The verdict on sports betting is in

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The verdict on Sports Betting is in! The Supreme Court of The United States returned its decision reversing the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act early today, paving the way for states to develop enabling legislation and for the industry to follow suit.

A decision primarily focused on states' rights, Justice Alito writes in the opinion of the court, "The legalization of sports gambling requires an important policy choice, but the choice is not ours [the federal government's] to make." He also makes clear that, "Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own." Several states have already passed legislation that permits betting on sports.

Now it's time for stakeholders to assess their opportunities in legal sports wagering. The regulations supporting sports betting will vary from state to state, and it will be critical for legislators, regulators, operators, and sports leagues to tune in and take advantage. The orientation of potential wagering around brick and mortar facilities, distributed lottery systems, or ambient locations is still to be determined.

The Innovation Group has prepared by the earlier release of our Sports Betting Playbook, as well as our proprietary, targeted, consumer-focused survey on sports betting. Our firsthand, primary customer data from this survey is already helping inform operators, state governments, tribes, and lotteries on how consumers may respond to the myriad of sports betting options to follow. And our industry impact assessments and custom market forecasts are leading the industry in accuracy and utility; we are using our survey data and comparative assessments of other markets to size four major sports betting markets right now.