The Founding Fathers bet that a government of limited, enumerated powers could resist the natural expansion of democratic politics. That wager has been tested repeatedly—and today, it faces a new challenge in the debate over online sports gambling.
When Publius defended the unratified Constitution in the Federalist Papers, he insisted the new federal government would exercise only powers expressly granted to it. Congress’s authority was to be confined to the 18 clauses of Article I, Section 8. That promise has proven overly optimistic. Over 240 years, Washington has crept into nearly every corner of American life, regulating industries, directing state activities, and micromanaging projects from food systems to road paint. The federal leviathan keeps swelling.
Now, Congress has set its sights on online sports betting. Last month, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing titled “No Sure Bets: Protecting Sports Integrity in America.” Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) aimed to “examine how we strengthen oversight, protect the credibility of competition, and address the growing exposure of young people and children to betting platforms.” But what business does the Senate have examining—let alone regulating—online gambling? The answer, under constitutional federalism, is none.
State governments already possess the police power to regulate sports betting as they see fit, covering health, safety, morals, and public order. Today, 39 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting and regulate it according to local preferences. Sports wagers are a consumable experience: one fan drinks a beer during a game; another places a bet. Few people treat DraftKings or FanDuel as income sources. Two-thirds of bettors spend less than $100 per month—roughly the cost of a Starbucks habit.
Data from the American Consumer Institute shows that legalization “has not significantly increased overall gambling expenditures.” Rates of problem gambling have not demonstrably risen either. Many studies claiming to find dangers from gambling wilt under basic methodological scrutiny. Legalized sports betting, in fact, benefits consumers by offering safe, regulated platforms. The alternative is the black market, where Americans wager an estimated $84 billion annually on sports through illegal and offshore operations. The American Gaming Association notes that since 2022, the share of bettors using only illegal sources has fallen by one-third, and illegal sportsbooks’ market share dropped from 35% to 24%.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chair of the full Commerce Committee, has warned: “Fans shouldn’t have to wonder if their favorite player missed a buzzer-beater or dropped a touchdown pass because of a secret bet.” But players have long bet on sports—ask fans of the 1919 Chicago White Sox or Pete Rose. Legal sportsbooks can serve as watchdogs, reporting suspicious patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. In October 2025, the Justice Department indicted six defendants for wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy tied to illegal NBA bets. Notably, information from legal sportsbooks likely aided that investigation.
Washington has tried before to ban online gambling, notably through the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2018. Congress should not try again. States are competent regulators, and the Constitution’s federalist architecture cannot tolerate further encroachments from the banks of the Potomac.
