It may soon be another sad day in New Jersey for fans that enjoy betting on their favorite sport. A bill led by New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone would have the Supreme Court overturn “the 25-year-old prohibition on state authorization of sports betting.” However, on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, United States Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall recommended that the Supreme Court deny New Jersey’s certiorari petition. There have been recent studies that the Supreme Court follows the recommendation of the Solicitor General 79.6 percent of …
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New Jersey Assembly Reaches Endzone with DFS Bill
On Monday, May 22, 2017, the New Jersey Assembly was able to advance a bill to the Senate that would regulate daily fantasy sports games in their state. Assembly Bill 3532 passed, following a 56-16 vote, with two members abstaining. The vote came just less than four months after unanimous approval by the Assembly’s Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee, and two months after an 8-3 approval by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
The bill would regulate all fantasy or simulated activities or contests that utilize …
Continue ReadingAmid Outside Pressure, North Carolina Replaces HB2
The discussions to repeal HB2 heated up last week after it was learned that North Carolina would potentially be excluded from hosting any NCAA events through the spring of 2022 absent a repeal of the law. Coincidentally, only hours before the NCAA deadline, the North Carolina legislature introduced HB142 which would replace HB2. The primary difference between HB2 and HB142 is that the latter exempts schools from state regulation of access to bathrooms, showers, and changing rooms. The law also prevents local governments …
Continue ReadingNorth Carolina Lawmaker Believes NCAA and ACC Engaged in Excessive Lobbying Over HB2
While the country is busy preparing their March Madness brackets, the fight over HB2 in North Carolina continues. As previously discussed on this blog, one impact HB2 had on North Carolina was the NCAA and ACC’s decision to remove several championship events away from the state. However, one North Carolina lawmaker has recently questioned whether the NCAA and ACC violated their tax-exempt status by moving sports championships outside of North Carolina.
According to the IRS, no 501(c)(3) organization may qualify for tax-exempt status …
Continue ReadingAnother State Launches Attack on the Federal PASPA: West Virginia Introduces Bill Calling for the Legalization of Sports Betting
West Virginia has joined several other states in their quest to legalize sports betting by introducing a bill that calls the federal prohibition on states from allowing the practice unconstitutional.
On Wednesday, March 1, 2017, West Virginia State Representative Shawn Fluharty introduced House Bill 2751, which seeks to legalize and regulate sports betting in the state and alleges that the federal Professional and Armature Sports Protection Act (PASPA) is unconstitutional. The Bill declares that sports betting is lawful if it complies with the Lottery …
Continue ReadingProfessional Sports Unions Blast Illinois Workers’ Compensation Proposal
As discussed previously on the Sports and Entertainment Law Insider last month, Illinois has introduced a Senate Bill to limit the age that an injured Illinois professional athlete can collect workers’ compensation benefits to the age of 35. Since that time, professional sports unions have come out strongly in opposition to the measure, including the National Football League’s Player Association (NFLPA) and the Major League Soccer Player’s Union.
The NFLPA, after previously warning that the proposed measure could result in free agents being cautioned against …
Continue ReadingSt. Louis Soccer Stadium Proposal Stays Alive but Faces Uphill Battle to Make Ballot
After it looked like the St. Louis soccer stadium proposal for an MLS franchise was dead, a last-ditch effort has revived the proposed legislation. On January 26, 2017, the MLS bill was voted down by the Aldermanic Ways and Means Committee 6-2. After the vote, the parties quickly negotiated to amend the bill and bout an hour later, the parties presented the amended bill. The new proposal was slightly different: The main change included an amount of $12.5-$17 million dollars in projected revenue be …
Continue ReadingIllinois Senate Proposal to Limit Workers’ Compensation Benefits to 35 Years of Age
A recent Illinois legislative proposal in Senate Bill 12 threatens to reduce the ability of professional athletes in the state to collect long-term workers’ compensation benefits.
Under Illinois law, permanently injured workers are able to collect workers’ compensation benefits until age 67. SB 12, which is part of an overall state budget package, contains a provision which would define a covered professional athlete as someone who plays for a professional sports team in Illinois and “derives the majority of his or incoming from playing athletics.” …
Continue ReadingMaryland Adopts Daily Fantasy Sports Regulations
Maryland’s fashionably late adoption of daily fantasy sports regulations went into effect on January 2, 2017, providing several consumer safeguards in the industry. State regulations surrounding the industry came flooding in after fantasy sport kingpins DraftKings Inc. and FanDuel Inc. faced a number of class action suits in 2015. Maryland’s regulations appear much less restrictive than most, however, in that they do not require operators to shell out a high registration fee (Virginia requires a whopping $50,000), and they set its minimum age at 18 …
Continue ReadingNo Repeal of North Carolina HB2
As discussed earlier this week, the North Carolina General Assembly convened for a special session on December 21 to reconsider and possibly repeal HB2. In a prior statement, Governor-elect Roy Cooper opined that a complete repeal of the bill “will help to bring jobs, sports and entertainment events back and will provide the opportunity for strong LGBT protections in our state.” However, following political posturing by proponents and opponents of the bill, the parties were unable to come to mutually agreeable terms regarding …
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