Update: NJ Sports Betting Law Struck Down
By: Jason D. Briel, Esq.
As a brief refresher on previous NJ gambling posts, a sports betting referendum was passed by registered New Jersey voters in 2011 and in 2012 the NJ state legislature passed a sports betting law which legalized the act only in Atlantic City Casinos and at NJ horse racing tracks.
The U.S. Department of Justice, all the major U.S. sport entities (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL) and the NCAA joined forces arguing that New Jersey was barred from legalizing sports betting, as that window was closed by federal legislation passed in 1992. New Jersey argued that the 1992 federal law, Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) is unconstitutional.
The New Jersey Federal District Court determined in a recent decision that “. . .Congress acted within its powers and the statute in question does not violate the United States Constitution.”
Expect an appeal any minute now.
THE FOREGOING IS A GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE LAW AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION, PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE AND SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY
