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NJ Takes Sports Betting Case To Supreme Court

State Down To Last Appeal In Quest For Sportsbooks

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Last week, New Jersey’s sports betting case finally made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Garden State wants to allow its casinos to offer sports wagering, but the major sports leagues and the U.S. Department of Justice have opposed the plan. A high-stakes court battle has been playing out, and now it has reached the highest court in the land.

Christie signed a bill in 2012 to authorize, a move which prompted a lawsuit from the leagues. People with the leagues say that legalization of such gambling could hurt the integrity of the games, while Christie has argued that legalization would help control and thwart the sports betting black market. In other words, that prohibition doesn’t work.

The case also involves a debate over state’s rights.

New Jersey is trying to overturn the the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which limited sports betting to four states — Nevada, Oregon, Montana, and Delaware. Delaware has extremely limited sports betting, while both Montana and Oregon don’t actually have any commercial casinos offering the activity. Full-fledged sports betting is only happening in the Silver State, home to the slowly recovering Las Vegas.

Nevada casinos saw around $200 million in revenue from its sportsbooks in 2013.

The states where it is legal were grandfathered in.

New Jersey previously lost three times in federal court to the leagues. It’s hoping the Supreme Court will not only hear the case, but feels differently than the lower courts.

Revenues in Atlantic City have been slumping since 2006.