Today the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on New Jersey’s challenge of the federal ban on sports gambling, and legal experts believe that the justices seem to be siding with the state. A decision will come in June.
The law at issue is the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which grandfathered in four states that already had legal sports betting — Delaware, Montana, Nevada, Oregon — and barred other states from doing it. Of the four, only Nevada has single-game sports betting.
Since 2009, the same year Chris Christie was first elected New Jersey governor, the state has challenged PASPA in the courts. New Jersey voters approved a 2011 referendum permitting sports gambling at casinos and racetracks, and Christie signed a bill approving such betting by the fall of 2012. The NCAA, NBA, NFL, NBA and NHL collectively sued New Jersey in federal court for trying to circumvent the 1992 ban. New Jersey lost in a lower court and appealed to the Supreme Court, which in June 2014 allowed the ban to remain.
New Jersey pressed ahead with revised law and planned to open a sportsbook at Monmouth Park in fall 2014, which was blocked by a federal judge. In August 2016, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 10-2 in favor of the leagues to uphold the federal ban on sports betting. But the Supreme Court agreed to hear New Jersey’s appeal and here we are.
The ground has shifted so much on this issue since 2009 that I don’t think even the leagues really believe in their legal position anymore. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said sports betting should be legalized and regulated. Leagues and teams have entered into partnerships with FanDuel and DraftKings and casino signage is all over stadiums. Also, the leagues know that gambling and daily fantasy fuels fan interest and TV ratings, which has a direct impact on the leagues’ financial health.
And for the first time, public polling this year showed that a majority of Americans think sports betting should be legalized. Justices are sensitive to public sentiment when evaluating cases because they don’t want to move too far ahead of public opinion. It’s always hard to predict exactly how the court will rule, but all signs indicate that this is likely to be a milestone in the history of gambling in America.
Argument analysis: Justices seem to side with state on sports betting