Sports Leagues Dismisses New Jersey Request for Full Bench Appeal

The state of New Jersey has been making efforts to legalize betting on both professional and college sports inside the state's gambling facilities. However, the state has not been receiving much in the way of positive feedback. In fact, its current proposal that a full bench of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals review the most recent dismissal on its sports betting legalization law, has been opposed by US national sports leagues. Legal representative of the sports leagues', Paul Clements, believes it is not necessary for the whole court to address the issue, and stated so in a filing this past Tuesday. The appeals court instructed the sports league to produce reasons for why a review should not be ordered. Clements wrote, “Defendants [New Jersey] ask this Court to resolve a conflict that does not exist, in hopes of reopening a constitutional question that they already lost.” Despite a decision made by the court back in August, New Jersey is still pushing for a change, calling for all 23 active judges to complete a full bench review. Clements firmly disagrees with the state's request, arguing that the appeal court's ruling. “simply makes the common sense points that not every law styled as a 'repeal' is a genuine repeal” and that “the revised state sports betting law that left an option for state racetracks and casinos to run their own sports betting operations amounted to an illegal authorization of sports betting by the state.”