Monmouth Park yesterday announced that the track “will soon offer fantasy sports betting,” one day after a federal judge “ruled the state can’t partially lift a prohibition on sports betting to boost its struggling horse racing and casino industries,” according to the AP. Track officials "haven't set a date for when they will start offering fantasy sports betting but indicted it will happen 'in the near future.'" Monmouth Park attorney Dennis Drazin said the facility’s legal team is "still reviewing the ruling issued late Friday." But Drazin said that "'on its face,' the ruling doesn't block the track's plans" (AP, 11/22). In New Jersey, John Brennan noted Monmouth "already has offered 'free play' sports betting for the past two years, where gamblers who pick wisely on NFL games, for instance, can win prizes such as a weekend or dinner at an Atlantic City casino." Gamblers also "can win cash in season-long competitions -- without putting any money up front." Brennan: "Now that the sports leagues are participating with fee-based daily fantasy sports companies, the Oceanport track may join in" (Bergen RECORD, 11/23).
NO SURPRISE HERE: The AP’s Geoff Mulvihill wrote the decision from U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp “was the expected outcome since he had ruled similarly in the past.” New Jersey, “locked in a legal battle with the NCAA and the four major professional sports leagues, has already filed a notice of appeal.” New Jersey state Senate President Steve Sweeney said, “We are going to continue pursuing every legal option available.” However, Mulvihill noted Shipp “agreed with the sports leagues that setting parameters such as limiting sports gambling to certain places amounts to regulation.” While Shipp “agreed with the central part of the sport’s leagues argument, he dismissed some of their other arguments” (AP, 11/21). In Newark, Brent Johnson noted state officials “say they face much better odds of winning on appeal.” New Jersey’s new betting law, which Gov. Chris Christie signed last month, “is based on a decision from the Third Circuit last year.” Experts said that the appeals process “could last through the spring, and the case could ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court after that” (NJ.com, 11/21).
WINDS OF CHANGE? A Seton Hall Sports Poll showed that 55% of 847 adults “surveyed across the country believe it should be legal to bet on sports games,” while 33% disagreed and 13% said that they "didn’t know or had no opinion.” Meanwhile, 66% said that they think legal betting "should be regulated on a state-by-state basis.” Another 29% said that it "should be the responsibility of the federal government,” and 10% said that they "didn’t know or had no opinion.” Seton Hall last month “conducted a similar survey” that showed 52% of New Jersey residents “support legalized sports wagering in the state,” while 37% oppose it (NJ.com, 11/22).
