Since PASPA prevented the states from authorizing sports betting, it violated the anti-commandeering rule. This rule, which is inferred from the structure of the Constitution and not from the text itself, prevents the federal government from commanding the states to undertake a specific act or refrain from undertaking a specific act. Writing for the Court, Justice Alito held that PASPA violated the anti-commandeering rule of the Constitution. Although the four states (Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon) that allowed sports betting at the time that PASPA was passed were allowed to continue their programs, the law prevented the rest of the states from legalizing sports betting. The ban also applied to individuals, who were prohibited from sponsoring, operating, advertising, or promoting the same types of activities. PASPA prohibited states from sponsoring, operating, advertising, promoting, licensing, or authorizing betting schemes based on competitive sporting events.
National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Court was faced with a challenge by New Jersey to the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”).
In the Supreme Court case at issue, Murphy v.