NY, South Carolina lawmakers seek sports betting amendments

Lawmakers this week in New York and South Carolina have proposed amending their state constitutions to allow sports gambling.

A bill introduced in the New York Senate on Monday would allow sports gambling at racetracks and casinos, while a bill introduced in the South Carolina House of Representatives on Tuesday would open up the state to all forms of gambling, including casino games.

“

“

The New York amendment — sponsored by Sen. Tony Avella, D-Queens — would allow betting on professional and college sports at licensed racetracks, casinos and off-track betting parlors

”

The amendment process would take at least three years. If the bill passes both the Assembly and Senate, it would require a second approval by both houses after the next legislative election in 2018 before going to the state’s voters in a ballot question.

“

“

The South Carolina amendment — sponsored by Rep. J. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland — would allow the state to authorize professional sports betting, horse racing wagers and casino gaming

”

South Carolina constitutional amendments require two-thirds approval by both houses of the Legislature, followed by a referendum, followed by majority approval of both houses.

Avella and Rutherford did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

New Jersey's recent attempts to legalize sports gambling in the state have been shot down in federal court as violations of the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

The state is currently asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit’s en banc ruling striking down the its attempt to allow sports betting, in what was the third opinion by the circuit court to shoot down the state's efforts under PASPA. In opposition, a coalition of professional sports leagues and the NCAA argued that PASPA is a normal exercise of federal power to regulate sports gambling, which has been addressed in multiple federal laws, and does not violate the anti-commandeering doctrine as it does not compel the state to do anything.

The Third Circuit shot down the state’s initial effort to lift the sports betting prohibition in 2013, so this time, New Jersey tried partially repealing the ban pertaining only to its casinos and racetracks. The petitioners blasted the leagues’ arguments that the question before the court is “no different” from the previous anti-commandeering challenge, citing a “critical distinction” between the state’s two proposed measure