Breaking Down The Supreme Court's Decision On Sports Betting And What It Means For Ohio

The U.S. Supreme Court this week opened the door for sports gambling, giving states the go-ahead to legalize betting on sports. The justices voted 6-3 to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a law passed in 1992, which effectively banned sports betting in most states. Now the court has determined the statute violated the 10th amendment, which protects the rights and prerogatives of the states.

For more than two decades, Nevada has been the only state that could allow full-scale sports gambling. But Monday's decision provides other states the opportunity to enact legislation. A handful of states have already passed, or at least introduced bills. In the last year, neighboring states Pennsylvania and West Virginia passed legislation authorizing sports betting, should the federal ban be lifted.

But where do we stand in Ohio? Right now, there is no pending legislation to legalize sports betting in the Buckeye State. Governor Kasich's office released a statement saying, "Expanding gambling has not been a priority for this administration, and that remains unchanged." But Kasich is leaving office at the end of the year. So could that policy change? And what would a path to legalized sports betting here look like?

Jonathan Entin, professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and Ricky Volante, a sports law attorney at Buckley King, spoke with Rick Jackson about the implications of the high court's decision.