Supreme Court to decide whether Jerseyans can ante up on sporting events
James Nash, Daily Record · December 1, 2017
More than six years after New Jersey voters endorsed legal wagering on football, baseball and other sports events, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make sports betting – already a multi-billion-dollar illegal industry – legal in the state and elsewhere.
The case scheduled to go before the court Monday will determine whether New Jersey violated federal law by approving sportsbooks at Atlantic City casinos and racetracks throughout the state, which would have made New Jersey the only state outside of Nevada in which people could place bets on individual sporting events.
New Jersey has prepared longer than any other state for the day that residents could walk into a casino or a racetrack and place a wager on a game by the Devils, Nets, Phillies, or any other team except for New Jersey-based college sports. Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport built a $1 million sports-betting lounge after 64 percent of New Jersey voters approved legal wagering in 2011. Since sports leagues sued to prevent wagering in New Jersey, the lounge has operated as a sports bar that offers cashless "bets" on pro and college football championships with $2,500 prizes, said Dennis Drazin, an adviser to the owners of Monmouth Park.
MGM Resorts International announced in November that it's spending $7 million on a sports-betting parlor at its Borgata casino in Atlantic City.
Proponents say sports betting has ballooned into a huge illegal industry – with $90 billion in annual wagers on football alone – without regulations to protect gamblers or taxation to benefit the public at large.
"Consumers are spending all of their money on offshore sites anyway, so why not legalize it, regulate it, tax it?" said Jeff Ifrah, a Washington lawyer who has represented sports betting operators since 1997. "It will be better for the consumer and for the state as well."
New Jersey was the second state after Nevada to approve casino-style gambling and has the third-largest gambling market among U.S. states, trailing Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to the American Gaming Association.
A ruling favoring New Jersey is unlikely to give the state a regional monopoly on sports wagering, however. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill in October to authorize and regulate sports betting in the state if the Supreme Court allows it.
In addition to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 13 states have introduced or passed laws to permit gambling on sports if the Supreme Court rules in favor, said Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association. She said the case is potentially the most significant development for gambling in the U.S. since a 1988 law allowing Indian tribes to operate casinos.
Professional sports leagues have softened their opposition to wagering over the past few years, allowing franchises to open in Las Vegas and partnering with operators of daily fantasy sports. Spokesmen for the pro baseball, basketball and football leagues declined to comment for this story, while the National Collegiate Athletic Association referred to a statement on its website that reiterated its opposition to sports betting as something that could "undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardize the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community."
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Supreme Court to decide whether Jerseyans can ante up on sporting events
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James Nash | State House Bureau, @jmnash
Updated 23 hours ago
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More than six years after New Jersey voters endorsed legal wagering on football, baseball and other sports events, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make sports betting – already a multi-billion-dollar illegal industry – legal in the state and elsewhere.
The case scheduled to go before the court Monday will determine whether New Jersey violated federal law by approving sportsbooks at Atlantic City casinos and racetracks throughout the state, which would have made New Jersey the only state outside of Nevada in which people could place bets on individual sporting events.
New Jersey did not learn, as it expected it would, the fate of its sports betting case before the ...more
AP Photo/John Locher
New Jersey has prepared longer than any other state for the day that residents could walk into a casino or a racetrack and place a wager on a game by the Devils, Nets, Phillies, or any other team except for New Jersey-based college sports. Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport built a $1 million sports-betting lounge after 64 percent of New Jersey voters approved legal wagering in 2011. Since sports leagues sued to prevent wagering in New Jersey, the lounge has operated as a sports bar that offers cashless "bets" on pro and college football championships with $2,500 prizes, said Dennis Drazin, an adviser to the owners of Monmouth Park.
MGM Resorts International announced in November that it's spending $7 million on a sports-betting parlor at its Borgata casino in Atlantic City.
What NJ says: State filing says Congress' sports betting ban is unconstitutional
One view: Sports law attorney offers his analysis of upcoming NJ sports betting case
Editorial: New Jersey betting on a Supreme Court ruling
Proponents say sports betting has ballooned into a huge illegal industry – with $90 billion in annual wagers on football alone – without regulations to protect gamblers or taxation to benefit the public at large.
"Consumers are spending all of their money on offshore sites anyway, so why not legalize it, regulate it, tax it?" said Jeff Ifrah, a Washington lawyer who has represented sports betting operators since 1997. "It will be better for the consumer and for the state as well."
New Jersey was the second state after Nevada to approve casino-style gambling and has the third-largest gambling market among U.S. states, trailing Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to the American Gaming Association.
A ruling favoring New Jersey is unlikely to give the state a regional monopoly on sports wagering, however. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill in October to authorize and regulate sports betting in the state if the Supreme Court allows it.
In addition to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 13 states have introduced or passed laws to permit gambling on sports if the Supreme Court rules in favor, said Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association. She said the case is potentially the most significant development for gambling in the U.S. since a 1988 law allowing Indian tribes to operate casinos.
