Court reasoned that “it is unreasonable to assume that Congress intended, by way of negative inference from section 2719(d), to exempt Indian tribes from the federal wagering excise taxes.” With time, however, public opinion and, in turn, public policy regard gambling, including sports wagering, has drifted away from supporting the original purposes of the wagering excise tax. Furthering this movement was the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which struck down as unconstitutional the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 that effectively prohibited sports wagering nationwide. 1 In the four years since the Murphy decision, dozens of Tribal Governments and at least thirty (30) states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting within their jurisdictions. Now, the wagering excise tax is out of step with its intended purpose, which was to stop illegal gambling. Instead, the tax is now being imposed on legal sports betting in the United States, while illegal and often offshore unregulated sports betting remains prevalent in the United States. Illegal gambling operations continue to accept approximately $150 million annually, a figure that is only likely to increase thanks to the unintended benefit to illegal unregulated sports betting operators that escape this tax. The wagering excise tax imposes the burden of increased operating cost on legal sports betting operations regulated by dozens of Tribal Governments and at least thirty (30) state governments. To eliminate the increased burden of the wagering excise tax on Indian gaming operations that now employ sports betting, and to overturn the Supreme Court’s misguided 2001 decision in Chickasaw Nation v. United States , we ask that you consider writing your Member of Congress to urge them to consider co-sponsoring H.R. 2350, which would finally repeal this outdated tax. Below is a template letter for your use. Please contact Danielle Her Many Horses at dhermanyhorses@indiangaming.org with questions or concerns with this alert.
Deleted: “[W]e believe
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Deleted: past Deleted: ive Deleted: Tribal Governments
Deleted: t Deleted: g Deleted: The move to legalize sports betting in the United States renders Formatted: Normal (Web), Pattern: Clear (White) Deleted: off-shore Deleted: . Deleted: Tribal Governments
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Deleted: It has resulted in the unintended benefit to illegal unregulated sports betting operators that escape this tax.¶
Formatted: Font: Italic Deleted: respectfully Deleted: will
1 Excepting the States of Nevada and, in limited circumstances, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon.
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