Legalized Sports Gambling: 4 Things To Know About Betting On NFL, NBA, MLB Games

Westgate Sportsbook — Guests attend a viewing party for the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament inside the 25,000-square-foot Race & Sports SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino which features 4,488-square-feet of HD video screens on March 15, 2018 in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is unconstitutional Monday morning, ending the federal ban on sports gambling. The decision is a monumental one, changing the landscape of the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports leagues in the United States.

But what exactly does the ruling mean for the gambling public? Can anyone start legally betting on sports right away?

Here are four things to know about the Supreme Court’s decision:

It’s up to individual states

Just because gambling is no longer banned by the federal government, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to do it everywhere. It’ll be up to the individual states to determine if they want to make gambling on sports legal. Nevada is currently the only state that allows people to wager on all sporting events, though that will change very quickly.

New Jersey is coming soon

New Jersey will be the first domino to fall, and it won’t take very long. There should be sportsbooks open in just a few weeks, perhaps in time for the NBA Finals. Former governor Chris Christie had been looking to allow sports gambling in New Jersey since 2011, and the Supreme Court finally took the case last summer.

On May 10, 2014, Monmouth Park built a sports bar in hopes of immediately turning it into a sports book, thinking sports gambling was soon on the way. They waited four years to the week. pic.twitter.com/6og4PnRgMx
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 14, 2018

Other states to follow

Within a few years, more than half the country could allow its residents to gamble on sports. When the Supreme Court agreed to hear New Jersey’s case, 20 states signed on in support of the cause. According to ESPN, one research firm determined that 32 states will likely offer sports gambling within five years of the PASPA being struck down. Pennsylvania, Mississippi and West Virginia could be among the next states to follow New Jersey since they’ve all passed bills to allow wagering.

Where residents of each state are likely to have the ability to bet sports by end of 2018:

1. New Jersey
2. Delaware
3. Pennsylvania
4. West Virginia
5. Missisippi

Work to do/uncertainty, but probably:

1. New York
2. Michigan
3. Oregon
— Sports Handle (@sports_handle) May 14, 2018

Betting outside of sportsbooks

The future of legalized sports gambling will feature much more than simply betting on games at sportsbooks. Eventually, you’ll be able to place bets on your phone. Stadiums might even have their own sportsbooks to enhance your gambling experience on the games you’ve paid to see. The country's biggest sports leagues will almost certainly get involved as they look to profit off of what will become a multi-billion dollar industry.