Sports betting could be made legal in every state in the United States after a vote by the Supreme Court Monday morning, but Governor Pete Ricketts says Nebraska won't be one of those states.
The Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA), handing New Jersey a victory in its years-long attempt to legalize sports betting within the state. The PAPSA was a 1992 law that barred most forms of sports betting across the country, with the exception of Nevada.
The ruling will pave the way for states to legalize sports betting, and according to ESPN, 32 states are expected to start offering sports betting within the next five years, but Ricketts says not in the Cornhusker State. "I've always been against expanding gambling here in the state of Nebraska and so I have no plans to change that."
Ricketts says that the tax revenue isn't worth the issues that gambling could bring with it. "For every dollar you collect in tax revenue, you spend three in social services. Whether it's because of increased child abuse, increased spousal abuse, embezzlement, things like that. So, there are no plans here in Nebraska to expand gambling."
Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of the court and said that it is "our job is to interpret the law Congress has enacted and decide whether it is consistent with the Constitution. PASPA is not."
The court case was started in 2012 when New Jersey governor Chris Christie signed legislation that allowed sports betting in the state.