The New Jersey state Senate has passed a bill that would allow casinos that share owners with a professional sports team to accept bets on the leagues in which those teams participate.
The bill now only needs the signature of governor Phil Murphy to become law.
The current prohibition has prevented Golden Nugget Atlantic City from offering bets on the National Basketball Association. Tilman Fertitta, owner of the venue’s parent company Landry’s, also owns the Houston Rockets NBA franchise.
This also affected Golden Nugget’s sub-licensees, currently only Churchill Downs’ BetAmerica sportsbook. Rush Street Interactive previously ran a sportsbook under Golden Nugget’s license, but switched to Monmouth Park last year.
The prohibition had been seen as unfair in some quarters, as a result of other states such as Nevada allowing venues that share an owner with a sports franchise to bet on the leagues. However as in Nevada, the prohibition on these venues offering bets involving the franchise remains in place under the bill.
A5463 was filed on 17 June in the state assembly by Representatives Raj Mukherij and John Burzichelli, and was passed on 25 June by a 76-0 margin, putting it before the state senate.
On 26 August, the bill passed the senate by a margin of 26-1. The lone dissenting vote was that of Michael J Doherty, of the state’s 23rd legislative district.