New Jersey sports betting row escalates
News on 8 Dec 2012
News on 8 Dec 2012
The legal fight over sports betting between the state of New Jersey and the US national sports leagues flared up again Friday when the NCAA, the NFL, and three other sports organisations asked that a federal judge permanently block New Jersey from offering sports betting at the state’s racetracks and Atlantic City casinos.
If the leagues’ bid for a summary judgement fails, they will seek a preliminary injunction that would prevent Monmouth Park and any other NJ state gambling site from receiving a sports-betting licence, which could be issued as early as January 9 2013, according to some sources.
The leagues launched their attack on New Jersey’s new state legislation permitted sports wagering last August, claiming that the law flew in the face of the 20-year-old federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which bars all but four US states from offering sports betting .
In a 92-page filing Friday the leagues’ legal representatives derided an earlier New Jersey application for a summary judgement as both specious and frivolous, reports the publication New Jersey.com.
New Jersey had claimed that PASPA is unconstitutional and discriminatory, allowing only Nevada to offer full-fledged sports betting, and only three other states to offer even limited versions of wagering.
In response, league lawyers argue that PASPA does not discriminate against any states – it merely allows the four states that had forms of sports betting at that time to keep those state laws on the books.
The leagues also challenged New Jersey accusations that they implicitly support some forms of gambling on national league games, citing the leagues’ partnerships in fantasy sports contests.
A federal judge last week gave the U.S. Attorney General’s office until January 20 to intervene in the case, in which oral arguments are scheduled to be heard on December 18.
Adding fuel to the fire, NBA chief David Stern came out with guns blazing Friday, saying:
“The one thing I’m certain of is New Jersey has no idea what it’s doing and doesn’t care because all it’s interested in is making a buck or two, and they don’t care that it’s at our potential loss.
“And wholly apart from the fact that a governor, who’s a former U.S. Attorney, has chosen to attack a federal law which causes me pause for completely different reasons since I’ve at times sworn to similar oaths about upholding the law of the United States,” added.
