Full opinion text
OPINION OF THE COURT FUENTES, Circuit Judge: Betting on sports is an activity that has unarguably increased in popularity over the last several decades. Seeking to address instances of illegal sports wagering within its borders and to improve its economy, the State of New Jersey has sought to license gambling on certain professional and amateur sporting events. A conglomerate of sports leagues, displeased at the prospect of State-licensed gambling on their athletic contests, has sued to halt these efforts. They contend, alongside the United States as intervening plaintiff, that New Jersey’s proposed law violates a federal law that prohibits most states from licensing sports gambling, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), 28 U.S.C. § 3701 et seq. In defense of its own sports wagering law, New Jersey counters that the leagues lack standing to bring this case because they suffer no injury from the State’s legalization of wagering on the outcomes of their games. In addition, alongside certain intervening defendants, New Jersey argues that PASPA is beyond Congress’ Commerce Clause powers to enact and that it violates two important principles that underlie our system of dual state and federal sovereignty: one known as the “anti-commandeering” doctrine, on the ground that PASPA impermissibly prohibits the states from enacting legislation to license sports gambling; the other known as the “equal sovereignty” principle, in that PASPA permits Nevada to license widespread sports gambling while banning other states from doing so. The District Court disagreed with each of these contentions, granted summary judgment to the leagues, and enjoined New Jersey from licensing sports betting. On appeal, we conclude that the leagues have Article III standing to enforce PAS-PA and that PASPA is constitutional. As will be made clear, accepting New Jersey’s arguments on the merits would require us to take several extraordinary steps, including: invalidating for the first time in our Circuit’s jurisprudence a law under the anti-commandeering principle, a move even the United States Supreme Court has only twice made; expanding that principle to suspend commonplace operations of the Supremacy Clause over state activity contrary to federal laws; and making it harder for Congress to enact laws pursuant to the Commerce Clause if such laws affect some states differently than others. We are cognizant that certain questions related to this case — whether gambling on sporting events is harmful to the games’ integrity and whether states should be permitted to license and profit from the activity — engender strong views. But we are not asked to judge the wisdom of PASPA or of New Jersey’s law, or of the desirability of the activities they seek to regulate. We speak only to the legality of these measures as a matter of constitutional law. Although this “case is made difficult by [Appellants’] strong arguments” in support of New Jersey’s law as a policy matter, see Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1, 9, 125 S.Ct. 2195, 162 L.Ed.2d 1 (2005), our duty is to “say what the law is,” Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 1 Cranch 137, 177, 2 L.Ed. 60 (1803). “If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each.” Id. New Jersey’s sports wagering law conflicts with PASPA and, under our Constitution, must yield. We will affirm the District Court’s judgment. I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK Wagering on sporting events is an activity almost as inscribed in our society as participating in or watching the sports themselves. New Jersey tells us that sports betting in the United States — most of it illegal — is a $500 billion dollar per year industry. And scandals involving the rigging of sporting contests in the interest of winning a wager are as old as the games themselves: the infamous Black Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series, or Major League Baseball’s (“MLB”) lifetime ban on all-time hits leader Pete Rose for allegedly wagering on games he played in come to mind. And the recent prosecution of Tim Donaghy, a National Basketball Association (“NBA”) referee who bet on games that he officiated, reminds us of problems that may stem from gambling. However, despite its pervasiveness, few states have ever licensed gambling on sporting events. Nevada alone began permitting widespread betting on sporting events in 1949 and just three other states — Delaware, Oregon, and Montana— have on occasion permitted limited types of lotteries tied to the outcome of sporting events, but never single-game betting. Sports wagering in all forms, particularly State-licensed wagering, is and has been illegal elsewhere. See, e.g., 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. § 5513; Del.Code Ann. tit. 11, § 1401, et seq. Congress took up and eventually enacted PASPA in 1992 in response to increased efforts by states to begin licensing the practice. A. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 PASPA’s key provision applies for the most part identically to “States” and “persons,” providing that neither may sponsor, operate, advertise, or promote ... a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based directly or indirectly (through the use of geographical references or otherwise), on one or more competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate, or are intended to participate, or on one or more performances of such athletes in such games. 28 U.S.C. § 3702. The prohibition on private persons is limited to any such activity conducted “pursuant to the law or compact of a governmental entity,” id. § 3702(2), while the states are subject to an additional restriction: they may not “license! ] or authorize by law or compact” any such gambling activities, id. §§ 3702(1), 3701. PASPA contains three relevant exceptions — a “grandfathering” clause that releases Nevada from PASPA’s grip, see id. § 3704(a)(2), a clause that permitted New Jersey to license sports wagering in Atlantic City had it chosen to do so within one year of PASPA’s enactment, see id. § 3704(a)(3), and a grandfathering provision permitting states like Delaware and Oregon to continue the limited “sports lotteries” that they had previously conducted, see id. § 3704(a)(1). PASPA provides for a private right of action “to enjoin a violation [of the law] ... by the Attorney General or by a ... sports organization ... whose competitive game is alleged to be the basis of such violation.” Id. § 3703. Only one Court of Appeals has decided a case under PASPA — ours. In Office of the Commissioner of Baseball v. Markell we held that PASPA did not permit Delaware to license single-game betting because the relevant grandfathering provision for Delaware permitted only lotteries consisting of multi-game parlays on NFL teams. 