Justices to review New Jersey bid for legal sports betting
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to take up New Jersey’s bid to allow sports betting at its casinos and racetracks, a case that could lead other states to seek a share of the lucrative market.
The justices will review a lower court ruling against the state, which is hoping to capture some of the estimated $150 billion that is illegally wagered on sports each year.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and supporters in the state Legislature have tried for years to legalize sports gambling to bolster the state’s casino and horse racing industries. The casino industry, after a period of job losses and closings, has lately been doing better.
Christie said Tuesday in Trenton at an unrelated event that he was encouraged by the court’s decision to take the case up.
“We’re not declaring victory but at least we’re in the game and that’s where we want to be,” Christie said.
New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat who has led the state’s effort to legalize sports gambling, said a win for the state would give an additional boost to casinos.
“Atlantic City is going to be packed when we win this case,” said Lesniak, who first introduced legislation to overturn the ban in 2009. “Sports betting will lead to people staying for several days, not just playing a few hours and going home. During football season, the NCAA tournament, the World Cup, people will be flocking to Atlantic City to bet on them.”
The case will be argued in the fall. Daniel Wallach, an attorney in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and an expert in sports law, said the case could lead to a nationwide repeal of the federal sports betting ban.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the New Jersey law last year, ruling that the law violated the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 that forbids state-authorized sports gambling.
“This is the day that New Jersey has been waiting for for years,” said Wallach, who has been closely following New Jersey’s legal efforts to overturn the ban.