New Jersey opens the door to sports betting
William Hill welcomes directive which revealed racetracks and casinos would not be prosecuted for operating sportsbooks
New Jersey appears to have opened the door to sports betting operators after Governor Chris Christie yesterday said the state’s racetracks and casinos could offer sports betting without fear of prosecution.
The directive, issued by acting attorney general John Hoffman, comes just weeks after Christie vetoed a bill “ SB 2250 “ which sought to legalise sports betting in the state, and is expected to be challenged in the courts by numerous sports leagues.
According to the directive, the state’s racetracks and casinos can offer wagers on sporting events, so long as they are not on a college sport or athletic events that takes place in New Jersey, or in which any New Jersey college team participates, regardless of where the event takes place.
Federal law still bans any state from legalising sports betting, but Hoffman said New Jersey was not regulating, licensing or otherwise authorising sports betting, but simply telling the racetracks they would not be prosecuted if they launched a sportsbook.
The move has been welcomed by European operators such as William Hill, which has ambitious growth plans for the US and earlier this year revealed it had targeted annual US revenues of $100m in the near future “ in 2013 it generated around $8m.
William Hill recently secured a deal with New Jersey racetrack Monmouth Park to become its exclusive sports betting provider
“Obviously, this is a significant development,” William Hill US CEO Joe Asher, said. “Like others, we recognize that legalised sports betting is inevitable, and will be a good outcome for customers, states and the sports leagues.
“In light of our significant investment at Monmouth Park, we are happy that it appears racetracks and casinos in New Jersey will be taking sports bets sooner rather than later,” he added.
The announcement will also provide a boost to UK-headquartered Sportech who already offers pari-mutuel betting technology and services to Monmouth Park, with grand plans to further expand its land-based and online business across the US.
The directive comes despite a federal judge banning New Jersey from implementing its Sports Wagering Act which was signed into law back Governor Christie back in March 2012.
The judge said the Act violated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which bans sports betting in all bar four US states “ Nevada, Oregon Delaware and Montana. A federal appeals court agreed, but conceded that nothing prevented the state from appealing its own ban.
New Jersey appealed to the Supreme Court in a bid to overturn the lower court’s decision, with Senator Lesniak drafting his own bill “ SB 2250 “ to allow sports betting based on the revised interpretation of PASPA after the Supreme Court chose not take the case.
The state has asked the federal court to amend or lift its injunction the prevents New Jersey from enacting its Sports Wagering Act, and to clarify the directive issued by Christie and Hoffman, with the court scheduled to rule on the motion on 6 October.