Professional sports leagues have softened their opposition to wagering over the past few years, allowing franchises to open in Las Vegas and partnering with operators of daily fantasy sports. Spokesmen for the pro baseball, basketball and football leagues declined to comment for this story, while the National Collegiate Athletic Association referred to a statement on its website that reiterated its opposition to sports betting as something that could "undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardize the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver supports the legalization of sports betting - if the gambling is ...more
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver said in a radio interview that a victory by New Jersey in the Supreme Court case could lead to a patchwork of regulations in different states, while he favors a uniform national law.
"It's happening largely illegally right now, largely underground," Silver said. "We might as well regulate it."
Les Bernal, national director of the Washington-based nonprofit Stop Predatory Gambling, said New Jerseyans aren't clamoring to wager on sports. He said the legalization push is being led by wealthy casino interests, sometimes in cahoots with profit-minded team owners.
"If the state of New Jersey is allowed to market sports gambling to its citizens, essentially what it's doing is turning professional sports into an organized fleecing industry," said Bernal, whose group filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court case.
Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that he's "cautiously optimistic" that the state would prevail in the Supreme Court case, characterizing it as a challenge to a federal law that tramples on states' rights. Congress passed a law in 1992 banning wagers on sports other than horse and dog racing, while grandfathering in Nevada and three states that offer more limited sports lotteries: Oregon, Delaware and Montana.
"I've never had any doubt that the case we're pursuing is the right one, not only on the issue of sports gaming but also on the broader issue of the state vs. the federal government," Christie said.
Indeed, the case could redefine state-federal relations in a variety of areas, including whether the federal government can compel states to turn over so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, said Marc Edelman, a City University of New York law professor and sports-business expert. He said he expects the Supreme Court to rule more on the question of state-federal relations than the question of whether sports betting should be legal.
By most accounts, the 1992 federal ban has failed to curb the growth of sports wagering from informal office betting pools to a sophisticated industry conducted through non-U.S. bookmakers, websites and mobile apps. At the same time, many states including New Jersey have permitted paid-entry daily fantasy sports, which mimic some of the features of wagering on real-life games.
Christie signed a bill in 2012 establishing regulations for sports wagering in New Jersey, limiting it to casinos and racetracks and their online operations. Later that year, the sports leagues sued to block the state from implementing the law, saying it violated the federal ban on state-sanctioned betting on games. In 2014, legislators passed another bill that attempted to get around the ban by allowing wagers without any form of state regulation. The leagues sued again and prevailed in the lower courts before the Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the case.
A ruling is expected in the first half of 2018.
James Nash, Daily Record · December 1, 2017
More than six years after New Jersey voters endorsed legal wagering on football, baseball and other sports events, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make sports betting – already a multi-billion-dollar illegal industry – legal in the state and elsewhere.
The case scheduled to go before the court Monday will determine whether New Jersey violated federal law by approving sportsbooks at Atlantic City casinos and racetracks throughout the state, which would have made New Jersey the only state outside of Nevada in which people could place bets on individual sporting events.
New Jersey has prepared longer than any other state for the day that residents could walk into a casino or a racetrack and place a wager on a game by the Devils, Nets, Phillies, or any other team except for New Jersey-based college sports. Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport built a $1 million sports-betting lounge after 64 percent of New Jersey voters approved legal wagering in 2011. Since sports leagues sued to prevent wagering in New Jersey, the lounge has operated as a sports bar that offers cashless "bets" on pro and college football championships with $2,500 prizes, said Dennis Drazin, an adviser to the owners of Monmouth Park.
MGM Resorts International announced in November that it's spending $7 million on a sports-betting parlor at its Borgata casino in Atlantic City.
Proponents say sports betting has ballooned into a huge illegal industry – with $90 billion in annual wagers on football alone – without regulations to protect gamblers or taxation to benefit the public at large.
"Consumers are spending all of their money on offshore sites anyway, so why not legalize it, regulate it, tax it?" said Jeff Ifrah, a Washington lawyer who has represented sports betting operators since 1997. "It will be better for the consumer and for the state as well."
New Jersey was the second state after Nevada to approve casino-style gambling and has the third-largest gambling market among U.S. states, trailing Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to the American Gaming Association.
A ruling favoring New Jersey is unlikely to give the state a regional monopoly on sports wagering, however. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill in October to authorize and regulate sports betting in the state if the Supreme Court allows it.
In addition to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 13 states have introduced or passed laws to permit gambling on sports if the Supreme Court rules in favor, said Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association. She said the case is potentially the most significant development for gambling in the U.S. since a 1988 law allowing Indian tribes to operate casinos.
Professional sports leagues have softened their opposition to wagering over the past few years, allowing franchises to open in Las Vegas and partnering with operators of daily fantasy sports. Spokesmen for the pro baseball, basketball and football leagues declined to comment for this story, while the National Collegiate Athletic Association referred to a statement on its website that reiterated its opposition to sports betting as something that could "undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardize the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community."
