Ruling For New Jersey, Supreme Court Says States Can Legalize Sports Betting

New Jersey won the right to host sports gambling within its borders, thanks to a 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court Monday that struck down a 1992 law that had effectively limited the activity to just four states.  

The  decision opens the door for the state's casinos and tracks to embark on a fresh line of business. Elected officials, meanwhile, have supported the court case because it would introduce a new source of tax revenues.

"When the Super Bowl or NCAA tournament is on, you cannot get a room in Las Vegas, and our casinos are a ghost town," said former New Jersey State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, who sponsored a bill when he was in the legislature to legalize sports betting. "That's just wrong. It's un-American, quite frankly."

Talking to WNYC's David Furst, Lesniak said a friend's arrest for sports betting ten years ago — then illegal in New Jersey, but legal in Las Vegas — pushed him to act.

The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act prohibited sports betting unless it had already been legalized in the state. By that time, only Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana had legalized sports betting. Now, the other 46 states in the union can legalize sports betting, and many of them already have legislation ready to go, including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

The National Council on Problem Gambling called the Supreme Court decision "the largest potential expansion of gambling in our nation’s history," and is urging states stipulate that 1 percent of betting revenues go towards addiction services.

"Prevention, education, research and responsible gambling," said Kevin Whyte, the organization's president. "It's the gamut of services you see for alcohol and alcohol abuse."

The Monmouth Racetrack and Atlantic City casinos will likely benefit from the Supreme Court's decision; the racetrack could offer sports betting within two weeks.