579 F.3d 293, 304 (3d Cir.2009). This is the first case addressing PASPA’s constitutionality. The Act’s legislative history is sparse but mostly consistent with the foregoing. The Report of the Senate Judiciary Committee makes clear that PASPA’s purpose is to “prohibit sports gambling conducted by, or authorized under the law of, any State or governmental entity” and to “stop the spread of State-sponsored sports gambling.” Sen. Rep. 102-248, at 4, reprinted in 1992 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3553, 3555 (“Senate Report”). The Senate Report specifically notes legislators’ concern with “State-sponsored” and “State-sanctioned” sports gambling. Id. at 3555. The Senate Report catalogues what the Committee believed were some of the problems arising from sports gambling. Importantly, the Committee noted its concern for “the integrity of, and public confidence in, amateur and professional sports” and its concern that “[widespread legalization of sports gambling would inevitably promote suspicion about controversial plays and lead fans to think ‘the fix was in’ whenever their team failed to beat the point-spread.” Id. at 3556. The Senate Report also stated its concurrence with the then-director of New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement’s statement that “most law enforcement professionals agree that legalization has a negligible impact on, and in some ways enhances, illegal markets.” Id. at 3558. This is so because “many new gamblers will ... inevitably ... seek to move beyond lotteries to wagers with higher stakes and more serious consequences.” Id. The Senate Report also explains the Committee’s conclusion that “[s]ports gambling is a national problem” because “[t]he moral erosion it produces cannot be limited geographically” given the thousands who earn a livelihood from professional sports and the millions who are fans of them, and because “[o]nce a State legalizes sports gambling, it will be extremely difficult for other States to resist the lure.” Id. at 3556. Finally, it notes that PASPA exempts Nevada because the Committee did not wish to “threaten [Nevada’s] economy,” or of the three other states that had chosen in the past to enact limited forms of sports gambling. Id. at 3559. B. Sports Gambling in New Jersey Since PASPA Was Enacted Although New Jersey in its discretion chose not to avail itself of PASPA’s exemption within the one-year window, “[o]ver the course of the next two decades ... the views of the New Jersey voters regarding sports wagering evolved.” Br. of Appellants Sweeney, et al. 4. In 2010, the New Jersey Legislature held public hearings during which it heard testimony that regulated sports gambling would generate much-needed revenues for the State’s casinos and racetracks, and during which legislators expressed a desire to “to stanch the sports-wagering black market flourishing within [New Jersey’s] borders.” Br. of Appellants Christie, et al. 13 (“N.J.Br.”). The Legislature ultimately decided to hold a referendum which would result in an amendment to the State’s Constitution permitting the Legislature to “authorize by law wagering ... on the results of any professional, college, or amateur sport or athletic event.” N.J. Const. Art. IV, § VII, ¶ 2(D), (F). The measure was approved by the voters, and the Legislature later enacted the law that is now asserted to be in violation of PASPA — the “Sports Wagering Law,” which permits State authorities to license sports gambling in casinos and racetracks and casinos to operate “sports pools.” N.J.S.A. 5:12A-1 et seq.; see also N.J.A.C. § 13:69N-1.1 et seq. (regulations implementing the law). II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY The NBA, MLB, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”), the National Football League (“NFL”), and the National Hockey League (“NHL”) (collectively, the “Leagues”), sued New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey’s Racing Commissioner, and New Jersey’s Director of Gaming Enforcement (the “State” or “New Jersey”), under 28 U.S.C. § 3703, asserting that the Sports Wagering Law is invalidated by PASPA. The New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney and House Speaker Sheila Oliver intervened as defendants, alongside the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, the owner of the Monmouth Park Racetrack, a business where sports gambling would occur under the Sports Wagering Law (the “NJTHA”) (collectively, “Appellants”). The State moved to dismiss for lack of standing and the District Court ordered expedited discovery on that question. After the completion of discovery and oral arguments, the District Court concluded that the Leagues have standing. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Christie, No. 12-4947, 2012 WL 6698684 (D.N.J. Dec. 21, 2012) (“NCAA I”). With the constitutionality of PASPA then squarely at issue, the District Court invited the United States to intervene pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2403. The District Court ultimately upheld PASPA’s constitutionality, granted summary judgment to the Leagues, and enjoined the Sports Wagering Law from going into effect. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v. Christie, 926 F.Supp.2d 551 (D.N.J.2013) (“NCAA II”). This expedited appeal followed. III. JURISDICTION: WHETHER THE LEAGUES HAVE STANDING The District Court had subject-matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and we have appellate jurisdiction over its final judgment under § 1291. Our jurisdiction, however, is limited by the Constitution’s “cases” and “controversies” requirement. U.S. CONST., art. Ill, § 2. To satisfy this jurisdictional limitation, the party invoking federal court authority must demonstrate that he or she has standing to bring the case. The Leagues argue they have standing because their own games are the subject of the Sports Wagering Law. They also contend that the law will increase the total amount of gambling on sports available, thereby souring the public’s perception of the Leagues as people suspect that games are affected by individuals with a perhaps competing hidden monetary stake in their outcome. Appellants counter that the Leagues cannot show a concrete, non-speculative injury from any potential increase in legal gambling. The District Court granted summary judgment to the Leagues, reasoning that Markell supports a holding that the Leagues have standing, and that reputational injury is a legally cognizable harm that may confer standing. It also found sufficient facts in the record to conclude that the Sports Wagering Law will result in an increase in fans’ negative perceptions of the Leagues. We review de novo the legal conclusion that the Leagues have standing, and we review for clear error any factual findings underlying the District Court’s determination. Marion v. TDI Inc., 591 F.3d 137, 146 (3d Cir.2010). A. The Effect of Markell Markell, like this case, was a lawsuit by the Leagues to stop a state from licensing single-game betting on the outcome of sporting events. In Markell we “beg[a]n [our analysis], as always, by considering whether we ha[d] jurisdiction to hear [the] appeal,” and later concluded that we did have jurisdiction. 