Judge in Rhode Island dismisses sports betting lawsuit
The lawsuit aimed to stop legal sports betting in Rhode Island, but the judge dismissed it on technical grounds.
US.- Rhode Island Judge Brian Stern ruled this week on a lawsuit involving sports betting. A former Republican candidate wanted to stop legal sports betting despite the legalisation not harming him in any way. That is why the judge dismissed the lawsuit on technical grounds, as he said that he had no place to sue.
Stern rejected the argument of Harrop that locals were illegally denied a vote on sports betting and that it automatically required the court to settle the matter on public-interest grounds, Providence Journal reported
“As our Supreme Court has expressed, the court must avoid the temptation, no matter how interesting a legal issue is, to disregard the [standing] requirement, to distort the role of the judiciary and its relationship to the executive and legislature and revert [to] government by injunction,” Stern said. “The implicit rationale behind this rule has its roots in separation of powers. If a citizen wishes to challenge the action, they should have an actual stake in the controversy.”
As Stern said that someone should have a stake in the controversy in order for this to be taken into account, one of the lawyers in the case fighting for Harrop said that they will try this again. “We just need to find a sports bettor who lost and wants his money back. So we’ll be doing that, and there is also the Town of Tiverton. We’ll see if they want to make their position a little stronger and become an actual plaintiff.”
The governor’s stance
Spokesman for Governor Gina Raimondo, Josh Block, said that she’s happy with the Judge’s decision to dismiss the case. “The revenue from sports betting supports investments in education, health care, infrastructure and more,” Block wrote. “With the launch of mobile betting just last week, we look forward to continuing to grow this revenue source. And we want to offer Rhode Islanders a fun and convenient gaming experience.”
