The State of New Jersey is bringing in some serious legal weaponry to the fight for sports betting legalization. Last week they retained the services of well known legal guns Theodore B. Olson and Matthew D. McGill.
Olson is best known for representing the Bush campaign after the controversial 2000 US Presidential election and is well known in Republican circles. McGill is a Washington D.C.-based lawyer who has drafted briefs in several cases before the Supreme Court.
The selection of these two attorneys suggests that this case will be contested at the highest levels of the judicial system. Given that this issue has been in front of lower Federal courts before, don’t be surprised to see in front of the Supreme Court at some point.
Lawyers for the NCAA, NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are hoping to get the case resolved before New Jersey sports betting become too entrenched. Their main concern is that legal sports betting in the Garden State will encourage helpless, unpaid, college athletes to throw games.
Both legal teams sat in on a conference call yesterday to set a time table for the case. So far there’s been no word on what was decided during that call.
Do you think New Jersey will come out ahead in this fight? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.