What People Are Saying About the New Jersey Sports Betting Case

What People Are Saying About the New Jersey Sports Betting Case

For more than five years, New Jersey has been fighting to bring legal sports betting to the Garden State. After Monday’s initial oral arguments before the Supreme Court, that dream is starting to look more and more like a reality.

Led by former US Solicitor General Ted Olson, New Jersey is seeking to overturn the 1992 PASPA law that outlawed sports betting outside of Nevada, arguing that it falls within “commandeering” and is, therefore, unconstitutional.

Essentially, Christie vs NCAA boils down to a states rights issue: New Jersey should have the right to decide whether or not to legalize sports betting within their borders, not the federal government.

According to several attorneys and legal analysts who attended Monday’s hearing, New Jersey made a convincing argument before the Supreme Court.

In order to win the case, New Jersey will need at least five of the nine Justices to decide in their favor. According to multiple reports, there are only three likely “no” votes: Democrats Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. Meanwhile, all five Republican Justices appear to be siding with New Jersey. If Democratic Justice Stephen Breyer joins the party, New Jersey would win by a 6-3 decision.

Before oral arguments began, ESPN Chalk writer David Purdum set the line at New Jersey -115, Sports Leagues +105. With Day 1 in the books, Purdum adjusted the odds to make New Jersey a bigger favorite.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie–whose name appears on the case–seemed confident after emerging from the court room.

Freeman also added: “It’s only a matter of time before it gets done. … [I’m] more confident than ever that we will have legal, regulated sports gambling around the corner.”

While the vast majority of reports point toward a New Jersey victory, it’s important to note that the case is far from a lay-up and anything can happen behind closed doors when the Justices deliberate in private.

What the major media outlets are saying

Washington Post: N.J. argues that it can legalize sports betting, and Supreme Court seems to agree

ABC News: Court suggests it may side with state in sports betting case 

Reuters: US Justices lean toward allowing sports betting in New Jersey case

USA Today: Supreme Court could make sports-betting ban an underdog

LA Times: Supreme Court may be about to legalize sports betting nationwide

Bloomberg: Justices Suggest They May Let States Legalize Sports Betting

Where we go from here

We won’t know the final decision for at least another month and a half (SCOTUS could decide as early as January 22, 2018 or as late as June 29, 2018). But if reading the tea leaves are any indication, there is good reason to be optimistic.

See you in Atlantic City?

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Josh Appelbaum

Josh Appelbaum is the Customer Service Manager and Betting Hangout Host at Sports Insights. You can reach him directly at joshua.appelbaum@actionnetwork.com or on Twitter at @Josh_Insights

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