In a one-sentence ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has rejected Delaware’s request for a re-hearing on the ruling that prevented single-game betting on football games and other sporting events.
So, barring a successful appeal to the United States Supreme Court, Delaware’s plan to add traditional bookmaking to its scratch-and-lose lottery function has been scuttled.
A three-judge panel previously found that Delaware’s intended betting program exceeded the parlay-card approach that it tried (unsuccessfully) in 1976. Under a 1992 federal law, no state may implement sports betting that those states did not previously employ from 1976 through 1990.
Barring a successful challenge to the 1992 federal law (New Jersey currently is attempting to finagle a finding that the law in question is unconstitutional), it’s a very safe bet that Delaware will never be offering single-game betting.
Mike, as an attorney can you tell us just why the federal government has jurisdiction over gambling? Why isn’t it a state-by-state issue?
I love it! Delaware was being greedy and it got burned. They pretty much want to suck the life out those gamblers who use the casino’s in philadelphia and southern NJ. They could just keep making money, they wanted more and now 12 million poof!
Ridiculous that something legal in Las Vegas…gambling on sports…is not allowed in most of the other states because of a 1992 Federal Law. The justice system in this country can sometimes be absolutely stupid. Then again, a guy just went to jail for 20 months for doing something that 90% of the citizens of any town in Texas does on a daily basis, so what do I expect in this ultra-liberal, bleeding-heart pussified country that we are becoming.
@Chris Fiorentino
Numbnuts, what party held the US Presidency when the 1992 Federal Law went into effect?
“TheDPR says:
September 29, 2009 12:15 PM
Mike, as an attorney can you tell us just why the federal government has jurisdiction over gambling? Why isn’t it a state-by-state issue?”
I would imagine because they’re claiming juristiction over interstate commerce because sports leagues have teams all over the country.
Shows you how much the political hacks with their hands always ready to grab whatever cash and supposedly representing their electors receive from Vegas. Er, excuse me lobbiests!
Freedom? Free country? Yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TheDPR says:
Mike, as an attorney can you tell us just why the federal government has jurisdiction over gambling? Why isn’t it a state-by-state issue?”
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Why? Because of the bribes they receive! Why should they let local or state politicians get this money they have been hoarding for years?
Good ruling! Adults shouldn’t be allowed to do what they want with their own money. Who knows where it would end!
I still don’t see why they don’t expand betting and let each state decide, thus expanding regulation over betting. It makes more sense to make it legal and regulate it outside of the western U.S. so people on the east coast don’t just use bookies or online gambling.
Delaware needs it because there’s no other reason to draw people to the state. Now that Pennsylvania has added slots and I believe Maryland will be as well, Delaware will continue to lose revenues. With the economy in the state it’s in, the government should encourage keeping money in local economies where it can do more good (and be taxed) and not offshore and off the books. The NFL should realize that if there’s money flowing in locally, it’s money that people who work at the growing casinos can spend on their produt. It’s unfortunate.
p.s. Most politicians don’t receive bribes. They receive needed campaign contributions. With the cost of elections, they have no choice. That’s why campaigns should all be publicly funded.
Chris F,
Guess who has legal sports betting? England – home of socialized medicine. The reason we don’t have it here is because all your buddies in the “moral majority” pissed and moaned too much. If betting was legal and taxed, we probably could have paid off every one of Bush’s mistakes by now.
Pot is illegal
Gambling is illegal
Prostitution is illegal
Want to change it, don’t wait for the Supreme Court to do the work, go out and get involved and make your voices heard and get it changed trough legislation. A hundred voices clamoring for something is worth more to a politician than a”donation” to his campaign. Just look at the far right, and the favor they receive just because they uniformly crazy.
Public apathy in in this country is the real problem, and the “corrupt” politicians and “bad” laws are just the symptoms. If people showed 1/4 the interest in politics that they do towards football, this country would be drastically changed within 6 months.