US Supreme Court sets December date for New Jersey sports betting appeal

The Washington Post has revealed that the US Supreme Court is set to hear ‘oral arguments’ put forward by New Jersey officials protesting the federal block which prohibits the state from allowing sports betting in licensed premises (casinos & racetracks).

Updating its calendar, the Supreme Court has scheduled the date of 4 December to hear New Jersey’s appeal against the lower court siding with the 1992 ‘Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA)’ mandate.

Last June, the Supreme Court detailed that it would review New Jersey’s appeal for a ‘state-licensed sports betting bill’ which had been rejected in 2015 by the Department of Justice.

The state of New Jersey has fought to overturn federal-level PASPA provisions for almost a decade, seeking to bring licensed sports betting to its ailing Atlantic City casino industry.

At present, the Supreme Court will only hear initial arguments put forward by New Jersey officials challenging PASPA provisions for ‘being unconstitutional’.

Should the Supreme Court uphold New Jersey’s initial motion, state officials will be allowed to debate the implementation of a New Jersey betting bill in 2018. New Jersey officials would have to convince five of the Supreme Court’s nine justices to approve its sports bill.

This September the Washington Post and The University of Massachusetts Lowell carried out a new survey on US sentiments with regards to sports betting.

The study found that for the ‘first time most Americans support wagering on professional sports’, reversing public sentiment recorded in 1993 following the implementation of PASPA laws.

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