As the next possible date approaches for a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Christie (Murphy) v. NCAA that could clear the way for regulated U.S. sports betting, bookmakers in the U.K. are preparing to vie for space in the potential new market.
The case is the final appeal by the state of New Jersey in a lawsuit brought by major U.S. sports leagues including the NCAA, NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA seeking to block a 2014 law signed by former Governor Chris Christie that created self-regulated sports books for New Jersey casinos and racetracks. The lawsuit claims the law violates the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which banned sport betting in all but four states, and single-event sports betting in all states outside of Nevada.
New Jersey’ appeal challenges the constitutionality of PASPA, and potential stakeholders are lining up for a piece of the action should the court rule for New Jersey.
The next possible date for a SCOTUS decision in the case is May 14. A decision is expected before the high court adjourns at the end of June.
Meanwhile, The Guardian newspaper in the U.K. reported that British bookmaker are already jockeying for position in a legalized U.S. sports betting market.
“This is the closest the U.S. market has come to opening up,” Kip Levin, chief executive of the U.S. business at the major British bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair, told the newspaper. “The sports leagues and the casino industry are behind it, so all the winds are blowing in the right direction.”
Rival bookmaker William Hill, meanwhile, already has a sports betting operation ready to go at North Jersey’s Monmouth Park racetrack, and has said it would be able to take bets “within days” should PASPA be repealed. William Hill also operates dozens of sports books in Nevada, along with mobile sports betting in that market.
“Nobody is going to benefit more than William Hill in that market,” Darin Oliver, a gambling industry consultant and former deputy director of the Alderney Gambling Control Commission, told The Guardian.
“The states still have to pass legislation and that won’t happen immediately. California, one of the biggest markets, is at least a year or more away from allowing it, if they even do. The New Jersey concession means William Hill will benefit immediately.”
Paddy Power Betfair, meanwhile, has its foot in the New Jersey market already, as one of the platform suppliers for the state’s online gaming program. “We’ve been operating in New Jersey through our casino business, so we’re a known entity there,” Paddy Power Betfair’s Levin told The Guardian. “To operate sports betting would be an extension of that. We’d then have to figure out the tech strategy, which we’re already spending time on.
“The big unknown is how quickly the market will expand as it opens up state-to-state. Our intention is we’d be ready from a tech standpoint by the fall. We have a lot that will help us, whereas some other European operators without much of a business here will have to invest a lot.”
