Aimee
TRENTON — Less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court rebuffed New Jersey’s years-long attempt to legalize state-sanctioned sports betting, the state Legislature passed a bill today that could pave the way for privately owned sports wagering at casinos and horse-racing tracks.
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), the measure’s sponsor, said such gambling is key to helping revive Atlantic City and New Jersey’s struggling racetracks.
The bill (S2250) cleared the state Senate by a vote of 38-1 today. The Assembly passed it, 63-6-2.
In 2011, voters in the state approved state-sanctioned sports wagering, and Gov. Chris Christie signed it into law the following year.
But a group of sports organizations — the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League — sued the state to block the move, saying it would harm the integrity of their sports.
They argued that New Jersey’s actions violated a 1992 federal law called Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prevents states from licensing or regulating sports betting — except for Nevada, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon.
