A large number of US states could see massive changes made in the existing gambling market in just a few days, as the US Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision in the New Jersey sports betting case by the end of the week. In case that the Court rules in favour of New Jersey, the state would be given the opportunity to offer bets on almost all kinds of sports games.
The decision of the US Supreme Court has long been expected, as it is to put an end to a legal battle that has been going on for more than six years, with sports betting proponents trying to bring a certain financial relief to both local horse-racing tracks and Atlantic City.
According to preliminary expectations, sports betting could bring the state annual revenue of about $9 billion in case that the Court greenlights it. In comparison, the expected sports betting annual revenue is three times larger than the $3-billion revenue brought to New Jersey by state lotteries and more than triples the $2.68-billion net revenue which Atlantic City casinos generated in 2017.
Former New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak who has been pushing for legalization of sports betting for almost a decade, commented that the the casino and racing industries would be given a jump-start, so that thousands of jobs would be saved. The truth is that the state of New Jersey has been trying to make sports gambling legal for years now, with a vote to change the state constitution and greenlight sports betting being first held at the beginning of November 2011.
Court’s Ruling Could Expand US Gambling Market
The state of New Jersey has not been the only one that has been looking for sports betting legalization lately. A number of other US states have also rolled out some bills seeking to legalize sports betting in an attempt for larger revenue to be generated.
On the other hand, the major professional sports leagues have opposed the state of New Jersey, with the leagues winning in court in 2013 and 2014, when the High Court refused to hear an appeal. According to the professional sports leagues, sports betting legalization breaches the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA).
However, recently, a number of professional player associations, including the NBPA, NFLPA, MLBPA and NHLPA have supported the possible expansion of the US sports betting market and insisted that a special “integrity fee” must be imposed. The fee is supposed to help the leagues compensate for the costs they are supposedly making to keep the integrity of their games. The PGA Tour was the latest professional player association which backed nation-wide legalization of sports betting operations.
Despite the fact that the proponents of sports betting say that chances to see the US gambling market expansion soon, it is still not possible to make a prediction what the ruling of the US Supreme Court will be. A decision, however, is to be announced soon, with some states already waiting eagerly for this to happen.