579 F.3d at 297, 300. But, contrary to the Leagues’ suggestion, our analysis was limited to whether we had appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a). See id. We did not explicitly consider Article III standing, and a “drive-by jurisdictional ruling, in which jurisdiction has been assumed by the parties ... does not create binding precedent.” United States v. Stoerr, 695 F.3d 271, 277 n. 5 (3d Cir.2012) (internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Therefore, we will not rely on Markell for our standing analysis. B. Standing Law Generally Under the familiar three-part test, to establish standing, a plaintiff must show (1) an “injury in fact,” i.e., an actual or imminently threatened injury that is “concrete and particularized” to the plaintiff; (2) causation, i.e., traceability of the injury to the actions of the defendant; and (3) redressability of the injury by a favorable decision by the Court. Summers v. Earth Island Inst., 555 U.S. 488, 493, 129 S.Ct. 1142, 173 L.Ed.2d 1 (2009). Causation and redressability may be met when “a party ... challenge^] government action that permits or authorizes third-party conduct that would otherwise be illegal in the absence of the Government’s action.” Nat’l Wrestling Coaches Ass’n v. Dep’t of Educ., 366 F.3d 930, 940-41 (D.C.Cir.2004). Here, the Leagues do not purport to enjoin third parties from attempting to fix games. The Leagues have sued to block the Sports Wagering Law, which they assert will result in a taint upon their games, and is a law that by definition constitutes state action to license conduct that would not otherwise occur. Under the reasoning of National Wrestling Coaches, causation and redressability are thus satisfied, and all arguments implicitly aimed at those two prongs are suspect. Accordingly, we focus on the injury-in-fact requirement, the “contours of [which], while not precisely defined, are very generous.” Bowman v. Wilson, 672 F.2d 1145, 1151 (3d Cir.1982). Indeed, all that Article III requires is an identifiable trifle of injury, United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures, 412 U.S. 669, 690 n. 14, 93 S.Ct. 2405, 37 L.Ed.2d 254 (1973), which may exist if the plaintiff “has ... a personal stake in the outcome of [the] litigation.” The Pitt News v. Fisher, 215 F.3d 354, 360 (3d Cir.2000); see also Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 n. 1, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (noting that to satisfy the injury-in-fact requirement the “injury must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way”). To meet this burden, the Leagues must present evidence “in the same way as [for] any other matter on which [they] bear[] the burden of proof.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130. C. Whether the Sports Wagering Law Causes the Leagues An Injury In Fact As noted, the Leagues offer two independent bases for standing: that the Sports Wagering Law makes the Leagues’ games the object of state-licensed gambling and that they will suffer reputational harm if such activity expands. We address each in turn. 1. The Leagues are essentially the object of the Sports Wagering Law Injury in fact may be established when the plaintiff himself is the object of the action at issue. Id. Thus, the Leagues are correct that if the Sports Wagering Law is directed at them, the injury-in-fact requirement is satisfied. Fairly read, however, the Sports Wagering Law does not directly regulate the Leagues, but instead regulates the activities that may occur at the State’s casinos and racetracks. We thus hesitate to conclude that the Leagues may rely solely on the existence of the Sports Wagering Law to show injury. But that is not to say that we are glib with respect to one of the main purposes of the law: to use the Leagues’ games for profit. Cf. NFL v. Governor of Del., 435 F.Supp. 1372, 1378 (D.Del.1972) (Stapleton, J.) (explaining that Delaware’s sports lottery sought to use the NFL’s “schedules, scores and public popularity” to “mak[e] profits [Delaware] [c]ould not make but for the existence of the NFL”). The Sports Wagering Law is thus, in a sense, as much directed at the Leagues’ events as it is aimed at the casinos. This is not a generalized grievance like those asserted by environmental groups over regulation of wildlife in cases where the Supreme Court has found no standing, such as in Lujan or Summers. The law here aims to license private individuals to cultivate the fruits of the Leagues’ labor. Appellants counter that the Leagues’ interest in not seeing their games subject to wagering is a non-cognizable “claim for the loss of psychic satisfaction.” N.J. Br. at 31 (citing Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 107, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998)). But the holding in Steel Company was that a claim for psychic satisfaction did not present a redressable injury. In that case, a private plaintiff sought a payment into the U.S. Treasury by a private company that had violated federal law, and asserted that such was a redressable injury because the plaintiff would feel “psychic satisfaction” in seeing the payment made. See Steel Co., 523 U.S. at 107, 118 S.Ct. 1003. The case is thus inapposite here, where re-dressability is established because the Leagues assert harm from the very government action they seek to enjoin — the enforcement of the Sports Wagering Law. Moreover, the Leagues do not assert merely psychic, but reputational harm, a very real and very redressable injury. Appellants also argue that because the Leagues do not have a proprietary interest in the outcomes of their games they may not seek to prevent others from profiting from them. This contention relies on the holding in NFL v. Governor of Delaware, that a Delaware lottery based on the outcome of NFL games did not constitute a misappropriation of the NFL’s property. 435 F.Supp. at 1378-79. But here the Leagues do not complain of an invasion of any proprietary interest, but only refer to the fact of appropriation of their labor to show that the Sports Wagering Law is directed at them. 2. Reputational Harm as Injury In Fact The Leagues may also meet their burden of establishing injury from a law aimed at their games by proving that the activity sanctioned by that law threatens to cause them reputational harm amongst their fans and the public. (a) Reputation Harm Is a Legally Cognizable Injury As a matter of law, reputational harm is a cognizable injury in fact. The Supreme Court so held in Meese v. Keene, where it concluded that a senator who wished to screen films produced by a foreign company had standing to challenge a law requiring the identification of such films as foreign “political propaganda” because the label could harm his reputation with the public and hurt his chances at reelection. 481 U.S. 465, 473-74, 107 S.Ct. 1862, 95 L.Ed.2d 415 (1987). Essentially,' the senator challenged his unwanted association with an undesirable label. Our cases have also recognized that reputational harm is an injury sufficient to confer standing. See, e.g., Bowers v. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 475 F.3d 524, 542-43 (3d Cir.2007) (concluding that an attorney has standing to challenge a public reprimand because the sanction “affeet[s] [his] reputation”); Doe v. Nat’l Bd. of Med. Exam’rs, 199 F.3d 146, 153 (3d Cir.1999) (holding that a student had standing to challenge a rule requiring that he be identified as disabled because such label could sour the perception of him by “people who can affect his future and his livelihood”). The Leagues’ claim of injury is identical to that of the plaintiffs in Keene and Doe: they are harmed by their unwanted association with an activity they (and large portions of the public) disapprove of — gambling. Appellants do not dispute this legal premise, but attack the strength of the evidence that the Leagues have proffered to tie the Sports Wagering Law to the reputational harm they assert. These arguments overstate what the Leagues must show to demonstrate reputational harm in this context and, in any case, ignore the strength of the proffered evidence. (b) The Evidence In the Record Supports the District Court’s Conclusion that Reputational Harm Will Occur To be sure, at the summary judgment stage, mere allegations of harm are insufficient and specific facts are required. See Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130. And a plaintiffs claim of fear of reputational harm must always be “based in reality.” Doe, 199 F.3d at 153. But the “nature and extent of facts that must be averred” depends on the nature of the asserted injury. Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561-62, 112 S.Ct. 2130. No one would doubt, for example, that an individual forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing has standing to challenge that action based on reputational harm. Indeed, that was the import of our holding in Doe where, after discounting all of the evidence presented to prove that others’ perception of the plaintiff as disabled could harm him, we concluded that his fear of reputational harm based on an unwanted and stigmatizing label was nevertheless based “in reality.” 199 F.3d at 153. In Keene, by contrast, where the reputational harm from being associated with “foreign political propaganda” was not as intuitive, the Supreme Court held that an undisputed expert opinion that such labels may stigmatize individuals was sufficient to make the required injury-in-fact showing. 481 U.S. at 490, 107 S.Ct. 1862. This suggests a spectrum wherein the sufficiency of the showing that must be made to establish reputational harm depends on the circumstances of each case. Here, the reputa-tional harm that results from increasingly associating the Leagues’ games with gambling is fairly intuitive. For one, the conclusion that there is a link between legalizing sports gambling and harm to the integrity of the Leagues’ games has been reached by several Congresses that have passed laws addressing gambling and sports, see, e.g., H.R.Rep. No. 88-1053 (1963), 1964 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2250, 2251 (noting that when gambling interests are involved, the “temptation to fix games has become very great,” which in turn harms the honesty of the games); Senate Report at 3555 (noting that PASPA was necessary to “maintain the integrity of our national pastime”). It is, indeed, the specific conclusion reached by the Congress that enacted PASPA, as reflected by the statutory cause of action conferred to the Leagues to enforce the law when their individual games are the target of state-licensed sports wagering. See 28 U.S.C. § 3703. And, presumably, it has also been at least part of the conclusions of the various state legislatures that have blocked the practice throughout our history. But even if polls like in Keene were always required in reputational harm cases, the Leagues have met that burden. The record is replete with evidence showing that being associated with gambling is stigmatizing, regardless of whether the gambling is legal or illegal. Before the District Court were studies showing that: (1) some fans from each League viewed gambling as a problem area for the Leagues, and some fans expressed their belief that game fixing most threatened the Leagues’ integrity [App. 1605-06]; (2) some fans did not want a professional sports franchise to open in Las Vegas, and some fans would be less likely to spend money on the Leagues if that occurred; and (3) a large number of fans oppose the expansion of legalized sports betting. [2293-98.] This more than suffices to meet the Leagues’ evidentiary burden under Keene and Doe — being associated with gambling is undesirable and harmful to one’s reputation. Although the Leagues could end their injury in fact proffer there, they also set forth evidence establishing a clear link between the Sports Wagering Law and increased incentives for game-rigging. First, the State’s own expert noted that state-licensing of sports gambling will result in an increase in the total amount of (legal plus illegal) gambling on sports. [App. 325]. Second, a report by the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, prepared at the behest of Congress in 1999, explains that athletes are “often tempted to bet on contests in which they participate, undermining the integrity of sporting contests.” App. 743. Third, there has been at least one instance of match-fixing for NCAA games as a result of wagers placed through legitimate channels, and several as a result of wagers placed in illegal markets for most of the Leagues, and NCAA players' háve affected or have been asked to affect the outcome of games “because of gambling debt.” App. 2245. Thus, more legal gambling leads to more total gambling, which in turn leads to an increased incentive to fix or attempt to fix the Leagues’ matches. This evidence, together, permits the factual conclusion that being associated with gambling is a stigmatizing label and that, to the extent that the Sports Wagering Law will increase the total amount of gambling as New Jersey’s expert expects, it will increase some fans’ “negative perceptions [of the Leagues] attributed to game fixing and gambling.” NCAA I, 2012 WL 6698684, at *6. We discern no clear error in the District Court’s factual conclusions as derived from these surveys and reports. 3. Appellants’ Counterarguments Appellants posit that the Leagues cannot establish injury based on any stigma that may attach to wagering, because fans would not think negatively of the Leagues given that it is the State that is licensing the activity against the Leagues’ wishes. But as then-Circuit Judge Scalia explained, an argument that the “public reaction [to] the' alleged harm ... is an irrational one ... is irrelevant to the question of core, constitutional injury-in-fact, which requires no more than defacto causality.” Block v. Meese, 793 F.2d 1303, 1309 (D.C.Cir.1986). We also find unpersuasive the contention that the increase in incentives to rig the outcome of the Leagues’ games cannot give rise to standing because they depend on unknown actions of third parties. The Leagues do not seek to enjoin individuals from rigging games; they seek to enjoin New Jersey’s law. That a third party’s action may be necessary to complete the complained-of harm does not negate the existence of an injury in fact from the Sports Wagering Law or negate causation and redressability. “It is impossible to maintain ... that there is no standing to sue regarding action of a defendant which harms the plaintiff only through the reaction of third persons. If that principle were true, it is difficult to see how libel actions or suits for inducing breach of contract could be brought in federal court....” Id. Thus, “the traceability requirement [may be] met even where the conduct in question might not have been a proximate cause of the harm.” Edmonson v. Lincoln Nat’l Life Ins. Co., 725 F.3d 406, 418, No. 12-1581, 2013 WL 4007553, *7 (3d Cir. Aug. 7, 2013) (citing The Pitt News, 215 F.3d at 360-61). Appellants also assert that granting summary judgment to the Leagues was improper because the effect of the studies and opinion polls was disputed by Appellants’ own evidence. In particular, they point to evidence that (1) the Leagues have been economically prospering despite pervasive unregulated sports gambling and state-licensed sports gambling in Nevada; and (2) some individuals would have no interest in the Leagues’ product unless they had a monetary interest in the outcome of games. But these arguments, which sound more like an appeal to commonsense with which, no doubt, many will agree as a policy matter, do not legally deprive the Leagues of standing and are insufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact. A plaintiff does not lose standing to challenge an otherwise injurious action simply because he may also derive some benefit from it. Our standing analysis is not an accounting exercise and it does not require a decision on the merits. See, e.g., Denney v. Deutsche Bank AG, 443 F.3d 253, 265 (2d Cir.2006) (noting that “the fact that an injury may be outweighed by other benefits, while often sufficient to defeat a claim for damages, does not negate standing”); see also 13A Charles A. Wright & Arthur Miller, Fed. Prac. & Proc. Juris. 