Fresh New Jersey litigation on sports betting ban
News on 9 Sep 2015
News on 9 Sep 2015
The long running saga that is New Jersey’s attempt to secure the right to legalise sports betting within its borders (see previous reports) featured a new development this week as the state horse racing industry requested a federal appeals court to review its earlier decision, which prevents the state from progressing its sports betting plans.
The Reuters news agency reports that New Jersey’s attempts to get around the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which restricts sports betting to just four US states, is being closely watched by other US states interested in introducing sports betting.
Despite protracted and expensive litigation due to the opposition of national sports bodies and the Department of Justice, New Jersey and the state Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association have made little progress in a series of court actions, most recently losing an August appeal before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia.
In a brief filed Tuesday, the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has now asked for a full bench Third Circuit appeal court to review the panel’s August 25 decision, claiming the court’s most recent reasoning was the “exact opposite” of the previous decision in the case, thus positioning the court in conflict.
The Association warns that without the boost of sports betting revenues the horse racing industry in New Jersey could fail, with widespread repercussions for the state and its economy.
If permitted, the review would again have to examine the constitutionality of PASPA and whether a New Jersey law legalising sports betting violates that Act.
The Association’s legal team claim that there has been only limited unanimity on these questions from the five judges involved in the rulings thus far, leaving key elements unanswered and making it essential for the full 12-judge appeals court bench to decide the issue.
