Give New Jersey lawmakers points for persistence as yet another move is underway in the New Jersey Legislature to get around a federal ban on sports betting.
In this case, a bill has been introduced to repeal all of the state’s sports betting laws, essentially meaning that anyone, anywhere in the state could open a sports book.
The bill is a direct response to a federal court striking down the state’s last sports betting law, which also repealed state sports betting prohibitions, but only at casinos and racetracks. That decision was upheld by a federal appeals court, but the state and the New Jersey racing industry have appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The new bill was introduced by Democratic State Assemblymen Ralph Caputo and John Burzichelli.
“This is not a final bill,” Caputo told ESPN. “It’s a discussion piece at this point, but we’re trying to figure out how we can get this done. And it’s not going to be easy.”
New Jersey has seen its two previous attempts to allow sports betting fail in the courts. In the first attempt, New Jersey simply passed a law allowing sports betting at casinos and racetracks in 2012. The bill was quickly challenged by the professional sports leagues which cited the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Betting Act of 1992, which prohibits sports betting.
The state challenged PASPA as unconstitutional saying it imposes on state’s rights and unfairly carves out exceptions for states that had some form of sports betting before the ban—most notably Nevada.
In losing appeals for that case, courts said New Jersey may be able to get around the ban by allowing self-regulated sports betting with no state control. That led to the second attempt which would have allowed self-regulated betting at casinos and racetracks.
But courts also struck down that law, saying that by restricting where sports betting would be allowed, the state was still regulating the practice. A federal appeals court upheld that ruling in August, leading to the state’s Supreme Court Challenge. The Supreme Court declined to hear New Jersey’s appeal of its first sports betting law.
The new bill would remove all restrictions on sports betting, anywhere in the state, by anyone, at any time. Officials said the state could then move to reintroduce some restrictions without violating the language of PASPA, according to the Associated Press.
The bill makes clear that New Jersey is removing every prohibition or regulation of sports betting—something the federal government acknowledged the state has the power to do, supporters told the AP. However, the bill as stands would also mean that children could place bets as well as allow anyone to open their own sports book.
That’s why the state would likely have to add “limited restrictions” afterward, as envisioned by a federal judge who issued a dissenting opinion that sided with New Jersey.
“There have got to be things added to this,” Caputo told the AP. “A lot brighter people than me have worked on this and they haven’t found the ultimate answer yet.”
New Jersey has been picking up some support in its efforts. Pennsylvania passed a resolution asking Congress to lift the federal prohibition, and New York Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow is planning to introduce sports betting legislation in 2017, according to ESPN.
