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EASL Blog Post: The Fight for Sports Betting in NJ Continues

By James E. Woodson III posted 10-09-2014 05:20 AM

  

The fight over sports betting in New Jersey continued last week as the four major professional sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL) and the NCAA filed a lawsuit to block the state from allowing casinos and racetracks to offer sports wagering. The lawsuit came just three weeks after Governor Chris Christie reversed course from his previous decision to veto the NJ legislature’s attempt to effectively legalize sports betting within the State. Governor Christie instead issued a directive to the NJ Attorney General to not prosecute casinos and racetracks that offered sports betting at their establishments.

Plaintiffs in this case called the Governor’s actions “nothing more than a blatant attempt to circumvent [the district court’s] injunction and the federal law that it prohibits defendants from violating.” NJ is currently prohibited from legalizing sports betting within the state. However, a previous court’s ruling left open the possibility of the state simply allowing sports betting by choosing not to regulate it.

In their lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that the law passed by the NJ legislature does not deregulate sports betting in the State, as the legislature aimed to do, but that the law actually establishes a state-regulated industry, a clear violation of the 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). Plaintiffs also argue that even if the law does deregulate sports betting, the state would effectively still regulate sports wagering because casinos and racetracks themselves are heavily regulated by the state.

U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp is now expected to rule on the matter sometime after October 31, when he will hear oral argument from the two sides.

To read more on the new developments, visit
http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202669275892/NJ-Attorney-General-Bars-Prosecution-of-Sports-Betting, http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/pro-leagues-file-stop-jersey-sports-betting-25850282 and http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/New-Jersey-Sports-Betting-casinos-racetracks-court/gWMdLqhcNEm1pqLrg4AVyw.cspx.

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