On the heels of a positive decision by a federal appellate court to re-examine the New Jersey sports-betting law, a Pennsylvania lawmaker has decided to bring that state into the effort to defeat the restrictions of the 1992 Professional & Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which banned sports betting in all but four states.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Nick Kotik has proposed draft legislation that would allow sports betting in the state’s licensed casinos. It follows the model of the New Jersey bill, which attempts to sidestep PAPSA by having private interests, instead of the state government, oversee the operations. The 2014 bill was a follow-up to a previous bill struck down in the courts after a lawsuit by the major sports leagues.
The 2014 bill, which was signed into law by Governor Chris Christie, also was challenged by the sports leagues. The law was struck down by a three-judge panel of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, but a motion of New Jersey and Christie was approved for an en banc hearing by the entire Third Circuit. Two Circuit judges have recused themselves from the case, which means the defendants only have to convince six of 10 justices, rather than seven of 11, to win the appeal.
Kotik, the Democratic minority chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, said he will advise his chamber to move forward on his draft bill only if the federal PASPA law is overturned in the New Jersey case. However, he said the draft bill will allow the state to act quickly if the legal status of sports betting changes.
