Development of the Federal Law of Gambling

Abstract

The Commission on the Review of the National Policy Toward Gambling, believing that the States should have the primary responsibility for determining what forms of gambling may legally take place within their borders, recently suggested that the federal government should prevent interference by one State with the gambling policies of another, and should act to protect identifiable national interests. Although this broad recommendation reinforces the role the federal government has traditionally played in regulating gambling, the Commission also proposed specific amendments to the cur- rent federal gambling laws. Should Congress act upon the Commission\u27s report or otherwise attempt a comprehensive review of federal gambling policy–such legislation, S. 1437, has already passed the Senate–its members ought to bring to their task a firm grasp of what the federal gambling law is, how that law developed, and what policies underlie it. This Article seeks to shed light on each of these questions