NJ Sports Betting Put on Hold by Court Order
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Sports betting at Monmouth Park, which was to commence Oct. 26, has been placed on hold following a temporary restraining order issued Oct. 24 by the U.S. District Court in Trenton, N.J.
"While we are disappointed not to be able to start this Sunday, we are confident that sports betting will be coming to New Jersey in the very near future," said Dennis Drazin, adviser to Darby Development, operators of Monmouth Park. "We have prepared for this event for quite some time and have stated from the onset that we will be ready on day one. While that won't be this Sunday, we remain committed to that promise and will be operational as soon as possible."
In noting the TRO issuance, Drazin said, "In the event that the ultimate decision is that a temporary restraining order should not have been granted, the judge required the leagues to post a $1.7 million bond for potential damages to the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association. In addition, the injunction only applies to the four leagues and the NCAA, and still allows for betting on other sports such as golf, tennis, boxing, MMA fighting, NASCAR, and soccer."
Dating back to 2011, Garden State voters made it clear that they no longer wanted New Jersey laws that made it illegal to engage in sports betting at Atlantic City casinos and at New Jersey racetracks.
After two years of litigation in the federal courts, a definitive interpretation as to the scope and meaning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was handed down. In that decision, the court stated that it does "not read PASPA to prohibit New Jersey from repealing its ban on sports wagering."
The court went on to state that "it is left up to each state to decide how much of a law enforcement priority it wants to make of sports gambling, or what the exact contours of the prohibition will be."
On Oct. 14, the state Senate passed the legislation 27-1 and General Assembly Oct. 17 passed legislation 73-4 that would allow private entities to operate sports betting.
After Gov. Chris Christie signed the legislation into law, sports leagues sought the TRO to prevent sports wagering from commencing, which was granted by Judge Michael Shipp.
Track officials were expecting good action this weekend on NFL games. The track was scheduled to open at 7 a.m. Sunday so customers could wager on the Lions-Falcons game being played in London at 9:30 a.m. ET.
"We remain steadfast in our belief that we will prevail on the merits of the case," Drazin said. "While the judge's ruling today prevents us from temporarily accepting wagers on sporting events from the leagues that filed for relief, we are confident that this is only temporary and sports betting is on the near horizon."