Sara Rayme, senior vice president of the American Gaming Association, says the casino industry will renew its efforts in 2017 to legalize sports betting through the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), and the fact that former casino owner Donald Trump is in the White Hose will help the effort.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Rayme said the AGA’s lobbyists will seek a sponsor next year for legislation to overturn the 1992 ban on sports betting, and the election of Donald Trump, who once ran four casinos bearing his name, could help pave the way.
“He was a former casino owner, he understands the business,” Rayme told Bloomberg.
PASPA banned sport betting in all states but Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon, and full sports betting is offered only in Nevada. AGA research shows that some $149 billion is wagered illegally on sports annually.
“Of the all the areas where a Trump presidency could have the greatest impact is probably sports betting,” gaming and sports attorney Daniel Wallach told the Las Vegas Business Press. “The Republicans in Congress are not big fans of online gambling, but Trump wants to put Americans back to work, and sports betting creates greater infrastructure—more construction and more jobs and more facilities—and brings people into a state. It’s good for casinos and the gaming industry overall.”
Trump, in fact, has gone on record as favoring the legalization of sports betting. “I’m OK with it, because it’s happening anyway,” he said in an interview last year on Fox Sports 1. “Whether you have it or don’t have it, you have it. It’s all over the place.”
The AGA used Friday’s announcement of the proposed merger of DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc., two daily fantasy sports companies, to renew its call for repeal of PASPA.
“DraftKings and FanDuel have sped up the debate on legalizing sports betting by demonstrating its popularity and mainstream nature,” Rayme said in a statement. “We’re building on the momentum created by DFS to remove the federal ban on sports betting.”
Meanwhile, gaming industry stocks were among those contributing to the U.S. stock market closing at an all-time high on November 21, an event attributed to bullish investors who have determine that the Trump presidency will be good for business.
