Viewers in the United States are now bombarded with sports betting advertisements whenever they watch a major sporting event. Younger adults may not be aware that this is not always the case. In fact, 32 years ago in 1992, President George H.W. Bush outlawed sports betting nationwide with the “Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act” (PASPA). The underlying reason for implementing this law was to prevent corruption in sports competitions, maintain the integrity of the game, and curb bribery. But at the time there was no mention of preventing addiction problems or protecting the well-being of individuals and their families from the suffering caused by sports betting.
After the law went into effect, Nevada was the only state where people could legally bet on sports because they held a grandfathered status for legal betting dating as far back as 1949 which gave them immunity from the new law. However, people could also gamble on the historic river boats that circumvented their states local land-based laws as well as cruise ships with casinos that defied the law by navigating into international waters.
It was only after May 14, 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled to strike down the PASPA law that opened up the flood gates for all states to allow and regulate legalized sports betting.
To learn more about the history of sports betting, you can view this well‑crafted video from the 1440 Daily Digest that provides an informative synopsis of how we got here.