US postpones congressional sports betting hearing
US Congress has postponed next week’s hearing on sports betting, while New York legislators have failed to pass a bill in time to legalise sports wagering this year.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the House Judiciary Committee had set a tentative date of June 26 for the hearing.
The NFL American football league was one of a number of parties that had been invited to testify at the hearing, which was to focus last month’s Supreme Court ruling on the federal 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
Both Delaware and New Jersey have since passed legislation to regulate sports betting, with other states expected to follow shortly.
However, a source familiar with the hearing told ESPN that the gathering has now been delayed due to a “scheduling complication in unrelated policy areas”.
The House Judiciary Committee is yet to confirm a new date for the hearing.
Meanwhile, New York has missed out on regulated full sports betting for 2018 after legislators closed their session yesterday (Wednesday) without passing a new bill.
Earlier this month, New York Assemblyman Gary Pretlow put forward a bill to legalise sports betting, pledging to pay a ‘royalty’ to sports leagues.
However, in order to pass this year, the Assembly would have had to have voted on it before the state legislature adjourned yesterday.
The bill will now be held until the next session, which is not due to take place until 2019.
New York may still be able to offer limited, regulated sports betting under a law passed in 2013, according to the Legalsportsreport.com website, but widespread adoption will not take place until next year at the earliest.
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