Friday, December 7, 2012

Pro leagues, NCAA butt heads with Chris Christie over gambling

Pro leagues, NCAA file against New Jersey gambling
Published on USATODAY NCAAF | shared via feedly
The four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA have filed legal papers calling New Jersey's effort to allow sports gambling an "unlawful scheme" and a "blatant violation" of federal law.
The leagues sued Gov. Chris Christie in August after he announced plans to allow gambling on pro and college games at casinos and racetracks. New Jersey's legislature passed a sports betting law earlier in the year.
 
The state has sought to have the lawsuit thrown out, and the motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Trenton was a response to that.
Mash here.

This matter appears to be headed to the US Supreme Court. But in at least the short term, Christie and the state of New Jersey appear to have an uphill road to travel. The state of Delaware tried a similar action in 2009, but the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a District Court ruling that the 1992 federal law preempted state law and prevented the law from going into effect.

New Jersey is also in the Third Circuit so it seems all but certain that this law won't fare much better when it reaches the Court of Appeals.

Christie is trying a different tack this time, arguing that the 1992 law is unconstitutional because it treats New Jersey and all other states differently that Nevada, a violation of the equal protection/equal treatment doctrine.

"I don’t believe that the federal government has the right to decide that only certain states can have sports gambling. On what basis?” said Christie at a news conference last August.

“And it doesn’t acknowledge that there is illegal sports gambling going on in every state in America, as we speak. So why is this more injurious than illegal sports gambling to the operations of the league or the NCAA?”

Questions for a court to decide.

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