Online Sports Betting in New Jersey to go to Court in February

This February, online sports betting in New Jersey will be reviewed by the US Court of Appeals for the Third District to decide whether or not the state can authorize the industry.

In US gambling news, the state of New Jersey is trying once again to legalize sports wagering. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) banned sports betting across the country save for a small number of states in 1992, giving Nevada a monopoly on the industry. New Jersey has been trying to fight PASPA since 2011, when residents voted in favor of sports gambling. While the bill was passed, a collective lawsuit from major sports leagues has kept the bill from coming to fruition.

However, last month the Third District agreed to reexamine the bill in an en banc hearing, giving New Jersey new hope. The panel is set to take place in February, with the results to be released a few weeks after. If they receive the approval, they would then try next to bring sports betting online.

Says New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck of online sports betting in New Jersey: “We were advised a while back that the Third Circuit will hear the case en banc. That is probably the first time that we had a small victory in our efforts to date. If we win that… [we will try to] change the sports wagering prohibition to allow for sports wagering to be performed on the internet.”

Online sports betting in New Jersey could save Atlantic City

If the online sports betting in New Jersey bill becomes part of US gambling laws, it would mean good things for the Garden State. In addition to significant revenue for online casino operators, it would bring in substantial tax revenue to the state. What lawmakers are hoping for most if the billed gets passed, however, is the revival of Atlantic City.

The East Coast gambling destination has been suffering over the last decade due to the legalization of land-based gambling in nearby states. To keep Atlantic City from dying out completely, local politicians have been looking for new ways to fund casinos that are vacant, bankrupt, and unable to pay property taxes.

Assemblyman Ralph Caputo believes that online sports betting in New Jersey is key to saving Atlantic City, having said last year that: “We are in desperate need of innovative ideas to combat the continued downturn in New Jersey’s gaming industry in both Atlantic City and at our racetracks. This is an opportunity to kick-start this industry in a way that is unprecedented along the East Coast… Sports betting has the potential to be an economic game-changer.”