The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing from the State of New Jersey today as officials from the Garden State angle to overturn a federal ban on sports betting on all but four U.S. states.
Wayne Parry of the Associated Press says NJ wants the ban to be deemed “unconstitutional.”
With a federal appeals panel ruling against the state, New Jersey is appealing to the nation’s highest court to consider two legal questions: Does the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act usurp state authority, in violation of the 10th amendment? And does its granting permission to only four states to conduct sports betting violate the principal of equal sovereignty?
“The ability of the states to convey a ‘label of legitimacy’ on private conduct lies at the heart of their retained sovereignty,” the state appeal reads. “Congress may express its own disapproval of sports wagering through direct regulation of the activity, but, having declined to enact any such direct regulation, has no authority to regulate the approval or disapproval expressed by the states.”
Unfortunately for the state of New Jersey, the odds of succeeding before the High Court are thought to be fairly small.
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