The quest to bring legal sports betting to New Jersey isn’t quite dead yet, as a stakeholder filed papers on Thursday requesting a rehearing of the state’s case at the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association filed a petition asking for a full complement of judges to rehear the case, following the court’s three-member judicial panel’s rejection of New Jersey’s sports betting aspirations in September by a 2-1 margin. The Horsemen’s filing said that a similar request was coming on Friday from Gov. Chris Christie, who strongly supports his state’s right to offer the same kind of sports wagers legally available in Nevada.
If you’re just joining us, New Jersey passed legislation in 2011 authorizing single-game sports betting at Atlantic City casinos that Christie signed into law in January 2012. These plans were interrupted when the US Department of Justice, the four main professional sports leagues and the NCAA filed suit to block the scheme on the grounds that it violated the 1992 federal PASPA sports betting prohibition. In March, the ‘no’ side won a temporary injunction blocking New Jersey’s plans, a ruling the state promptly appealed, and here we are.
The Horsemen’s petition comes at the end of the 45-day window New Jersey’s sports betting backers were given in which to decide whether to request a rehearing in front of the full Third Circuit Court. The fact that September’s ruling featured a strong dissenting opinion from Judge Thomas Vanaskie can only help New Jersey’s chances in convincing the full court to rehear the case. If the Court agrees to a rehearing, it likely wouldn’t take place until sometime early in 2014.
The state was also given 90 days in which to file a request for the suit to be heard by the US Supreme Court, which many observers feel is inevitable, given the Constitutional implications of New Jersey’s appeal. Should the full Third Circuit Court rule in New Jersey’s favor, the DOJ and the leagues would be the ones asking the Supremes to lend them their ears.
