Where is the perfect place to celebrate the anniversary of the repeal of PASPA? Why, the state responsible for its fall, of course! New Jerseyans again have cause to celebrate Free to Bet Day this year and for more reason than just Gov. Phil Murphy’s victory at the Supreme Court in 2018.
DraftKings Sportsbook is giving all users a free bet to use Friday. However, it’s just a little sweeter opting in and placing that wager in the Garden State because of the backstory and NJ’s prominent role in it.
Free to Bet Day on DraftKings is this Friday
A lot of DraftKings’ promos are essentially new user recruitment ads but this one is for everyone. All you have to do is create or sign in to your account and opt-in. If you are new to DraftKings, though, you will get all the sweet welcome bonuses on top of this.
The deal to celebrate the Supreme Court’s annulment of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 three years ago is a free bet worth $5.14. DraftKings Casino customers will receive $5.14 in free credits.
There are some conditions you should note, including:
- Sportsbook – free bet must be used on Friday, May 14
- Casino – free credits expire Sunday, May 16
- The free bet amount is not included in any winnings
With the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins about to start playoffs runs on top of the New York Liberty starting their season Friday night, there are plenty of options for your free bet if you decide to go that route. If you’d prefer to have some free play in the online casino, perhaps you’d like to try DraftKings’ Spanish 21 Blackjack variant that is currently exclusive to NJ?
You might be wondering, though, why DraftKings is marking the occasion. The answer to that is simply that most of this wouldn’t be happening if not for the events of the day in 2018.
Why May 14, 2018, is a day for gamblers to celebrate
A short history lesson is necessary to understand the importance of this event. In October of 1992, the US Congress enacted PASPA and then-President George H.W. Bush signed it into law. It made sports betting illegal on the federal level in most of the country.
Fast forward to January 2012. Then-NJ Gov. Chris Christie signed into law a bill to legalize sports betting in the Garden State in defiance of PASPA. Almost immediately thereafter, several professional sports leagues like MLB all sued Christie as governor in a case that became known as NCAA v. Christie.
The plaintiffs argued that the NJ law was unconstitutional and harmed their businesses. Through several appeals and iterations of the lawsuit, eventually, the matter ended up before the Supreme Court in December of 2017 as NCAA v. Murphy.
Christie’s and then Murphy’s arguments were quite simple. Congress was overstepping its constitutional bounds by trying to compel the state of New Jersey to enforce one of its laws. On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court issued a broad victory for the defendant.
The court said that while Congress is free to regulate sports betting on a national level, in absence of that, all 50 states are free to do as they wish on the matter. Thus, every state to legalize sports betting since owes NJ a debt of gratitude.
For that reason, there’s no better place to celebrate this Friday than in NJ. Hopefully, the free site credit at DraftKings makes the party a little richer for all players.
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