Philly.com – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has denied New Jersey’s petition to have the state’s challenge to a federal sports-betting law heard by all the judges on the court in Philadelphia.
A panel of three Third Circuit judges in September upheld a lower-court ruling with a 2-1 decision that the 1992 federal law barring sports betting in all but four states, including Nevada, is constitutional.
The state’s only recourse now is the U.S. Supreme Court.
Gov. Christie signed New Jersey’s sports-betting law in January 2012, after a question on the issue passed in a referendum in November 2011. The state wrote regulations, but a federal judge in Trenton blocked the state from implementing them in February by ruling in favor of the NCAA and four major sports leagues.
An attempt to reach Christie’s office for comment Monday was not successful.
In September, Christie’s deputy communications director, Colin Reed, said: “Gov. Christie has said all along this issue will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, and that’s what he believes should happen next.”
The adverse decision on sports betting came as New Jersey regulators are in the final stages of preparing for the launch of Internet gambling in the state. A trial period begins Thursday, with the start of full-scale gaming scheduled for Nov. 26.
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