Feds: Supreme Court should nix New Jersey sports betting bid

NEWARK >> New Jersey’s yearslong efforts to allow legal sports betting brought more opposition from the federal government Tuesday.

Acting U.S. Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear New Jersey’s appeal of a lower court decision that invalidated the state’s sports betting plan.

The Supreme Court is expected to make its decision by the end of June.

The court invited the solicitor general to weigh in on the case back in January, a move then seen as potentially bolstering New Jersey’s chances of having its appeal heard. The solicitor general represents the government in cases before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court historically agrees to hear roughly 1 percent of appeals it receives, but that number rises dramatically in cases in which the solicitor general’s input is sought, said Daniel Wallach, a Miami-based sports law attorney.

On the negative side for New Jersey: The court follows the solicitor general’s recommendations the overwhelming majority of

the time.

This case could be different, Wallach said.

“This is not your ordinary case in which the issues are limited to a specific controversy before the court,” he said. “The larger issue that has been framed here is the ability of the federal government to interfere in states’ decision-making when it comes to repealing state laws.”

Attorneys for New Jersey, led by former U.S. solicitor general Ted Olsen, have argued the federal government is overstepping its authority by stopping the state from lifting its bans on sports betting.