Court order on NJ gambling could affect other states

New Jersey is expecting an imminent Supreme Court order to make sports betting legal. The state has challenged the 1992 federal Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). It is expected that the court will give the state permission allowing it to legalise sports betting. If it happens, many other states, mainly West Virginia and Pennsylvania, will follow suit.

The state’s campaign to legalise sports betting started in 2011 with state lawmakers looking to help Atlantic City businesses and other horse-racing tracks with a revenue boost.

It is estimated that legalisation would generate $9 billion in annual revenue to New Jersey. That is more than thrice of the $2.68 billion net revenue that Atlantic City’s seven existing casinos managed in 2017.

Even after the order, college sports games played in New Jersey or games involving state college teams wherever they played will be kept outside the purview of gambling.

There are other states that push for sports betting through its legislature.

Pennsylvania’s online gambling law in 2017 featured a section for legalised sports wagering. While the law is not yet legal, the ruling in New Jersey and voiding the PASPA law would allow Pennsylvania to offer legal sports betting almost immediately.

The move could also bolster the review process in New York, where the future of sports betting remains less certain. New York State Sen. John Bonacic introduced a sports betting bill earlier this year.

According to Legal Sports Report, New York has already authorised wagering at its commercial casinos pending a change to federal law via the US Supreme Court sports betting case, but wants to expand that to other commercial and gaming facilities in the state.

Source: bizjournals.com