New Jersey battles to legalize sports gambling against the NCAA and NFL

Internet, Mobile & Sports Betting

The biggest story ongoing in the world of sports is being overlooked.

The NCAA is acting as the lead plaintiff for itself and the four major professional sports leagues--the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL--in a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey. What is at stake is the future of sports in America.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a law in January to allow sports betting at New Jersey's 12 casinos and four racetracks.

The problem with this law is that it violates the 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which prohibited sports gambling from being legalized in any state which did not already possess a form of it. The only four states under PASPA allowed to have legal sports gambling are Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Wyoming.

New Jersey is seeking to change all of that. The state argues that PASPA is unconstitutional and violates states rights.

Defending PASPA is the four major leagues and the NCAA, and oddly these private entities are suing to enforce a federal law--an act usually left to the federal government to do.

But the sports leagues have been down this path before in 2009, fighting with the state of Delaware over its attempt to expand its version of legalized sports gambling. In this instance, the league were victorious.

The leagues' argument is predicated on one main point: legalized sports gambling threatens the character and integrity of sports.

This is pure hypocrisy. The leagues know that many so-called fans are watching their games because they have money wagered on the outcome (think March Madness would be as "mad" without all of those betting pools?). In fact, the rise in popularity of the NFL can be directly tied to both the advancement of television and the point spread.

Another point the sports leagues and NCAA fail to mention is that in 1999, a congressional investigation into gambling determined that between $80 and $380 billion is wagered illegally in the United States each year on sports gambling (compared to the approximately $3 billion Nevada took in on sports wagers in 2010). A vast majority of this money ends up in the pockets of organized crime.

Instead by eliminating PASPA, the states could cut into organized crime while benefiting from the taxation of legal sports gambling.

What the leagues fear is the potential oversight that comes with the fall of this national prohibition. Thoroughbred racing has state-run committees that monitor wagering as well as investigate potential corruption within the sport. This includes abuse of the animals and race fixing.

The NFL, MLB, et al. do not want to see similar oversight come to their respective sport. Such an action would limit the effectiveness of each leagues' commissioner. Imagine the government being allowed to rule on the length of suspensions for players who break either league rules or the law.

Wouldn't this perhaps give every sport even more integrity than they already possess?

Yet should New Jersey prevail by striking down PASPA, other states are certain to follow suit, including California which is already writing its own law to legalize sports gambling. With the flood gates open, there would be no turning back.

Time will tell which side shall win. But don't for a second think that if the professional sports leagues could profit in some way by legalization--say, by offering betting windows at each stadium in which the team kept the gambling profits--they wouldn't be all for such legislation.

http://www.examiner.com/article/new-jersey-battles-to-legalize-sports-gambling-against-the-ncaa-and-nfl