Federal sports betting ban upheld

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey has struck out again in its efforts to legally offer sports betting. A federal appeals court panel in Philadelphia on Tuesday upheld the federal ban on sports betting in all but four states.
But the 2-to-1 ruling left the door open for New Jersey to further appeal the matter to the full Third Circuit appeals court.

State Senator Ray Lesniak predicted that will happen shortly.

New Jersey has been trying since 2009 to offer legal sports betting at its casinos and racetracks to help both struggling industries.

At issue in the appeal was whether a 2014 New Jersey law repealing prohibitions against sports gambling violates the 1992 federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which says states cannot "sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license or authorize" sports betting.