Sports Leagues Respond To New Jersey RulingState Wants Rehearing From U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals |
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The major professional sports leagues and the NCAA have responded to New Jersey’s move to continue its fight for sports books in Atlantic City. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia sided with the leagues last month, but New Jersey now wants a full rehearing.
According to NorthJersey.com, the leagues believe that the matter should be over with. New Jersey has been trying for years to get sports book despite the existence of the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that limited sports betting to just a few states. Nevada is the only state in the country with sports books. Delaware has limited sports wagering.
“In the latest chapter of their ongoing quest to evade the prohibitions of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, defendants ask this court to resolve a conflict that does not exist, in hopes of reopening a constitutional question that they already lost," the leagues wrote in their response.
New Jersey did pass legislation pertaining to sports betting, and then later tried to find a carve out with PASPA by letting sports books be privately run without explicitly declaring them legal.
“Whatever else PASPA may allow a state to do, it certainly does not allow a state to dictate where sports gambling may occur, by whom, and even on what sporting events, under the guise of ‘partially repealing’ its otherwise-blanket sports gambling prohibitions,” the response read.
The leagues said that New Jersey is the only state in the country to ever challenge PASPA. They also said that it’s the only state to try to “evade” PASPA.
New Jersey had a chance in the 1990s to be grandfathered in for sports betting, but it didn’t get the political consensus to do so. The leagues called this point irrelevant for the situation in 2015.
In addition to a rehearing, New Jersey could also ask the Supreme Court again to consider its case, but that appears to be the more unlikely route.
The casino industry has advocated for federal sports betting legislation, and the NBA has indicated that it is receptive to that idea. According to the American Gaming Association, Americans bet at least $140 billion on sports illegally each year.
In 2014, gamblers in Nevada bet an all-time high $3.9 billion on sports, an increase of 7.7 percent over 2013. A total of $227 million was won by the sports books on those wagers.
Thanks to the booming fantasy sports industry, a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey is trying to use those games to gain traction for his proposal for sports betting legislation.
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