The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to allow sports betting in all 50 states met with excitement in the affected industries. The closest parallel to this infant industry occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s, when states permitted widespread casino gambling. Despite creating, through legislation, protected casino monopolies for commercial interests, the states didn’t receive an equitable portion of the value. Most settled for less than 50 percent of net gambling revenue, and few states auctioned off casino licenses to the highest bidders. Why did this happen? The negotiating table was uneven. Financially unsophisticated legislators and state executives went up against giant corporations, connected insiders and huge lobbying efforts. To avoid a repeat underachievement with sports betting, we think the states should lock arms and present a united front to commercial gambling concerns. A precedent for state-to-state gambling cooperation already exists: the Multi-State Lottery Association, which operates Powerball, the multi-billion-dollar, multi-jurisdictional lottery game.
(Read more: GOVERNING)