Login
NEW JERSEY
Supreme Court to decide whether Jerseyans can ante up on sporting events
Aa
_
+
James Nash | State House Bureau, @jmnash
Updated 23 hours ago
Show Caption
More than six years after New Jersey voters endorsed legal wagering on football, baseball and other sports events, the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case that could make sports betting – already a multi-billion-dollar illegal industry – legal in the state and elsewhere.
The case scheduled to go before the court Monday will determine whether New Jersey violated federal law by approving sportsbooks at Atlantic City casinos and racetracks throughout the state, which would have made New Jersey the only state outside of Nevada in which people could place bets on individual sporting events.
New Jersey did not learn, as it expected it would, the fate of its sports betting case before the ...more
AP Photo/John Locher
New Jersey has prepared longer than any other state for the day that residents could walk into a casino or a racetrack and place a wager on a game by the Devils, Nets, Phillies, or any other team except for New Jersey-based college sports. Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport built a $1 million sports-betting lounge after 64 percent of New Jersey voters approved legal wagering in 2011. Since sports leagues sued to prevent wagering in New Jersey, the lounge has operated as a sports bar that offers cashless "bets" on pro and college football championships with $2,500 prizes, said Dennis Drazin, an adviser to the owners of Monmouth Park.
MGM Resorts International announced in November that it's spending $7 million on a sports-betting parlor at its Borgata casino in Atlantic City.
What NJ says: State filing says Congress' sports betting ban is unconstitutional
One view: Sports law attorney offers his analysis of upcoming NJ sports betting case
Editorial: New Jersey betting on a Supreme Court ruling
Proponents say sports betting has ballooned into a huge illegal industry – with $90 billion in annual wagers on football alone – without regulations to protect gamblers or taxation to benefit the public at large.
"Consumers are spending all of their money on offshore sites anyway, so why not legalize it, regulate it, tax it?" said Jeff Ifrah, a Washington lawyer who has represented sports betting operators since 1997. "It will be better for the consumer and for the state as well."
New Jersey was the second state after Nevada to approve casino-style gambling and has the third-largest gambling market among U.S. states, trailing Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to the American Gaming Association.
A ruling favoring New Jersey is unlikely to give the state a regional monopoly on sports wagering, however. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill in October to authorize and regulate sports betting in the state if the Supreme Court allows it.
In addition to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 13 states have introduced or passed laws to permit gambling on sports if the Supreme Court rules in favor, said Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs for the American Gaming Association. She said the case is potentially the most significant development for gambling in the U.S. since a 1988 law allowing Indian tribes to operate casinos.
Professional sports leagues have softened their opposition to wagering over the past few years, allowing franchises to open in Las Vegas and partnering with operators of daily fantasy sports. Spokesmen for the pro baseball, basketball and football leagues declined to comment for this story, while the National Collegiate Athletic Association referred to a statement on its website that reiterated its opposition to sports betting as something that could "undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardize the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver supports the legalization of sports betting - if the gambling is ...more
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver said in a radio interview that a victory by New Jersey in the Supreme Court case could lead to a patchwork of regulations in different states, while he favors a uniform national law.
"It's happening largely illegally right now, largely underground," Silver said. "We might as well regulate it."
Les Bernal, national director of the Washington-based nonprofit Stop Predatory Gambling, said New Jerseyans aren't clamoring to wager on sports. He said the legalization push is being led by wealthy casino interests, sometimes in cahoots with profit-minded team owners.
"If the state of New Jersey is allowed to market sports gambling to its citizens, essentially what it's doing is turning professional sports into an organized fleecing industry," said Bernal, whose group filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court case.
Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that he's "cautiously optimistic" that the state would prevail in the Supreme Court case, characterizing it as a challenge to a federal law that tramples on states' rights. Congress passed a law in 1992 banning wagers on sports other than horse and dog racing, while grandfathering in Nevada and three states that offer more limited sports lotteries: Oregon, Delaware and Montana.
"I've never had any doubt that the case we're pursuing is the right one, not only on the issue of sports gaming but also on the broader issue of the state vs. the federal government," Christie said.
Indeed, the case could redefine state-federal relations in a variety of areas, including whether the federal government can compel states to turn over so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, said Marc Edelman, a City University of New York law professor and sports-business expert. He said he expects the Supreme Court to rule more on the question of state-federal relations than the question of whether sports betting should be legal.
By most accounts, the 1992 federal ban has failed to curb the growth of sports wagering from informal office betting pools to a sophisticated industry conducted through non-U.S. bookmakers, websites and mobile apps. At the same time, many states including New Jersey have permitted paid-entry daily fantasy sports, which mimic some of the features of wagering on real-life games.
Christie signed a bill in 2012 establishing regulations for sports wagering in New Jersey, limiting it to casinos and racetracks and their online operations. Later that year, the sports leagues sued to block the state from implementing the law, saying it violated the federal ban on state-sanctioned betting on games. In 2014, legislators passed another bill that attempted to get around the ban by allowing wagers without any form of state regulation. The leagues sued again and prevailed in the lower courts before the Supreme Court agreed in June to hear the case.
A ruling is expected in the first half of 2018.
