Authorization of Sports Betting (18-19)

In May 2018, the U.S.  Supreme Court found in Murphy v.  National Collegiate Athletic Association that the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (1992) violated the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it illegally empowered the federal government to order states to prohibit certain sports betting activities.   By rendering this statute unenforceable, the Supreme Court’s decision enables states to make decisions about whether to allow sports betting.   Since the ruling, several states authorized sports gambling, and many others have introduced, but not yet passed, legislation concerning sports betting.   This issue brief places this issue in context for Colorado by reviewing Colorado gaming laws, types of sports betting, sports betting tax revenue and tax structures in other states, and the implications for Colorado.