SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
On Thursday the New Jersey Assembly voted unanimously in favour of allowing sports betting in licensed state gambling venues.
The advancement of the sports betting legislation by the Assembly’s Committee of Tourism and Gaming will see New Jersey state repeal/bypass federal laws set by the laws passed by the Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
The Committee for Tourism and Gaming voted 7-0 in favour of passing the law. The New Jersey sports betting bill must await approval by the senate in order to be passed into law. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will present the Bill to the Senate, in order to secure its final stage of passing.
New Jersey’s actions with regards to permitting sports betting have split governmental agencies. On Wednesday the Department of Justice stated that it would support US professional sports leagues and the NCAA attempt to block sports betting in the state of New Jersey.
Prior to the Assembly’s vote, The US Supreme Court refused to hear New Jersey’s appeals against PASPA federal laws. However New Jersey legislators pointed that the state would not require approval, due to legal technicalities drafted in the US Solicitors General briefs.
New Jersey legislators stated
“PASPA does not even obligate New Jersey to leave in place the state-law prohibitions against sports gambling that it had chosen to adopt prior to PASPA’s enactment.”The state, the federal government said, “is free to repeal those prohibitions in whole or in part.”
