Sports betting case still alive in New Jersey

After multiple failed attempts to legalise the sports betting industry, New Jersey’s hope remains intact.

US.- The Supreme Court asked the country’s Acting Solicitor General to submit a brief on the sports betting legislation case from New Jersey, which is seeking an authorization to operate the activity in Atlantic City casinos and local racetracks.

This measure would determine how the United States feels about sports betting in the country, not only in the east state. Earlier this month, Chris Christie, New Jersey’s Governor, along with the local Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association asked the Supreme Court to contemplate his sports betting lawsuit against the big professional sports leagues and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Christie filed a brief on new year’s eve, and he’s repealing federal injunctions established in the industry through the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which settles that states can’t sponsor sports betting. He believes that if it gets declared null, New Jersey wouldn’t be sanctioning sports betting. The Supreme Court is supposed to decide if they accept his lawsuit sometime this month.

“The Acting Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in these cases expressing the views of the United States,” says the order released yesterday. This new call would offer the first insight of how the new Trump administration feels about gambling. The president elect’s sister was part of the Third Circuit judges who rejected the state’s effort in 2015. Last week, ay Monahan, PGA Tour Commissioner, said that he’s open minded when it comes to discussing sports betting in the United States. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had already expressed his desire to speak about the sports relationship with the gambling activity. PASPA, a sports protection act that was passed in 1992, prevents states from offering gambling lines on sports. Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana were granted special exemptions, as all four of those states were offering some variation of sports lotteries back in 1992.

The American Gaming Association said: “We are encouraged that the U.S. Supreme Court has expressed interest in the problems posed by PASPA, the failed law that fuels a $150 billion illegal sports betting market. We are optimistic that the 25-year-old federal sports betting ban will be removed and sports fans will soon have safe, legal ways to engage in sports that also protect the integrity of games.” If New Jersey manages to legalise the sports betting industry, it is expected that multiple states would follow and push their own legislations.