The odds on when a sports betting parlor will open in Cherry Hill, or anywhere in South Jersey anytime soon, are not looking good.

Months after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for legal bets on professional and college sporting events, owners of the only destination state legislators deemed eligible for a sports betting parlor south of Trenton and outside of Atlantic City are locked in a court scrum.

In one corner is Cherry Hill Towne Center Partners, a Piscataway-based real estate developer that owns all but 10 of the 600-acre former Garden State Racetrack property. In the other corner is GS Park Racing, a partnership of gaming companies, including Greenwood Racing, a co-owner of Freehold Raceway and the Parx Casino and Philadelphia Park horserace track in suburban Philadelphia.

The developers are suing the gaming company in federal court to invalidate a deed covenant that gave it exclusive rights to operate betting facilities on the former racetrack property. The lawsuit claims the gaming company has intentionally not opened an off-track betting parlor here because it feared it would compete with its other gaming properties.

The developers say the deed covenant is "invalid" and unenforceable because it has no end date. It also claims it is does not prohibit them from operating a sports wagering facility because it "could not have been contemplated" when the deed was signed.

The suit contends Garden State Park is one of only five sites other than Atlantic City Casinos where a sports betting parlor can operate. The other sites are Freehold Raceway, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Monmouth Park Racetrack and Atlantic City Race Course. The closest location to Cherry Hill is 48 miles away, the suit said.

In addition to the hardship it provides patrons, the complaint also argues it deprives the state of tax revenue from a betting facility here.

Roberto Rivera-Soto, an attorney for the gaming company, declined to comment on the lawsuit when reached earlier this month. In a response to the developer's lawsuit, Rivera-Soto asked the court for a summary judgement in his favor and also argued new state regulations determining where sports betting would be allowed were "unconstitutional."

"The definition of a 'former racetrack' in the New Jersey Sports Wagering Act limiting its scope solely to 'the land contained within the racecourse oval' is unconstitutional and denies answering defendants their right to due process of law," the filing said.

Both sides in the Cherry Hill lawsuit are due back in court next month.

State Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Paulsboro, a sponsor of the sports wagering bill, said Garden State Park was intended to be included.

"If there is a technical error on how a former racetrack is defined we would need to do some housing keeping," Burzichelli said earlier this year. "The intention was to protect the lower backdoor of the state and the former Garden State site is intended for that. It's an outpost to guard against an outflow of economy."

Sports books in New Jersey took in $3.8 million in revenue in July, led by Ocean Resort, Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth Park racetrack, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

The opening weeks of legalized sports gaming in June saw $3.5 million in revenue. New Jersey's fledgling sports betting industry could overtake the well-established Nevada market, an industry analyst said.

In their September report, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming predicts New Jersey's revenues from sports gambling will eclipse Nevada's in 2021. The consulting group estimates New Jersey will take in $442 million that year, and Nevada, $410 million.

Staff writer Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.

Bill Duhart may be reached at bduhart@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bduhart. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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