New Jersey fails in latest bid to allow sports betting

 Appeals court rules the state’s decriminalization laws are illegal under PASPA

New Jersey’s latest attempt to allow sports betting in the state’s race tracks and casinos has been struck down by a panel of 12 judges from the Third US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The judges voted 10-2 that New Jersey’s 2014 law to decriminalize sports wagering was equivalent to authorizing it and thus illegal under the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).

PASPA prohibits a state from “authorizing by law” sports betting.

The NCAA, one of the athletic governing bodies which lobbied against New Jersey, said in a statement: “We are pleased the court has denied New Jersey’s latest attempt to allow sports wagering in the state.

“As other courts have acknowledged, federal law does not permit New Jersey’s actions. The NCAA continues to believe that PASPA is an important law that appropriately protects the integrity of sport in America.”

Of the two dissenting judges, Julio Fuentes, argued there was a meaningful legal difference between authorizing and repealing and that New Jersey’s proposed law was a “self-executing deregulatory measure.”

Judge Thomas Vanaskie was more strident, declaring PASPA to be unconstitutional.  He wrote in his dissent: “This shifting line approach to a State’s exercise of its sovereign authority is untenable.

“The bedrock principle of federalism that Congress may not compel the States to require or prohibit certain activities cannot be evaded by the false assertion that PASPA affords the States some undefined options when it comes to sports wagering.”

New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak told ESPN the state would appeal the decision in the Supreme Court, although he admitted it was a “longshot”.

Geoff Freeman, chief executive of the American Gaming Association, commented: “Washington has a responsibility to fix a failed law that it created nearly 25 years ago. A federal government prohibition has driven an illegal, and occasionally dangerous, sports betting market of at least $150bn annually.

“Law enforcement, mayors, leaders in sports, fans and many others agree that it’s time for a regulated sports betting marketplace that protects consumers, communities and the integrity of sports we enjoy.”