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North Dakota Sports Betting Legalization Amendment (2024)
| North Dakota Sports Betting Legalization Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Gambling | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The North Dakota Sports Betting Legalization Amendment was not on the ballot in North Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.
This amendment would have allowed the North Dakota State Legislature to legalize sports betting on professional sports.[1]
Text of measure
The full text of the proposed constitutional changes is available here.
Background
2018 Supreme Court ruling on sports betting
In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case, Murphy v. NCAA (originally Christie v. NCAA), regarding the legality of a law implementing New Jersey Public Question 1 (2011). On May 14, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the federal government could not require states to prohibit sports betting, thereby overturning the federal ban on sports betting and allowing states to legalize sports betting if they wish.[2]
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and Murphy v. NCAA
- See also: Murphy v. NCAA
Murphy v. NCAA (originally Christie v. NCAA) was a case about the anti-commandeering doctrine, which is based on the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and dictates that Congress cannot commandeer state governments to enforce federal law. The question, in this case, was whether the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a federal law that prohibits states from authorizing sports gambling, violated the anti-commandeering doctrine.[3]
The United States Congress passed PASPA in 1992. The act prohibited any governmental entity, including states, from sponsoring, operating, advertising, promoting, licensing, and/or authorizing by law any wagering scheme on amateur or professional team games. However, PASPA contained certain exemptions. One of those exemptions allowed New Jersey to enact a sports gambling scheme if the scheme were written into law within one year of PASPA's enactment. At that time, New Jersey declined to implement such a scheme, and the one-year exemption under PASPA expired.[3]
Then, in 2011, New Jersey voters approved an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution authorizing the legislature to legalize betting on the results of professional, college, and amateur sporting events.[3]
Based on the amendment, New Jersey passed the Sports Wagering Act of 2012. The law provided for regulated sports wagering in New Jersey's casinos and racetracks and established a state regulatory scheme for sports wagering in the state. Four professional sports leagues (the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (referred to together as the leagues) filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop enforcement of the New Jersey law, arguing that it violated PASPA. In response, New Jersey acknowledged that the law violated PASPA, but argued that PASPA violated the anti-commandeering doctrine and was therefore unconstitutional.[3]
States with sports betting
As of September 1, 2022, sports betting was legal, or laws to legalize had been approved, in 36 states and D.C. The following map shows the status of sports betting in each state.[4]
Sports betting ballot measures
As of 2022, five of the states to legalize sports betting did so through a ballot measure. Two measures to legalize sports betting in California were defeated in 2022.
| State | Year | Measure | Type | 'Yes' Percent | 'No' Percent | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 2011 | Public Question 1 | Legislative | 63.91% | 36.09% | 
|
| Arkansas | 2018 | Issue 4 | Initiative | 54.10% | 45.90% |
|
| Colorado | 2019 | Proposition DD | Legislative | 51.41% | 48.59% |
|
| Maryland | 2020 | Question 2 | Legislative | 67.07% | 32.93% |
|
| South Dakota | 2020 | Amendment B | Legislative | 58.47% | 41.53% |
|
| California | 2022 | California Proposition 26 | Initiative | 33.02% | 66.98% | 
|
| California | 2022 | California Proposition 27 | Initiative | 17.72% | 82.28% |
|
U.S. sports betting revenue
The following table details the amount wagered, the sportsbook revenue, and tax revenue from each state with sportsbetting operations from 2018 to 2022. New Jersey reported the largest amount of money wagered with nearly $28 billion. The state with the highest tax revenue is New York with over $274 million.[5]
| U.S. Sports betting revenue: 2018-2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Amount wagered | Sportsbook revenue | Tax revenue |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the North Dakota Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the North Dakota State Senate and the North Dakota House of Representatives.
This amendment was introduced as House Concurrent Resolution 3002 on January 3, 2023. The House approved the amendment in a vote of 49-44 on January 12, 2023. Among the 12 House Democrats, six voted in favor and six voted against. Among the 82 House Republicans, 43 voted in favor, 38 voted against, and one was absent or did not vote. The measure failed its second reading in the Senate in a vote of 16 in favor to 30 opposed.[1]
| Vote in the North Dakota House of Representatives | |||
| Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber | |||
| Number of yes votes required: 48 | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 49 | 44 | 1 |
| Total percent | 52.13% | 46.81% | 1.06% |
| Democrat | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Republican | 43 | 38 | 1 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 North Dakota State Legislature, "HCR 3002," accessed January 12, 2023
- ↑ USA Today, "Supreme Court strikes down ban on sports betting in victory for New Jersey," May 14, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, National Collegiate Athletic Association et al. v. Governor of the State of New Jersey et al. August 9, 2016
- ↑ American Gaming, "Interactive Map: Sports Betting in the U.S.," accessed June 28, 2022
- ↑ Legal Sports Report, "US SPORTS BETTING REVENUE AND HANDLE," June 23, 2022
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State of North Dakota Bismarck (capital) |
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