3d § 3531.4, 147 (3d ed.2008). Nor must the Leagues construct counterfactuals analyzing whether they would have done better if PASPA had instituted a complete ban of state-licensed sports gambling or, conversely, worse if PASPA had not existed. And that fans may still buy tickets is not inconsistent with the notion that the Leagues’ esteem suffers in the eyes of fans, which requires the Leagues to take efforts to rehabilitate their image. That alone establishes injury in fact; that the Leagues may have been successful at rehabilitating their images does not deprive them of standing. See, e.g., Keene, 481 U.S. at 475, 107 S.Ct. 1862 (“[T]he need to take ... affirmative steps to avoid the risk of harm to [one’s] reputation constitutes a cognizable injury.”). As a last resort, Appellants question the Leagues’ commitment to their own argument that state-licensed sports wagering harms them, noting that the Leagues hold events in jurisdictions, such as Canada and England, where gambling on sports is licensed, and that they promote and profit from products that are akin to gambling on sports, such as pay-to-play fantasy leagues. But standing is not defeated by a plaintiffs alleged unclean hands and does not require balancing the equities. That the Leagues may believe that holding events in Canada and England is not injurious to them does not negate that harm may arise from an expansion of sports wagering to the entire country. The same can be said of the Leagues’ promotion of fantasy sports, even if we accept that these activities are akin to head-to-head gambling. And, as even Appellants recognize, it is not the Leagues’ subjective beliefs that control. See Lujan, 504 U.S. at 564, 112 S.Ct. 2130. * * * That the Leagues have standing to enforce a prohibition on state-licensed gambling on their athletic contests seems to us a straightforward conclusion, particularly given the proven stigmatizing effect of having sporting contests associated with gambling, a link that is confirmed by commonsense and Congress’ own conclusions. IV. THE MERITS We turn now to the merits. The centerpiece of Appellants and amici’s attack on PASPA is that it impermissibly commandeers the states. But at least one party raises the spectre that PASPA is also beyond Congress’ authority under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. We thus examine first whether Congress may even regulate the activities that PAS-PA governs. Only after concluding that Congress may do so can we consider whether, in exercising its affirmative powers, Congress exceed a limitation imposed in the Constitution, such as by the anti-commandeering and equal sovereignty principles. See, e.g., Reno v. Condon, 528 U.S. 141, 148-49, 120 S.Ct. 666, 145 L.Ed.2d 587 (2000) (asking, first, whether a law was within Commerce Clause powers and, second, whether the law violated the Tenth Amendment). A. Whether PASPA is Within Congress’ Commerce Clause Power 1. Modern Commerce Clause Law Among Congress’ enumerated powers in Article I is the ability to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.” U.S. Const., Art. L, § 8, cl. 3. As is well-known, since NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, 301 U.S. 1, 57 S.Ct. 615, 81 L.Ed. 893 (1937), the Commerce Clause has been construed to give Congress “considerable] ... latitude in regulating conduct and transactions.” United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 608, 120 S.Ct. 1740, 146 L.Ed.2d 658 (2000). For one, Congress may regulate an activity that “substantially affects interstate commerce” if it “arise[s] out of or [is] connected with a commercial transaction.” United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 559, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995). By contrast, regulations of non-economic activity are disfavored. Id. at 567, 115 S.Ct. 1624 (striking down a law regulating possession of weapons near schools); see also Morrison, 529 U.S. at 613, 120 S.Ct. 1740 (invalidating a law regulating gender-motivated violence). 2. Gambling and the Leagues’ Contests, Considered Separately or Together, Substantially Affect Interstate Commerce Guided by these principles, it is self-evident that the activity PASPA targets, state-licensed wagering on sports, may be regulated consistent with the Commerce Clause. First, both wagering and national sports are economic activities. A wager is simply a contingent contract involving “two or more ... parties, having mutual rights in respect to the money or other thing wagered.” Gibson, 359 P.2d at 86; see also N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 5:12-21 (defining gambling as engaging in a game “for money, property, checks, or any representative of value”). There can also be no doubt that the operations of the Leagues are economic activities, as they preside essentially over for-profit entertainment. See, e.g., App. 1444 (NFL self-describing its “complex business model that includes a diverse range of revenue streams, which contribute ... to company profitability”). Second, there can be no serious dispute that the professional and amateur sporting events at the heart of the Leagues’ operations “substantially affect” interstate commerce. The Leagues are associations comprised of thousands of clubs and members, [App. 105], which in turn govern the operations of thousands of sports teams organized across the United States, competing for fans and revenue across the country. “Thousands of Americans earn a ... livelihood in professional sports. Tens of thousands of others participate in college sports.” Senate Report at 3557. Indeed, some of the Leagues hold sporting events abroad, affecting commerce with Foreign Nations. Third, it immediately follows that placing wagers on sporting events also substantially affects interstate commerce. As New Jersey indicates, Americans gamble up to $500 billion on sports each year. [App. 330-31], And whatever effects gambling on sports may have on the games themselves, those effects will plainly transcend state boundaries and affect a fundamentally national industry. Accordingly, we have deferred to Congressional determinations that “gambling involves the use and has an effect upon interstate commerce.” United States v. Riehl, 460 F.2d 454, 458 (3d Cir.1972). At bottom, it is clear that PASPA is aimed at an activity that is “quintessentially economic” and that has substantial effects on interstate commerce. See Raich, 545 U.S. at 19-20, 125 S.Ct. 2195. Prohibiting the state licensing of this activity is thus a “rational ... means of regulating commerce” in this area and within Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause. Id. at 26,125 S.Ct. 2195. 3. PASPA Does Not Unconstitutionally Regulate Purely Local Activities Appellants nevertheless assert that PASPA is unconstitutional because it “reaches unlimited betting activity ... that cannot possibly affect interstate commerce ... [such as] a casual bet on a Giants-Jets football game between family members.” Br. of NJTHA at 34. Parsing words from the statute, they insist PASPA reaches these activities because it prohibits betting in “competitive games” involving “amateur or professional athletes.” 28 U.S.C. § 3702. This argument is merit-less. For one, PASPA on its face does not reach the intrastate activities that Appellants - contend it does. PASPA prohibits only gambling “schemes” and only those carried out “pursuant to law or compact.” 