NJ sports betting: Nevada’s recent crackdown on fantasy sports operations could have a beneficial effect on New Jersey’s latest bid to legalize sports betting.
The lawyers said the major sports leagues—the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League—may find it more difficult to argue that sports betting should not be legalized when they themselves are now tied financially to DraftKings and FanDuel, which the Nevada Gaming Commission on Oct. 15 declared to be sports betting websites.
“If I’m the state of New Jersey, I want the court to know that the leagues and owners are very involved with fantasy sports,” said Nicholas Casiello Jr., the chair of the gaming practice group at the Atlantic City office of Fox Rothschild.
The state of New Jersey has made several attempts to legalize sports gambling, mainly to increase tax revenues and to boosts the struggling casinos and horse racing tracks in the state. Atlantic City has experienced a decline as several casinos have even recently closed down.
The Nevada Gaming Commission said the sites are, indeed, involved in sports betting. “Because DFS involves wagering on the collective performance of individuals performing in sporting events, under current law, regulation and approvals, in order to lawfully expose DFS for play within the state of Nevada, a person must possess a license to operate a sports pool issued by the Nevada Gaming Commission,” the board wrote in a notice. “Further, a licensed operator who offers DFS must comply with all laws and regulations that apply to licensed sports pools.”
Article courtesy of the NJ Law Journal
