The highest US court on Monday, May 14, declared a 1992 law that prohibits sports betting in forty-six of the country's fifty states unconstitutional.

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The High Court ruled in New Jersey, a state that has been fighting for the right to organize sports betting since 2010 and whose casinos, which are economically damaged, are concentrated in Atlantic City.

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The decision of the Supreme Court paves the way for a market estimated at tens of billions of dollars. At least 18 states could legalize sports betting. The Americans, inventors of slot machines and giant casinos, will therefore be able, for the most part, to discover a whole new world of the game, while the States will be able to benefit from a large financial windfall in the form of taxes.

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The "wise men" of the highest US court estimated, at 6 to 3, that the 1992 law in force was contrary to the Constitution. Voted in 1992, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (nicknamed the "Bradley Act") banned bets on professional or academic sports, except in the four states where they already existed (Nevada, Delaware, Montana, Oregon).

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Congress had adopted this legislation in the belief that betting would threaten the integrity of sports events. The text was championed by Senator Bill Bradley, a former basketball star, in the name of youth protection. "Sports betting under the auspices of the states would convey the message that in sport, money is more important than surpassing oneself and sportsmanship," said the elected Democrat

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The four major sports federations, the NFL (American football), the NBA (basketball), the MLB (baseball) and the NHL (ice hockey) also supported these restrictions.

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Towards the end of illegal betting?

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The text had been criticized for a few years. New York governor Chris Christie (Republican), who became governor of New Jersey in 2010, began a long-running struggle against the text, suffering systematic setbacks in court.

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Donald Trump, faced with the financial difficulties of his gambling establishments in Atlantic City, had also campaigned against this law, considering that sports bets could offer him a lifesaver.

"A great day for the right of the States and the right of their populations to decide for themselves", reacted quickly, Monday, Mr. Christie on Twitter.

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Opponents of the text argued for a pragmatic approach, while gambling via casinos and lotteries are already well established throughout the United States. "Sports betting exists, [but] it is illegal," said New Jersey lawyer Theodore Olson. Indeed, clandestine sports betting today represents a $ 150 billion annual market, according to the American Gaming Association.

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Defeat for religious opponents

The decision of the Supreme Court, on the other hand, is a failure for Christian and Muslim religious groups, who had sent arguments to the judges against the extension of sports betting in America.

The experts had noted, however, that behind the blockage on the principles, the lines moved. The American sports federations, aware of monetary issues, appeared less and less opposed to sports betting. In November 2014, Adam Silver, the NBA's general commissioner, published a forum for a complete turnaround on the issue.