28 U.S.C. § 3702. The activities described in Appellants’ examples are nor carried out pursuant to state law, or pursuant to “a systemic plan; a connected or orderly arrangement ... [or] [a]n artful plot, or plan.” Black’s Law Dictionary (9th Ed.2009) (defining “scheme”). Moreover, even entertaining that PASPA somehow reaches these activities, Congressional action over them is permissible if Congress has a “rational basis” for concluding that the activity in the aggregate has a substantial effect on interstate commerce. Raich, 545 U.S. at 22, 125 S.Ct. 2195. The rule of an unbroken line from Wickard v. Filbum, 317 U.S. 111, 63 S.Ct. 82, 87 L.Ed. 122 (1942), to Raich— respectively upholding limitations on growing wheat at home and personal marijuana consumption — is that when it comes to legislating economic activity, Congress can regulate “even activity that is purely intrastate in character ... where the activity, combined with like conduct by other similarly situated, affects commerce among the States or with foreign nations.” Nat’l League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833, 840, 96 S.Ct. 2465, 49 L.Ed.2d 245 (1976), overruled on other grounds by Garcia v. San Antonio Metro. Transit Auth., 469 U.S. 528, 105 S.Ct. 1005, 83 L.Ed.2d 1016 (1985) (alterations omitted). And there can be no doubt that Congress had a rational basis to conclude that the intrastate activities at issue substantially affect interstate commerce, given the reach of gambling, sports, and sports wagering into the far corners of the economies of the states, documented above. Appellants finally seek support in the Supreme Court’s holding that the “individual mandate” of the Affordable Care Act is beyond Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause. See Nat’l Fed’n of Indep. Bus. v. Sebelius, — U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 2566, 183 L.Ed.2d 450 (2012). But the problem in Sebelius was that the method chosen to regulate (forcing into economic activity individuals previously not in the market for health insurance) was beyond Congress’ power. Here, the method of regulation, banning an activity altogether (in this case the expansion of State-sponsored sports betting), is neither novel nor problematic. See, e.g., Raich, 545 U.S. at 27, 125 S.Ct. 2195. B. Whether PASPA Impermissibly Commandeers the States Having concluded that Congress may regulate sports wagering consistent with the Commerce Clause, we turn to PAS-PA’s operation in the case before us. As noted, PASPA makes it “unlawful for a governmental entity to ... authorize by law or compact” gambling on sports. 28 U.S.C. § 3702. This is classic preemption language that operates, via the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, see U.S. Const., art. VI, cl. 2, to invalidate state laws that are contrary to the federal statute. See, e.g., Am. Trucking Ass’ns v. City of Los Angeles, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2096, 2100-01, 2102, 186 L.Ed.2d 177 (2013) explaining that the provision of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) that states a “ ‘State ... may not enact or enforce a law ... related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier ... with respect to the transportation of property’ ... preempts State laws related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier with respect to the transportation of property” (quoting 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)(1)). The Sports Wagering Law is precisely what PASPA says the states may not do — a purported authorization by law of sports wagering. It is therefore invalidated by PASPA. Appellants do not contest any of the foregoing, but argue instead that PASPA’s operation over the Sports Wagering Law violates the “anti-commandeering” principle, which bars Congress from conscripting the states into doing the work of federal officials. The import of this argument, then, is that impermissible anti-commandeering may occur even when all a federal law does is supersede state law via the Supremacy Clause. But the Supreme Court’s anti-commandeering jurisprudence has never entertained this position, let alone accepted it. 1. The Anti-Commandeering Principle “As every schoolchild learns, our Constitution establishes a system of dual sovereignty between the States and the Federal Government.” Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 457, 111 S.Ct. 2395, 115 L.Ed.2d 410 (1991). And it is well-known that all powers not explicitly conferred to the federal government are reserved to the states, a maxim reflected in the text of the Tenth Amendment. U.S. Const., amdt. X; see also United States v. Darby, 312 U.S. 100, 123-24, 61 S.Ct. 451, 85 L.Ed. 609 (1941) (describing this as a “truism” embodied by the Tenth Amendment). Among the important corollaries that flow from the foregoing is that any law that “commandeers the legislative processes of the States by directly compelling them to enact and enforce a federal regulatory program” is beyond the inherent limitations on federal power within our dual system. Hodel v. Va. Surface Mining & Reclamation Ass’n, 452 U.S. 264, 283, 288, 101 S.Ct. 2352, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981). Stated differently, Congress “lacks the power directly to compel the States to require or prohibit” acts which Congress itself may require or prohibit. New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144, 166, 180, 112 S.Ct. 2408, 120 L.Ed.2d 120 (1992). The Supreme Court has struck down laws based on these principles on only two occasions, both distinguishable from PASPA. (a) Permissible regulation in a pre-emptible field: Hodel and FERC The first modern, relevant incarnation of the anti-commandeering principle appeared in Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Ass’n. The law at issue there imposed federal standards for coal mining on certain surfaces and required any state that wished to “assume permanent regulatory authority over ... surface coal mining operations” to “submit a proposed permanent program” to the Federal Government, which, among other things, required the “state legislature [to] enact[ ] laws implementing the environmental protection standards established by the [a]ct.” Hodel, 452 U.S. at 271, 101 S.Ct. 2352. If a particular state did not wish to implement the federal standards, the federal government would step in to do so. Id. at 272, 101 S.Ct. 2352. The Supreme Court upheld the provisions, noting that they neither compelled the states to adopt the federal standards, nor required them “to expend any state funds,” nor coerced them into “participat[ing] in the federal regulatory program in any manner whatsoever.” Id. at 288, 101 S.Ct. 2352. The Court further concluded that Congress could have chosen to completely preempt the field by simply assuming oversight of the regulations itself. Id. It thus held that the Tenth Amendment posed no obstacle to a system by which Congress “chose to allow the States a regulatory role.” Id. at 290, 101 S.Ct. 2352. As the Court later characterized Hodel, the scheme there did not violate the anti-commandeering principle because it “merely made compliance with federal standards a precondition to continued state regulation in an otherwise preempted field.” Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898, 926, 117 S.Ct. 2365, 138 L.Ed.2d 914 (1997). The next year, in F.E.R.C. v. Mississippi, the Court upheld a provision requiring state utility regulatory commissions to “consider” whether to enact certain standards for energy efficiency but leaving to the states the ultimate choice of whether to adopt those standards or not. 456 U.S. 742, 746, 769-70, 102 S.Ct. 2126, 72 L.Ed.2d 532 (1982). The Court upheld the law despite its outright commandeering of the state resources needed to consider and study the federal standards, because the law did not definitely require the enactment or implementation of federal standards. Id. at 764, 102 S.Ct. 2126. The Court, noting that Congress had simply regulated where it could have “pre-empted the States entirely” but instead chose to leave some room for the states to maneuver, saw the case as “only one step beyond Hodel.” Id. (b) Permissible Prohibitions on State Action: Baker and Reno In a different pair of anti-commandeering cases, the Court upheld affirmative prohibitions on state action that effectively invalidated contrary state laws and even required the states to enact new measures. First, in South Carolina v. Baker, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of laws that “directly regulated the States by prohibiting outright the issuance of bearer bonds.” 485 U.S. 505, 511, 108 S.Ct. 1355, 99 L.Ed.2d 592 (1988). These rules, which also applied to private debt issuers, required the states to “amend a substantial number of statutes in order to [comply].” Id. at 514, 108 S.Ct. 1355. The Court concluded this result did not run afoul the Tenth Amendment because it did not “seek to control or influence the manner in which States regulate private parties” but was simply “an inevitable consequence of regulating a state activity,” id. In subsequent cases, the Court explained that the regulation in Baker was permissible because it simply “subjected a State to the same legislation applicable to private parties.” New York, 505 U.S. at 160, 112 S.Ct. 2408. Then, in Reno v. Condon, the Court unanimously rejected an anti-commandeering challenge to a law prohibiting states from disseminating personal information obtained by state departments of motor vehicles. South Carolina complained that the act required its employees to learn its provisions and expend resources to comply and, indeed, the federal law effectively blocked the operation of state laws governing the disclosure of that information. 528 U.S. at 150, 120 S.Ct. 666. The Court agreed “that the [act] will require time and effort on the part of state employees” but otherwise rejected the anti-commandeering challenge because, like the law in Baker, the law “d[id] not require the States in their sovereign capacity to regulate their own citizens!,] ... d[id] not require the [State] Legislature^] to enact any laws or regulations, and it d[id] not require state officials to assist in the enforcement of federal statutes regulating private individuals.” Id. at 151, 120 S.Ct. 666. Moreover, the law did not “seek to control[ ] or influence the manner in which States regulate private parties.” Id. (citing Baker, 485 U.S. at 514-15, 108 S.Ct. 1355). (c) Impermissible Anti-Commandeering: New York and Printz In contrast to the foregoing, the Court has twice struck down portions of a federal law on anti-commandeering grounds. The first was in New York v. United States, which dealt with a law meant to regulate and encourage the orderly disposal of low-level radioactive waste by the states. 505 U.S. at 149-54, 112 S.Ct. 2408. The “most severe” aspect of the complex system of measures established by the law, referred to as the “take-title” provision, provided that if a particular state had not been able to arrange for the disposal of the radioactive waste by a specified date, then that state would have to take title to the waste at the request of the waste’s generator. Id. at 153-54, 112 S.Ct. 2408 (citing 42 U.S.C. § 2021e(d)(2)(C)). The Court, based on the notion that “Congress may not simply ‘commandeer the legislative processes of the States by directly compelling them to enact and enforce a federal regulatory program,’ ” id. at 161, 112 S.Ct. 2408 (quoting Hodel, 452 U.S. at 288, 101 S.Ct. 2352) (alterations omitted), struck down the take-title provision because it did just that: compel the states to either enact a regulatory program, or expend resources in taking title to the waste. Id. at 176, 112 S.Ct. 2408. The Court noted that Congress may enact measures to encourage the states to act and may “hav[e] state law pre-empted by federal regulation” but concluded that the take-title provision “crossed the line distinguishing eneouragement from coercion.” Id. at 167, 175, 112 S.Ct. 2408. The Court also emphasized that the anti-commandeering principle was designed, in part, to stop Congress from blurring the line of accountability between federal and state officials and from skirting responsibility for its choices by foisting them on the states. Id. at 168, 120 S.Ct. 666. The Court then applied these principles, in Printz, to invalidate the provisions of the Brady Act that required local authorities of certain states to run background checks on persons seeking to' purchase guns. The Court held that Congress “may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers ... to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.” 521 U.S. at 935, 117 S.Ct. 2365. The Court was also troubled that these provisions required states to “absorb the financial burden of implementing a federal regulatory program” and “tak[e] the blame for its ... defects.” Id. at 930, 117 S.Ct. 2365. To date, the schemes at issue in New York and Printz remain the only two that the Supreme Court has struck down under the anti-commandeering doctrine. Our Court has not yet had occasion to consider an anti-commandeering challenge. 2. Whether PASPA Violates the Anti-Commandeering Principle (a) Anti-Commandeering and the Supremacy Clause Appellants’ arguments that PASPA violates anti-commandeering principles run into an immediate problem: not a single case that we have reviewed involved a federal law that, like PASPA, simply operated to invalidate contrary state laws. It has thus never been the case that applying the Supremacy Clause to invalidate a state law contrary to federal proscriptions is tantamount to direct regulation over the states, to an invasion of their sovereignty, or to commandeering. Most of the foregoing cases involved Congress attempting to directly impose a federal scheme on state officials. If anything, the federal laws in Reno and Baker had the effect of invalidating certain contrary state laws by prohibiting state action, and both survived. Indeed, the Justices in both New York and Prints disclaimed any notion that the anti-commandeering principle somehow suspends the operation of the Supremacy Clause on otherwise valid laws. For example, in Prints the Court explained that our Constitutional structure requires “all state officials ... to enact, enforce, and interpret state law in such a fashion as not to obstruct the operation of federal law, and the attendant reality [is] that all state actions constituting such obstruction, even legislative Acts, are ipso facto invalid.” 