Supreme Court to Decide Whether to Hear Sports Betting Case

The United States Supreme Court is expected to announce whether it will hear New Jersey’s sports betting case on Monday. New Jersey has been trying to get legalized sports betting since 2011. But the state has met stiff opposition from professional sports leagues and the NCAA. To their credit, New Jersey has continued to fight forward. But that could come to a close on Monday.

The federal courts have sided with the leagues. So New Jersey is down to its final out and it’s a big one in the Supreme Court. While it may not look good for New Jersey, the state has escaped certain doom in the past.

The leagues have argued that sports betting damages the integrity of the game. But that was before the NHL and NFL were putting teams in Las Vegas. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has spoken in favor of legalized, regulated sports betting.

It’s getting harder for the leagues to use the integrity argument. You can bet on NFL games across the street from the stadium in London and the league wants more games there. More and more teams are signing deals with state lotteries, but the leagues don’t seem to mind.

Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall told the Supreme Court New Jersey doesn’t have a case. But some legal experts believe the Supreme Court may agree to hear it. Since they asked the Solicitor General to weigh-in on the matter some Supreme Court members are interested.

Sports gambling attorney Daniel Wallach said the court typically hears more cases at the end of its term.

“The court is already interested in the case just by requesting the solicitor general’s viewpoint,” he said to NJ.com. “That means at least four justices are sufficiently interested in the case.”

The Supreme Court decision is scheduled to be announced at 9:30 a.m.