Supreme Court ruling on sports betting doesn’t cancel Washington law

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A U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing states to wager on sports games does not overrule Washington state’s law prohibiting such activities.

The court this week ruled a long-standing federal law that keeps sports gambling out of most states is unconstitutional. The case involved a fight between New Jersey, which is trying to boost its casino industry, and various sport organizations like Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the NCAA.

While New Jersey could start taking sports bets in two weeks, and other states have been preparing for similar actions, Monday’s court ruling doesn’t wipe out individual state laws against betting on sporting events, which Washington and Idaho both have.

The Washington Gambling Commission is still analyzing the ruling, but the initial reaction is that the Legislature or the voters would have to authorize sports betting. Under an article in the State Constitution, any change in the gambling laws must pass by a 60 percent majority, whether from legislators or at the ballot box.

State Representative Cary Condotta, of Wenatchee, who serves as ranking Republican on the House Commerce and Gaming Committee, said the court seems to be saying that gambling is essentially a state’s rights issue, but the change isn’t automatic. Condotta says most of the push for expanding gambling in Washington state has come from groups that want to make online poker legal and those that want to allow betting on Fantasy Sports teams. (Spokesman-Review, AP)

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