of the country. But it seems that many officials already recognized that this act fails to meet the modern players’ needs and now they are trying to persuade the federal government to invalidate PASPA.
Just a couple of days ago, the NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed his opinion on the matter, outlining a bright future for the sports betting legalization in the US. In an interview, he said that it is only a matter of time for the sports betting industry to enter most of the states and establish better communication between the sports fans.
New Jersey’s court case, which headed to the US Supreme Court, is considered as the milestone in the sports betting regulation trend. Following New Jersey’s blueprints, a great number of the US states also expressed their willingness to regulate their sports betting market.
Currently, California is the last state, which already took actions to regulate its sports betting market. Mr. Gray stated that many locals are betting on sports events by use of illegal channels, which often abuse the players’ rights. He further explained that it is in the interest of the state and the players to regulate and tax the sports betting market.
Before being adopted as a law, the bill needs to travel a long and arduous road. It firstly needs to be approved by two-thirds of the members of the California State Legislature, which may turn out to be a hard task for the Californian legislators, having in mind the previous experience with online poker.
California has the great potential to establish proliferating sports betting market, having in mind that it is the most densely-populated state in America and it already witnesses a healthy gaming industry. The regulation of the sports betting market will create one safe environment for the players and boost the economy of the state.
