Race & Sports Book
Sports Betting In New Jersey Blocked By Temporary Injunction
The online gambling and sports betting industry in New Jersey continues to face numerous challenges. Before online gambling could be legalized in New Jersey, analysts predicted that the garden state could earn as much as $1 billion in revenue from the industry. Nearly a year has passed since online gambling has been legalized and New Jersey has not even cross the $200 million mark.In order to find other avenues to bring in revenue, New Jersey decided to permit sports betting and wanted to use Monmouth Parks racetrack on the 26th of October as a launching pad to provide customers the option of making and accepting bets. However, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) along with four major US sporting leagues joined forces and obtained a temporary restraining order preventing New Jersey from offering sports betting. The National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Basketball, National Football League and the NCAA successfully obtained a restraining order in Trenton from a United States District Court judge preventing New Jersey from offering any sports betting services.
Dennis Drazin, a representative speaking on behalf of Darby Development, the owners of Monmouth Park said that the company was disappointed with the decision. Drazin said that We have prepared for this event for quite some time and have stated from the onset that we will be ready on day one. While that wont be this Sunday, we remain committed to that promise and will be operational as soon as possible. New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak is in the midst of all these battles and took to Twitter to express his unhappiness. The Senator was not happy with the courts ruling and tweeted that it was an obvious judicial error. Lesniak had also expressed his disappointment at the state of online gambling and stated that one of the main reasons why online gambling has not thrived in New Jersey because it lacked the cooperation of credit card companies who refuse to accept online gambling transactions and thereby have halted the growth of the online gambling industry in New Jersey.
Lesniak also went on record to say that he would not let the four major US sporting leagues and the credit card companies wear him out. He would continue to push for the smooth operation of sports betting and online gambling in New Jersey and believed that the state would win this battle.
Lesniak received backing from Senator Joe Kyrillos who said “I believe the court will find after a more thorough review that New Jerseys repeal of prohibitions on sports betting at our racetracks and casinos is compliant with both federal law and the guidance provided in previous federal court rulingsâ€. Monmouth Park had entered into an agreement with William Hill in 2013 to create a robust Vegas style sportsbook at its racetrack and was looking forward to testing out its system. Drazin remains positive and believes that the injunction will be lifted in the near future.