United States Supreme Court Legalizes Sports Betting
The United States Supreme Court on May 14, 2018 in the case of Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) adjudicated the question of legality of sports betting. The decision focuses on the separation of powers between the federal and state governments. Casino gambling was legal in New Jersey, Atlantic City, Nevada, along with Oregon, Montana, and Delaware. The Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (“PASPA”) to prevent the trend of casino gambling from expanding to sports gambling, and to protect the integrity of sports. There was a new legislation passed in New Jersey authorising sports betting which was challenged by NCAA on the ground that the law violated PASPA. The state of New Jersey argued that PASPA infringed upon the State’s sovereign authority to end its sports gambling plan. In response to this, the NCAA along with other professional leagues countered the argument by stating that since PASPA did not command the states to take any affirmative act, it did not impermissibly commandeer the state’s law-making process. The Federal Court found that PASPA’s prohibition of state run sports gambling schemes did not contravene the anti-commandeering principle, and the state of New Jersey appealed to the Supreme Court. The anti-commandeering doctrine prohibits the federal government from imposing targeted, affirmative, coercive duties upon state legislators or executive officials.
The Supreme Court overturned the Federal Court’s ruling and held that the legislative powers granted to the Congress are not unlimited, and although the Congress has the authority to regulate sports gambling directly, PASPA does not have the mandate to do so. The Supreme Court held that the Congress had violated the anti-commandeering rule of the 10th amendment by prohibiting states from authorizing any form of sports betting.
RBI Withdraws Exemptions Offered to Government Owned NBFCs
The Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”) declared in its notification dated May 31, 2018 that government owned companies, as defined under Section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013 and registered with the RBI as non-banking financial companies (“NBFCs”), can no longer claim exemptions from Sections 45-IB and 45-IC of the RBI Act, 1934.