It's a quest replete with legislative and legal challenges, but a statewide referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot that ultimately could allow sports betting at New Jersey's casinos and four racetracks is a key first step toward positioning Atlantic City on a playing field dominated by Las Vegas since the mid-1970s.
If approved, the nonbinding referendum would allow a change in the New Jersey Constitution to permit legislation authorizing sports betting, effective only after a federal law limiting it to four states is repealed or overturned.
In March 2009, a New Jersey lawmaker challenged the law in federal court; the suit was thrown out this year on grounds the official had no standing. But legal and gaming observers say they believe that if both the referendum question and subsequent legislation pass, New Jersey will have a legitimate shot at striking down the federal limits.
"If [the referendum question] wins, the suit will be revived and will probably succeed. After all, it makes no sense to say the law should protect professional and amateur sports teams except in Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana," said I. Nelson Rose, a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., who is recognized as the nation's leading expert on gambling law.
"It also violates the historical division of powers to say the federal government can prevent a state from changing its public policy toward gambling," Rose said.
Noted State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D., Union), who filed the original lawsuit: "There's no need for a lengthy trial or testimony. We're just arguing the constitutional issues that we've already presented to the court, which said, 'Go put it on a referendum, and then come back to us, and we'll decide on the matter.'
