Good news has come for New Jersey’s effort to legalize sports betting within its borders after the US Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would ask the new Solicitor General for an opinion on the matter.
New Jersey has appealed a lower court’s decision that its attempt to bring sports betting to state gambling venues was in violation of federal laws. The fact that the Supreme Court did not reject immediately the appeal may bode well for the effort. The highest US court denied to hear more than 130 other cases on Tuesday.
State Gov. Chris Christie and his administration have been trying to legalize sports betting for years now. In 2014, a law that allowed for the provision of this type of gambling services was signed by New Jersey’s top official. However, little progress has been made in that direction since then as the legislative measure was said to be breaching the 1992 PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act) federal law.
Generally speaking, under PASPA, all but very few US states are prohibited from authorizing, operating, and promoting any betting activities on sports played by both amateur and professional athletes. At present, Nevada is the only place in the US where single-game betting is legal.
New Jersey has continually argued that PASPA was unconstitutional as, under the US Constitution, it was in each state’s domain to decide on matters of this kind. In addition, New Jersey officials have pointed out over the years that the Act treated states unevenly as Nevada was allowed to benefit from a thriving sports betting industry while others were denied that.
It is believed that if sports betting is legalized in New Jersey, the amount of $1 billion will be generated in betting turnover during the first year. This will significantly boost the state’s struggling casino industry.
No Solicitor General has been named by President-Elect Donald Trump yet, so it is still unknown who will be in place to brief the Supreme Court on New Jersey’s case. It seems that Gov. Christie’s administration will not give up on its effort to legalize sports betting even if its appeal is eventually rejected. A new bill on the matter was introduced last year and may progress in the state Legislature, if the Supreme Court denies ruling.
New Jersey has not been the only US state to be eying sports betting as a means to bolster its gambling industry. New York lawmakers have also revealed that they may challenge PASPA at a time when the state is in the process of expanding its casino industry with three Upstate Las Vegas-style casino resorts.
