New Jersey has been prevented by a federal court from legalising sports betting, after the judge backed major sports bodies including the NFL and NBA and upheld the 21-year-old ban in place in all but four US states.
New Jersey had been sued by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the NFL, NBA, NHL, Major League baseball and the Justice Department, aimed at blocking the Garden State from implementing a law allowing the state’s casinos and race tracks to offer sports wagering.
NJ voters approved the legalisation of sports betting at a voter referendum in November 2011, although this remained on hold pending the outcome of the state’s challenge to the federal ban in place under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992 (PASPA).
The Garden State had argued that the ban - from which Delaware, Nevada, Oregon and Montana were grandfathered due to their having some form of sports wagering on the statute books at the time of PASPA’s passage – was an unconstitutional infringement of states’ rights, unfairly depriving its gaming and racing industries of much-needed revenues.
US District Judge Michael Shipp however told NJ’s lawyers that “judicial intervention” was usually unwarranted in cases where states disagreed with federal legislation, advising NJ to instead push for repeal or amendment of PASPA in Congress. Two of NJ’s Congressional representatives, Frank LoBiondo and Frank Pallone, reintroduced such bills last month.
Governor Chris Christie’s office however said they would be appealing the decision.
The main sponsor of the New Jersey sports wagering legislation, Senator Raymond Lesniak, admitted the court’s decision would likely delay the introduction of sports wagering in New Jersey by at least another 12 months.
The ban supported by the sports leagues means almost all sports betting on US soil is is currently taking place illegally, with much activity taking place on online sportsbooks based in jurisdictions such as Costa Rica and Antigua. While the sports leagues argue the ban safeguards the integrity of their sports and brands, critics have argued that lifting the ban would make match-fixing easier to spot, provide better protection for US consumers and help prevent the profiteering of organised crime from sports betting.
Article written by Stephen Carter
