Published: May 5, 2020

New Jersey, Leagues Await Word in Sports Betting Suit

The major sports leagues are waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear their arguments on whether they have to pay millions to a New Jersey horse racing association over sports betting litigation.

The leagues and the NCAA wrote to a judge last Friday saying settlement negotiations have stalled. Next week, the Supreme Court is scheduled to consider whether to hear the dispute.

In December, a split federal appeals court ruled in favor of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which had sued the leagues after the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on sports betting in 2018.

The suit alleged the leagues owe Monmouth Park Racetrack a $3.4 million bond, plus interest, that the leagues put up in 2014 to secure losses that might be suffered during the month that a judge's restraining order blocked the track from offering sports betting.

The horsemen's association also had sought economic damages over not being able to offer sports betting from the time the restraining order expired in Oct. 2014 until the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling, an amount estimated at $150 million.

If the Supreme Court declines to hear the case, the matter will return to federal court in New Jersey to determine the exact amount of damages.

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/sports/new-jersey-leagues-sports-betting-suit/2384361/