Sports-betting law includes Cherry Hill site

CHERRY HILL - A proposed off-track betting parlor at the former Garden State Park racetrack could offer sports betting under a state law that won approval from the U.S. Supreme Court Monday.

The law would allow state-regulated casinos, racetracks and some "former racetracks" to take bets on professional and collegiate sporting events.

A 10-acre site off Route 70 in Cherry Hill meets the definition of a "former racetrack" under the law, noted Rich McGrath, a spokesman for New Jersey Senate Democrats.

He said the law, tied up in a court fight since its passage in 2014, defines a former racetrack as one that held a horse race meeting within the previous 15 years.

Garden State Park held its last race in 2001, allowing the site to qualify.

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The OTB facility is proposed for a grassy field at Route 70 and Garden State Boulevard, where a stately brick entranceway with wrought-iron gates is a reminder of the former track.

The Cherry Hill site is owned by Pennwood, a partnership between Penn National Gaming and Parx.

"We are pleased with today's decision," said Jeff Morris, a Penn National spokesman.

"We support legislative action that will create an equal opportunity for both Atlantic City’s casinos and the state’s racetracks to engaged in legal sports betting," he added.

Cherry Hill's planning board in August 2017 approved a one-year extension for the applicant.

The high court's 6-3 ruling reversed a 1992 federal law that limited sports betting to four states, effectively barring legal sports betting in New Jersey.

“We want to act quickly to capitalize on the court’s decision so that we can get sports gaming in place," said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a West Deptford Democrat who sponsored the 2014 law.

“We have a competitive advantage with a long history of casino gaming including a regulatory infrastructure that has been operating for decades," he said. "It will be a natural transition to incorporate sports gaming by the casino and the racetracks.”

He noted New Jersey has sought to legalize sports betting since 2011, when 63 percent of the state’s voters approved a ballot referendum that allowed the state Constitution to be changed to permit sports betting.

"Sports betting is already a common practice and making it legal is the most responsible and most beneficial thing to do," Sweeney said.

The law would prohibit betting on collegiate athletic events taking place in New Jersey and "on any competitions including a New Jersey college, regardless of where it takes place," Sweeney noted in a statement.

High school sports would also be off limits, and bettors would have to be at least 21 years old.

Justice Samuel Alito, a New Jersey native, wrote the court's opinion in the case.

"Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each state is free to act on its own," Alito said.

The ruling was a victory for former Gov. Chris Christie and other advocates of sports betting, who challenged the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

It was a defeat for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the four major professional sports leagues — baseball, football, basketball and hockey — that had blocked New Jersey in lower courts.

In a statement, the NFL said it would ask Congress “to enact a core regulatory framework for legalized sports betting.

Rep. Frank LoBiondo, a Republican whose district includes Atlantic City’s ’s casinos, said the ruling “will have a significant and positive impact on South Jersey.”

Christie signed a state law legalizing sports betting in 2012, but it was overturned by federal district and appeals courts.

The 2014 law stopped short of legalization but repealed the ban against running a sports books at tracks and casinos. That was rejected at the trial and appellate levels, but the Supreme Court agreed last June to hear the case.

New Jersey would collect an 8 percent gross revenue tax on in-person wagering and a 12.5 percent levy on online bets, according to Sweeney. Tax revenue would be dedicated to programs for senior citizens and people with disabilities.

Sports-betting operations would be regulated by the Casino Control Commission and the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Jim Walsh: @jimwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com

Contributing: Richard Wolf, USA TODAY; Herb Jackson, The (North Jersey) Record​​​​​​

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