from the Oct 12 Philly Inquirer...perhaps the door toward sports betting outside Vegas is beginning to open...
If approved by voters next month, a nonbinding referendum would allow a change in the New Jersey Constitution to permit legislation authorizing sports betting, effective only after a federal law limiting it to four states is repealed or overturned.
In March 2009, a New Jersey lawmaker challenged the law in federal court; the suit was thrown out this year on grounds the official had no standing. But legal and gaming observers say they believe that if both the referendum question and subsequent legislation pass, New Jersey will have a legitimate shot at striking down the federal limits.
"If [the referendum question] wins, the suit will be revived and will probably succeed. After all, it makes no sense to say the law should protect professional and amateur sports teams except in Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who is recognized as the nation's leading expert on gambling law.
"It also violates the historical division of powers to say the federal government can prevent a state from changing its public policy toward gambling," Rose said.
If approved by voters next month, a nonbinding referendum would allow a change in the New Jersey Constitution to permit legislation authorizing sports betting, effective only after a federal law limiting it to four states is repealed or overturned.
In March 2009, a New Jersey lawmaker challenged the law in federal court; the suit was thrown out this year on grounds the official had no standing. But legal and gaming observers say they believe that if both the referendum question and subsequent legislation pass, New Jersey will have a legitimate shot at striking down the federal limits.
"If [the referendum question] wins, the suit will be revived and will probably succeed. After all, it makes no sense to say the law should protect professional and amateur sports teams except in Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who is recognized as the nation's leading expert on gambling law.
"It also violates the historical division of powers to say the federal government can prevent a state from changing its public policy toward gambling," Rose said.
