OFF TO THE RACE$ SCOTUS call nears on NJ sports gambling
Let’s get ready to gamble! New Jersey casinos and racetracks — as well as sports gaming fans in the New York metropolitan area — are bracing for the possibility that the Supreme Court as early as Tuesday could give the Garden State the OK to begin taking bets on nearly all athletic games.
The widely expected move by the high court will end a more than six-year battle by state lawmakers to bring much-needed financial relief to Atlantic City and horse-racing tracks.
If legalized by the court, sports gambling could bring in roughly $9 billion in annual revenue to the state, according to one estimate — triple the $3 billion annual take from the state lotteries and thumping the $2.68 billion net 2017 revenue from Atlantic City’s seven casinos.
“This law will jump-start the casino and racing industries, and that will save thousands of jobs,” former State Senator Ray Lesniak, who spearheaded the initiative over nearly a decade, told The Post.
New Jersey has been prepping for sports gambling for years — since shortly after a Nov. 8, 2011, vote to change the state constitution to allow sports betting.
At the Monmouth Park race- track, just an hour’s Uber ride from Midtown, Dennis Drazin has built out a 300-seat sports book operation and promises to be open for business two weeks after a favorable Supreme Court ruling.
“I’m certain we will win the case,” Drazin told The Post.
Three other racetracks and Atlantic City’s seven casinos are expected to open their sports books a few weeks later, according to Lesniak, who wrote the state’s Sports Wagering Act of 2014.
The NCAA and the major professional sports leagues have been fighting New Jersey over sports gaming for years. They won court victories over the state in 2013 — and in 2014 the high court refused to hear an appeal.
A refashioned 2014 sports gaming bill — introduced on the same day the court refused to hear the first case — won then-Gov. Chris Christie’s signature on Oct. 14, 2014.
The new law would exempt college sports games played in New Jersey or games involving state college teams wherever they played.
The leagues again won victories in a federal trial court and twice on appeal. The Supreme Court agreed to take the second case — and it was heard on Dec. 4.
The leagues argue the law violates the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, or PASPA, which holds that no state but the grand-fathered-in Nevada, Montana and Delaware could offer sports gambling.
Lawyers for the state maintain the federal law is unconstitutional by “commandeering New Jersey’s legislative process.”
While it is impossible to predict when or how the Supreme Court will rule, most close observers of the case are confident of a victory — and that a decision will come soon.
A win is expected to set off a betting bonanza. For starters, New Jersey will have the upper hand — and stands to get most of the gambling dollars.
In New York, a bill was introduced in March to allow sports gaming at racetracks and casinos. It is contingent on a positive Supreme Court decision.
Other states are sure to move to pass laws to get in on the action.
The NBA Finals, which last year featured superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry, could be the first big bet in New Jersey if the high court moves as expected and OKs sports gambling in the state.