While a recent Supreme Court ruling allows states to legalize sports gambling, that doesn’t exactly mean you can just bet on any team in any state.
You can’t bet on Rutgers in New Jersey, which is funny, but a lot of states will have gambling laws like that
As states make their own laws on sports gambling, others will likely forbid betting on local schools.
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In fact, New Jersey now has it in place that sports bets on local college teams, such as Rutgers, are prohibited:
Under the law, you cannot bet on high school sports, on college events taking place in the state, or any event involving a New Jersey college team anywhere.
Wait, who in the hell would want to bet on Rutgers, the laughingstock of college football? Yes, it’s funny that New Jersey is seemingly protecting New Jerseyans from betting on the Scarlet Knights, who went a combined 6-18 over the last two seasons.
But this New Jersey rule will likely be one of several similar laws around the country.
For instance, a previous version of New York’s sports gambling bill prohibited gambling on in-state college teams. Other states, like Rhode Island, have already implemented it in their state gambling bills, too.
Of course, there will be exceptions. Nevada college teams such as UNLV and the Wolf Pack appear on boards in the state, as of 2001.
The biggest reasons for local prohibition?
Attempting to avoid point-shaving, for one — lawmakers don’t want minimally compensated amateurs throwing games because a bunch of neighbors have money on a certain over or under.
Nevada also argued that its law brought black-market college sports betting under legal authority.
(And betting on amateurs who have limited compensation? That’s often considered a little problematic anyway.)
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