Some of you might be familiar with New Jersey’s plans to have sports betting within the state. It was in 2011, that a referendum was held and it passed in the state to allow wagers on sporting events. However, legal analysts say that this referendum was against the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. In this act, it states that it is against federal law to have wagers placed on sports games.
However, this did not stop the governor from allowing New Jersey to allow casinos in Atlantic City and racetracks to accept wagers on sporting activities. The Governor feels that the federal law to disallow sports betting is not constitutional when looking at the rights of each state.
Recently, a federal judge decided to allow sports leagues to challenge the decision made by the state to approve sports betting. According to Judge Shipp, sports betting might not have a positive effective and instead can reduce the integrity that sporting events carry in the state. The judge also felt that sports betting could affect the relationship between sporting leagues and fans.
However, the state is fighting for its right to offer sports betting amid all of these legal delays. It launched a counter argument stating that online and illegal betting is already prevalent and popular in Nevada. Therefore, New Jersey feels that adding sports betting will not injure any of the sporting leagues.
