US pro sports leagues against sports betting

Four major professional sports leagues opposed New Jersey’s sports betting case.

US.- The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) along with the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), National Basketball League (NBA) and the  Major League Baseball (MLB) filed a brief where they oppose the US Supreme Court case that involves sports betting activity in New Jersey.

With the new filing from the professional leagues, New Jersey has lost almost every single step along the way: a couple of months ago, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against New Jersey as it stated that the efforts didn’t go along with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, said that he’s optimist that the state will have a legalised sports betting market by the third quarter of 2017: “I think that we’ll have sports gambling in New Jersey in the next year. Before I leave office, I think we’ll have sports gambling in Monmouth Park.” Despite the optimist, sports betting legalisation seems very unlikely in New Jersey, a state that’s been trying to offer a new gambling activity for several years now.

Back in November 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. It is also expected that New York follows New Jersey’s path to legalise sports betting in the state by presenting a draft as early as January 2017.