New Jersey’s quest for a rehearing of its sports betting lawsuit has been rejected by a federal appeals court, leaving a Supreme Court challenge as the state’s only remaining option in its pursuit of legalized sports bets. New Jersey passed legislation in 2011 that would have permitted single-game sports betting at Atlantic City casinos, but this was challenged by the US Department of Justice, four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA on the grounds that the law violated the 1992 federal PASPA sports betting prohibition.
In March, the ‘nay’ side won a temporary injunction blocking New Jersey’s plans, a move the state challenged at the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia in June, only to have its appeal denied in September by a three-judge panel (by a vote of 2-1). New Jersey’s sports betting backers – which include Gov. Chris Christie, Division of Gaming Enforcement director David Rebuck, various state politicians and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association – duly applied for a rehearing by a full slate of Third Circuit judges.
On Friday, the Court rejected New Jersey’s petition on the basis that none of the three judges that took part in the original hearing had sought a rehearing, nor had a majority of the Court’s full complement of judges. New Jersey’s betting backers had put a lot of stock in the dissenting opinion of the Court’s original ruling authored by Judge Thomas Vanaskie, who argued that a chief element of PASPA violated the Constitution’s commandeering clause in that it “conscripts the states as foot soldiers to implement a congressional policy choice.”
Friday’s news leaves the US Supreme Court as New Jersey’s final shot and the state now has a 90-day window in which to file its appeal. Regardless of how the Third Circuit Court ruled, observers have long predicted that both sides of this dispute would doggedly pursue their case to the very top of the legal ladder. The Supremes are under no obligation to hear the case, but the suit’s Constitutional questions could prove judicial catnip to Roberts, Scalia et al. BettingTalk’s David Purdum quoted State Sen. Ray Lesniak – a prime mover behind most of New Jersey’s gambling expansion initiatives – calling Friday’s decision “disappointing,” but Lesniak welcomed the opportunity to take the fight to the highest court in the land. “The fat lady hasn’t sung yet.”
