Five states join NJ sports betting case
The attorneys generals of five US states joined the New Jersey sports betting case.
US.- New Jersey formalised its appeal back in October in order to legalise the sports betting industry in the state. In 2014 NJ passed a law to regulate the gambling activity, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected last August the proposal to set another debate for the legalisation.
This time, Mississippi, Arizona, West Virginia, Louisiana and Wisconsin sent their attorney generals to join NJ in its battle to legalise sports betting and filed a petition before the US Supreme Court. The five states were concerned with the verdict of the case since they believe that it sets a precedent on how Congress regulates the market and the industry, and they think that the Third Circuit violated New Jersey’s rights by keeping the federal ban on sports betting.
A brief released by West Virginia said: “The concern of Amici States, the States of West Virginia, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Wisconsin, is not what Congress regulates but how it does so. Even where it has Article I authority to act, Congress may not force the States to act as the vehicle for implementing federal policy and thereby shift to the States political accountability for its actions. Such coercion is unconstitutional commandeering.”
It is the first time for Mississippi, Louisiana and Arizona in this case, whilst Wisconsin and West Virginia had joined NJ during the previous appeal to the Supreme Court “Winning this fight for legal sports betting means hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity and saving thousands of jobs for New Jersey. I will fight NFL all the way to the US Supreme Court,” had said Senator Raymond Lesniak after appealing the Court decision.
Even though multiple sources confirm that the Supreme Court will hear the appeal, they believe that the chances of reversing the sentence are very slim. The pro sports leagues that oppose New Jersey in the sports betting case have one month to respond.