521 U.S. at 913, 117 S.Ct. 2365; see also New York, 505 U.S. at 162, 112 S.Ct. 2408 (noting that the Commerce Clause permits Congress to “hav[e] state law preempted by federal [law]”). In light of the fact that the Supremacy Clause is the Constitution’s answer to the problem that had made life difficult under the Articles of Confederation — the lack of a mechanism to enforce uniform national policies — accepting Appellants’ position that a state’s sovereignty is violated when it is precluded from following a policy different than that set forth by federal law (as New Jersey seeks to do with its Sports Wagering Law), would be revolutionary. See The Federalist No. 44, at 323 (James Madison) (B. Fletcher ed.1996) (explaining that without the Supremacy Clause “all the authorities contained in the proposed Constitution ... would have been annulled, and the new Congress would have been reduced to the same impotent condition with [the Articles of Confederation]”). And it is not hard to see why invalidating contrary state law does not implicate a state’s sovereignty or otherwise commandeer the states. When Congress passes a law that operates via the Supremacy Clause to invalidate contrary state laws, it is not telling the states what to do, it is barring them from doing something they want to do. Anti-commandeering challenges to statutes worded like PASPA have thus consistently failed. See, e.g., Kelley v. United States, 69 F.3d 1503, 1510 (10th Cir.1995) (upholding constitutionality of intrastate motor carrier statute, noting that it preempted state law and in doing so did not “compel[ ] the states to voluntarily act by enacting or administering a federal regulatory program”); California Dump Truck Owners Ass’n v. Davis, 172 F.Supp.2d 1298, 1304 (E.D.Cal. 2001) (upholding constitutionality of FAAAA provision against an anti-commandeering challenge, noting that, unlike the laws in New York and Prints, the FAAAA provision, insofar as it merely preempts state law, “tell[s] states what not to do ”). To be sure, the Supremacy Clause elevates only laws that are otherwise within Congress’ power to enact. See, e.g., Neto York, 505 U.S. at 166, 112 S.Ct. 2408 (noting that Congress may not, consistent with the Commerce Clause, “regulate state governments’ regulation of interstate commerce”). But we have held that Congress may prohibit state-licensed gambling consistent with the Commerce Clause. The argument that PASPA is beyond Congress’ authority thus hinges on the notion that the invalidation of a state law pursuant to the Commerce Clause has the same “commandeering” effect as the federal laws struck down in New York and Printz. We turn now to this contention. (b) PASPA is Unlike the Laws Struck Down in New York and Printz Appellants’ efforts to analogize PASPA to the provisions struck down in Neiv York and Pñntz are unavailing. Unlike the problematic “take title” provision and the background check requirements, PASPA does not require or coerce the states to lift a finger—they are not required to pass laws, to take title to anything, to conduct background checks, to expend any funds, or to in any way enforce federal law. They are not even required, like the states were in F.E.R.C., to expend resources considering federal regulatory regimes, let alone to adopt them. Simply put, we discern in PASPA no “directives requiring the States to address particular problems” and no “eommand[s] to the States’ officers ... to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.” Pñntz, 521 U.S. at 935, 117 S.Ct. 2365. As the District Court correctly reasoned, the fact that PASPA sets forth a prohibition, while the New York/Pñntz regulations required affirmative action(s) on the part of the states, is of significance. Again, it is hard to see how Congress can “commandeer” a state, or how it can be found to regulate how a state regulates, if it does not require it to do anything at all. The distinction is palpable from the Supreme Court’s anti-commandeering cases themselves. State laws requiring affirmative acts may or may not be constitutional, compare F.E.R.C., 456 U.S. at 761-63, 102 S.Ct. 2126 (upholding statute because requirement that states expend resources considering federal standards was not commandeering) with Printz, 521 U.S. at 904-05, 117 S.Ct. 2365 (finding requirement that states perform background checks unconstitutional). On the other hand, statutes prohibiting the states from taking certain actions have never been struck down even if they require the expenditure of some time and effort or the modification or invalidation of contrary state laws, see Baker, 485 U.S. at 515, 108 S.Ct. 1355; Reno, 528 U.S. at 150, 120 S.Ct. 666. As the District Court carefully demonstrated, in all its anti-commandeering cases, the Supreme Court has been concerned with conscripting the states into affirmative action. See NCAA II, 2013 WL 772679, at *17. Recognizing the importance of the affirmative/negative command distinction, Appellants assert that PASPA does impose an affirmative requirement that the states act, by prohibiting them from repealing anti-sports wagering provisions. We agree with Appellants that the affirmative act requirement, if not properly applied, may permit Congress to “accomplish exactly what the commandeering doctrine prohibits” by stopping the states from “repealing an existing law.” Conant v. Walters, 309 F.3d 629, 646 (9th Cir.2002) (Ko-zinski, J., concurring). But we do not read PASPA to prohibit New Jersey from repealing its ban on sports wagering. Under PASPA, “[i]t shall- be unlawful for ... a governmental entity to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize by law or compact ” a sports wagering scheme. 28 U.S.C. § 3702(1) (emphasis added). Nothing in these words requires that the states keep any law in place. All that is prohibited is the issuance of gambling “license[s]” or the affirmative “authorization] by law” of gambling schemes. Appellants contend that to the extent a state may choose to repeal an affirmative prohibition of sports gambling, that is the same as “authorizing” that activity, and therefore PASPA precludes repealing prohibitions on gambling just as it bars affirmatively licensing it. This argument is problematic in numerous respects. Most basically, it ignores that PASPA speaks only of “authorizing by law” a sports gambling scheme. We do not see how having no law in place governing sports wagering is the same as authorizing it by law. Second, the argument ignores that, in reality, the lack of an affirmative prohibition of an activity does not mean it is affirmatively authorized by law. The right to do that which is not prohibited derives not from the authority of the state but from the inherent rights of the people. Indeed, that the Legislature needed to enact the Sports Wagering Law itself belies any contention that the mere repeal of New Jersey’s ban on sports gambling was sufficient to “authorize [it] by law.” The amendment to New Jersey’s Constitution itself did not purport to affirmatively authorize sports wagering but indeed only gave the Legislature the power to “authorize by law” such activities. N.J. Const. Art. IV, § VII, ¶ 2(D), (F). Thus, the New Jersey Legislature itself saw a meaningful distinction between repealing the ban on sports wagering and authorizing it by law, undermining any contention that the amendment alone was sufficient to affirmatively authorize sports wagering — the Sports Wagering Law was required. Cf Hernandez v. Robles, 7 N.Y.3d 338, 821 N.Y.S.2d 770, 855 N.E.2d 1, 5-6 (2006) (rejecting as “untenable” a construction of a domestic relation law, silent on the matter of the legality of same-sex marriages, as permitting such unions). Congress in PASPA itself saw a difference between general sports gambling activity and that which occurs under the auspices of state approval and authorization, and chose to reach private activity only to the extent that it is conducted “pursuant to State law.” In short, Appellants’ attempt to read into PASPA a req