The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it may side with New Jersey and allow the state to legalize sports betting.
The high court heard arguments Monday over New Jersey’s challenge to a 1992 federal law that has banned sports betting in most states. The law, called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), has stymied the state’s years-long quest to bring sports betting to its casinos and racetracks.
A majority of justices hinted they saw merit in the New Jersey’s argument that the federal ban was unconstitutional because it interfered with the state’s ability to pass laws, according to a transcript of the hearing.
“It leaves in place a state law that the state does not want, so the citizens of the state of New Jersey are bound to obey a law that the state doesn’t want but that the federal government compels the state to have,” Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is often a swing vote on the court, said of the federal ban. “That seems commandeering.”
In addition to Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts and Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch indicated that they were receptive in the New Jersey’s legal argument. Other than Breyer, the court’s liberal-leaning justices indicated support for the existing law. Justice Clarence Thomas did not ask a question or indicate a position.