Add Rhode Island to the list of state’s that would consider legalizing sports betting if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a federal ban.
The court is currently deliberating on a case brought by New Jersey and its horseracing industry to allow unregulated sports betting in the state. However, many analysts feel the court could move to strike down the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act—which bans sports betting in all but four states—as infringing on state’s rights to administer their own gambling laws.
Rhode Island state Sen. William Conley—the chair of the state’s Senate Finance Committee—said he thinks the court will strike down the ban and he expects the state will move quickly to consider sports betting legislation.
Asked by WPRI-TV, whether he would support sports betting, Conley said “Absolutely, I do think that the Senate president thinks that that’s something that we should look at seriously, and that it will bring in revenue.”
Conley said the sates could pass legislation as soon as its next session, though the Supreme Court could take months to issue a ruling.
