Advocates of expanded sports betting suffered a setback yesterday when the acting Solicitor General recommended that the Supreme Court decline to hear New Jersey’s appeal in its challenge to the federal government.
The recommendation substantially diminishes the odds that the high court will agree to hear the case, but the decision will only further ramp up pressure on sports leagues to address the issue and build momentum for a legislative solution, a panel of experts told the East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City on Wednesday.
“I think the expectation was that the Justice Department would say ‘No you should not take the case,’ so I don’t think the decision was really surprising for folks who are close to the issue,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US.
While Solicitor General Jeff Wall stated that New Jersey’s latest appeal to allow sports wagering through a partial repeal of state laws and regulations governing the activity failed to raise any valid constitutional issue, he reckoned that a full decriminalization of the activity – the so-called “nuclear option” – remained an option.
As legislation has already been drafted to implement the total repeal and stands ready to be introduced, the chances that sports betting will come to New Jersey in one form or another are sound.
“I do think you’ll see sports betting come to New Jersey fairly quickly if there’s just a blanket repeal of the prohibition,” said Asher.
Asher added that a full decriminalization would give incentive to the NFL and other sports leagues that have historically opposed sports betting legalization to examine the subject more carefully.
“Clearly, the prospect of legal, unregulated sports betting in New Jersey puts the issue in a different place in the priority order,” he said. “[If] New Jersey decriminalizes sports betting, I think [it would] certainly raise the profile of the issue and probably encourages people to try to address it sooner rather than later.”
Should the Supreme Court ultimately decline to hear to New Jersey’s appeal, it will add momentum for the American Gaming Association’s push for a legislative repeal of federal prohibitions.
“While the Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to hear New Jersey’s case to overturn the federal ban, the casino gaming industry is building a diverse coalition of stakeholders who will work with Congress and the Trump Administration to lift the unconstitutional ban on sports betting and give states the freedom to regulate this increasingly popular American pastime,” said Sarah Slane, senior VP of public affairs at the AGA.
