Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Leagues poised to challenge NJ over sports betting

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. – Four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA are poised to move forward with their legal fight over New Jersey’s plans to allow sports gambling.

That comes after a judge on Friday rejected arguments that the leagues couldn’t prove they would be harmed if the state moves ahead with its plans to allow sports gambling.

In denying the state’s request to dismiss the lawsuit by the NBA, NHL, NFL, Major League Baseball and the NCAA, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp agreed that they have standing to file the suit because expanding legal sports betting to New Jersey would negatively affect perception of their games.

In his ruling, Shipp cited studies offered by the leagues that showed fans’ negative attitudes toward game-fixing and sports gambling.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy declined to comment on the ruling, telling The Associated Press on Saturday that “the decision speaks for itself.”

Stacey Osburn, director of public and media relations for the NCAA, said the association was “pleased with the court’s ruling. The NCAA has long maintained that sports wagering threatens the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of college sports.”

Phone messages left Saturday for officials with the NBA and NHL were not immediately returned. A voicemail for a MLB spokesman was full and would not accept messages.

New Jersey also has argued in court papers that a 1990s law prohibiting sports gambling in all but four states is unconstitutional, and Shipp ordered that a date for oral argument on that issue will be set after Jan. 20.

The federal law prohibited sports gambling in all states but Nevada, where bettors can gamble on single games, and three other states that were allowed to offer multigame parlay betting. New Jersey has argued the law usurps the authority of state legislatures and discriminates by “grandfathering” in some states.

The leagues filed suit in August after Gov. Chris Christie vowed to defy a federal ban on sports wagering.

The Republican governor signed a sports betting law in January, limiting bets to the Atlantic City casinos and the state’s horse racing tracks.