Three judges have been named to hear an appeal of New Jersey’s blocked attempt to offer sports betting in the state including the sister of Donald Trump and the wife of former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.
The case goes to court March 17 in Philadelphia.
The state is appealing a ruling in U.S. District Court upholding a 1992 federal law restricting legal sports betting to Nevada and, in a limited form, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon. New Jersey maintains that the ban applied only to government-regulated sports betting. The state has proposed a plan to allow sports betting to be offered buy a self-regulated system.
Maryanne Trump Barry and Marjorie Rendell were both chosen to hear the case for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The third judge is Julio Fuentes.
The district court also ruled against New Jersey’s previous attempt to argue that the federal ban violated state’s rights and unfairly gave the four exempted state’s an advantage. Fuentes was one of two judges who ruled against the state’s appeal of that case in a two to one vote.
The choice of Trump’s sister is interesting considering her brother’s long history in Atlantic City, where he still has a small stake in Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal. The state is seeking to allow sports betting only at Atlantic City casinos and racetracks.
Rendell’s choice is also interesting considering that an expansion of casino gaming in Pennsylvania during her husband’s administration has severely hurt Atlantic City’s casino revenue and is part of the reason the state is seeking sports betting.
The state’s move has been opposed by the major professional sports leagues and the NCAA, which argue sports betting hurts the integrity of their leagues.
