US Appeals Court Tosses New Jersey’s Sports Gambling Law


You can forget about sports betting (legally) in Jersey, at least for the time being—a Philly-based US appeals court has ruled the the state’s efforts to legalize sports gambling conflicts with federal law. Put the purses away, boys.

The federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 is the culprit here, having been enacted to restrict sports betting of the very kind Jersey is pursuing. As such, the Garden State’s gambling bug will go un-itched, as federal law trumps state law (for the time being).

So, New Jersey, forget the potential $1 billion in bets, or $100 million in annual revenue your fledgling sports gambling industry could have generated. Instead, rest easy knowing that the failure of your little stint means upholding the integrity of such honorific institutions as the NFL and MLB. Those guys would never gamble.

Though if you’ve just gotta toss some money around over sports, PASPA does exempt four states from its oppressive clutches: Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware.

Ugh, Delaware. Keep your money, folks. [Bloomberg]