Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association is a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the legality of sports betting. In 2014, New Jersey, led by Governor Philip D. Murphy, sought to legalize sports gambling, directly challenging the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which effectively banned such wagering in most states. The NCAA and major professional sports leagues filed suit, arguing the state law violated PASPA. The case reached the Supreme Court, which focused on whether PASPA violated the Tenth Amendment's anti-commandeering doctrine. The Court ultimately found that PASPA unconstitutionally commandeered state legislatures by dictating what they could and could not do, rather than directly regulating private actors. The decision dismantled the federal prohibition and returned the authority over sports betting regulations to individual state governments.

The United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of New Jersey, holding that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Samuel Alito, stated that PASPA violated the anti-commandeering doctrine by directing state legislatures to maintain their existing prohibitions on sports gambling. The judgment invalidated the entire federal statute.

Whether the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) violated the Tenth Amendment's anti-commandeering doctrine by prohibiting states from authorizing or licensing sports gambling schemes.

The ruling triggered an immediate and sweeping wave of sports betting legalization across the United States. Numerous states quickly enacted legislation to authorize and regulate sports wagering within their borders, fundamentally reshaping the American gambling landscape. It generated a massive new stream of tax revenue for state governments and transformed the relationship between professional sports leagues and the betting industry, leading to extensive lucrative marketing partnerships and integrations with broadcast media.