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The article is a bit light on details, but it sounds like this doesn't automatically legalize sports betting. Rather, it allows states to legalize it, which at
by neuland 8y ago
The article is a bit light on details, but it sounds like this doesn't automatically legalize sports betting. Rather, it allows states to legalize it, which at least 20 states intend to do.
- golemotron 8y agoEverything is legal unless there's a law against it. States would not legalize gambling, they would repeal laws against it.
- mythrwy 8y agoI'm guessing they will regulate it though. And of course demand their share of the revenue.
- fapjacks 8y agoI don't know why you're being downvoted. Your statement is factually correct.
- yammajr 8y agoIANAL, but I'm not sure that's exactly true. As far as I know, in 49 states (not Louisiana), if there's not a law about it we fall back on some system based on english common law.
- jessaustin 8y agoThe English allow sports betting, don't they?
- tathougies 8y agoCalifornia falls back on Spanish civil law. The most obvious example of this is the fact spouses cannot hold property individually in California, except for a few (constitutionally protected) items. In general, each sovereign jurisdiction will fall back on the legal system that was in place at the time the jurisdiction gained its sovereignty. For California, the ancestor state was Mexico, and thus Spain. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/robbins/pdf/ca-legalheritage.pdf https://www.law.berkeley.edu/library/robbins/pdf/ca-legalher... But to answer the larger question. Everything that is not specifically legislated against is legal. Some ancient laws may still hold, but most are probably going to be found unconstitutional. Although, there may be some exceptions that you could convince a court to enforce.
- fapjacks 8y agoWell, state law could fall back on martian (with an "n") law. It doesn't matter. Laws exist to state the thing you cannot do. If there is no law against the thing, the thing's not illegal. Falling back on another system doesn't make it any less true that unless there's a law against a thing, you are free to do that thing. And I'd add that laws stating a thing must be done a certain way are simply excluding all other ways of doing a thing. And even if English Common Law fell back on some unspoken Viking Code, the entire body of law exists to state what is forbidden.
- golemotron 8y ago> I don't know why you're being downvoted. Your statement is factually correct. I'm used to it. HN readers are very sensitive to tone. The downvotes come first and then the upvotes.