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Supreme Court makes sports gambling a possibility nationwide, but don't bet on Texas joining the game

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday struck down a federal law banning sports gambling in most states, but don't bet on being able to wager on a game in Texas anytime soon.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports. The 1992 law barred state-authorized sports gambling with some exceptions. It made Nevada the only state where a person could wager on the results of a single game.

One research firm estimated before the ruling that if the Supreme Court were to strike down the law, 32 states would likely offer sports betting within five years. Texas is not likely to be one of those states.

"The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours to make. Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own. Our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution. PASPA is not," Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the court.

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The Supreme Court's decision came in a case from New Jersey, which has fought for years to legalize gambling on sports at casinos and racetracks in the state.

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More than a dozen states, including Texas, had supported New Jersey, which argued that Congress exceeded its authority when it passed the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, barring states from authorizing sports betting. New Jersey said the Constitution allows Congress to pass laws barring wagering on sports, but Congress can't require states to keep sports gambling prohibitions in place.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton signed on to the brief, not because he hopes to legalize sports betting in the Lone Star State, but to keep the federal government out of state decisions.

"PASPA is unconstitutional and tramples on state sovereignty," Paxton told the American Sports Betting Coalition."By ending PASPA, states can rightfully decide whether they want regulated sports betting or not."

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Not likely in Texas

But if history is any guide, it's unlikely that Texas leaders will legalize sports betting in the near future. Paxton hasn't shown any signs of wanting sports betting to be legal in Texas. In fact, the attorney general has been at odds with daily fantasy sports sites for years.

In 2016, Paxton issued an opinion that deemed paid fantasy sports sites to be illegal gambling. Texas law defines gambling as a game with "partial chance" -- one of the strictest definitions in the nation.

"Paid daily 'fantasy sports' operators claim they can legally operate as an unregulated house, but none of their arguments square with existing Texas law," Paxton said in a 2016 statement. "Simply put, it is prohibited gambling in Texas if you bet on the performance of a participant in a sporting event and the house takes a cut."

And Gov. Greg Abbott also has shown little interest in sports betting and fantasy sports betting games.

In 2015, Abbott instructed state lottery officials to stop their efforts to gather information on expanding the agency's gaming portfolio. Texas Lottery Commission executive director Gary Grief and agency staff visited Delaware in October 2015 to learn about that state's lottery games, including sports betting, online wagering and casino games.

Texas allows parimutuel wagering on horse and dog races and bingo, but efforts to expand gambling since then have gained no traction in the state despite the growth of casinos just across the Oklahoma and Louisiana borders that cater to Texans.

However, there is some support in Texas for legalizing sports betting. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban praised the ruling on CNBC on Monday.

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"I think everyone who owns a top four professional sports teams just basically saw the value of their team double," Cuban said. "It can finally become fun to go to a baseball game again."

Sports league reaction

All four major U.S. professional sports leagues, the NCAA and the federal government had urged the court to uphold the federal law. In court, the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball had argued that New Jersey's gambling expansion would hurt the integrity of their games. Outside court, however, leaders of all but the NFL have shown varying degrees of openness to legalized sports gambling.

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"Today's decision by the United States Supreme Court will have profound effects on Major League Baseball," a statement from the league read. "As each state considers whether to allow sports betting, we will continue to seek the proper protections for our sport, in partnership with other professional sports."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the integrity of the game remains the association's "highest priority."

The NCAA, which had joined the professional sports leagues in challenging the New Jersey law, appeared to signal acceptance of the changing landscaped in a statement.

"Today the United States Supreme Court issued a clear decision that PASPA is unconstitutional, reversing the lower courts that held otherwise," NCAA chief legal officer Donald Remy said. "While we are still reviewing the decision to understand the overall implications to college sports, we will adjust sports wagering and championship policies to align with the direction from the court."

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Critics of the federal law argued that the rest of the country is at a disadvantage for implementing their own gambling laws and the restrictions are fueling a multibillion-dollar illegal gambling industry.

The American Gaming Association estimates that Americans illegally wager about $150 billion on sports each year. A Washington Post-University of Massachusetts Lowell poll found that 55 percent of Americans support the legalization of sports betting.

"Today's ruling makes it possible for states and sovereign tribal nations to give Americans what they want: an open, transparent, and responsible market for sports betting," Geoff Freeman, the association's CEO, said in a statement.

The 1992 law at issue in the case bars state-authorized sports gambling with exceptions for Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware, states that had approved some form of sports wagering before the law took effect. Nevada is the only state where a person can wager on the results of a single game, though the law doesn't cover wagering between friends. The law also doesn't cover animal races, such as horse racing, which many states already allow.

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New Jersey has spent years and millions of dollars in legal fees trying to legalize sports betting at its casinos, racetracks and former racetracks. In 2012, with voters' support, New Jersey lawmakers passed a law allowing sports betting, directly challenging the 1992 federal law which says states can't "authorize by law" sports gambling. The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA sued, and the state lost in court.

In 2014, New Jersey tried a different tactic by repealing laws prohibiting sports gambling at casinos and racetracks. It argued taking its laws off the books was different from authorizing sports gambling. The state lost again and then took the case to the Supreme Court.

he Associated Press contributed to this story.