“PASPA is unconstitutional” says Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He has described the US federal sports betting ban as such in a statement published by the American Sports Betting Coalition (ASBC).

The comments were made in relation to the state of New Jersey and their Supreme Court betting case, in which the state is attempting to partially repeal laws under the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

The full quote by Paxton, published by the ASBC on Twitter, read: “PASPA is unconstitutional and tramples on state sovereignty. By ending PASPA, states can rightfully decide whether they want regulated sports betting or not.”

As Texas Attorney General, Paxton is an official who is renowned for siding with President Trump, but on this occasion, he has chosen to oppose the position of the Trump administration, who last month issued Solicitor General Noel Francisco to file a Supreme Court brief against New Jersey’s repeal motion.

UPDATE: The Supreme Court accepted the case in June 2017 and heard oral arguments in December 2017. During this time, Governor Christie stepped down due to his term ending and was replaced by Phil Murphy; the case before the court became Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The case was combined with a separate petition NJ Thoroughbred Horsemen v. NCAA, representing commercial interests related to PASPA. The Court ruled in May 2018 in a 7-2 decision that parts of law were unconstitutional as they commandeered power from the states, and in a 6-3 decision, determined that the whole of PASPA was unconstitutional.

In the aftermath of the Court’s ruling, numerous states, including New Jersey, proceeded to establish legalized sports betting.

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