The Cato Institute and the Pacific Legal Foundation this week filed an amicus brief which supports the New Jersey sports gambling appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding online sports betting. In February, Chris Christie’s administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, stating the federal ban on sports gambling in all but 4 states (the PAPSA law) is unconstitutional.

The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank located in Washington D.C. The think tank was founded in 1974 by Charles Koch. It is considered one of the leading think tanks in the world, sitting at 6th best among American think tanks and #14 among the world’s list of such institutes, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s 2011 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.

According to the Cato Institute amicus brief, two questions must be asked of the PASPA. One, does PAPSA’s prohibition on state licensing of sports wagering commandeer the power of U.S. states to regulate, in violation of the Tenth Amendment? Two, does PAPSA’s discrimination in favor of Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware violate the fundamental principle of equal sovereignty?

At one point, the brief states, “PASPA is unique in that it directly regulates the ability of states to change their own laws, interfering with the relationship between the states and their residents and undermining the democratic process at the state level.”

The Cato Institute brief may help New Jersey’s case, though its wording does have flaws. For one, its author only mentions three states which have authorized sports gambling–Montana was forgotten. Such oversights might hurt its standing somewhat before the United States Supreme Court justices, but the underlying logic of its argument still stands: the PAPSA is an extraordinary and possibly unconstitutional piece of legislation.

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