The topic of sports betting has
been a contentious issue for quite some time. The Professional and Amateur
Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) effectively outlawed sports betting in
the United States. Currently, there are only four states where sports betting is
legal. To me, this is a law that needs to be overturned on a federal level. It
is imperative that the federal government does it because this would create a
single set of laws that would govern all the sports betting in the United
States. This would eliminate disputes between states when it comes to betting.
I see very few differences between sports betting and investing money in the
stock market. In either situation, there is high risk and high reward, and
there is a chance that one could lose all their money. Billions of dollars are
made every year in the four states that do allow sports betting to continue,
and there is an estimated 380 to 500 billions dollars being made illegally. If legalized,
this sort of money could be taxed and used to better this country’s
infrastructure and social well-being. The legalization of sports betting could
also lead to more viewers of sports in the United States. More people would be
inclined to watch a specific sport if they had some sort of monetary investment
in the game. Increased viewers in a sport would increase the revenue for that league as well.
The main
argument against sports betting is that it would ruin the integrity of sports
in the United States. There are two points that weaken this argument. Sports betting
is a major industry in England, and they have had very few instances of players,
teams or coaches throwing games in order to make money. Second, as I mentioned
before, sports betting would have to be legalized on a federal level to ensure
there are adequate and universal punishments for those that choose to cheat in
order to make money. Having universal and harsh punishments would deter players
from ruining the integrity of their respective sports. Not to mention, it would
also provide protection for gamblers and bookies along with transparency in the
sports betting market.
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