US sports leagues’ support for DFS works for New Jersey

A seminar on daily fantasy sports hosted by a New Jersey law firm Friday produced some interesting perspectives, especially from Jeff Gural of the Meadowlands Racetrack.

Gural supports New Jersey’s bid to overturn the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which restricts sports betting to just four US states and is being legally challenged by New Jersey.

The long-running case is currently again being considered by a full roster of judges at the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia .

“I own a racetrack in New Jersey and if we win that lawsuit, we’d be able to take sports betting,” Gural commented from the audience. “And when I watched those first NFL games and all those [daily fantasy sport] ads, I said, ‘I just hope the judges are watching this TV show.’”

Gural added that he was confident that New Jersey would finally win its challenge and be allowed to offer sports betting.

“I think we’re a lock to win that lawsuit. All those ads that they have run make it very difficult to convince a judge that the NFL is opposed to gambling. It’s hypocritical – the whole league is based on gambling. And they have the nerve to say they are opposed.

“But I think Draft Kings – all those ads did me a great favor. And if that law is reversed, basically what it says is that I would regulate the sports betting. So you come to my racetrack, I’m the regulator. Basically unregulated, untaxed. The NFL would rush to Congress and ask them to revoke PASPA, I would think, because the last thing they would want would be me regulating sports betting at the Meadowlands.”

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