New Jersey pols revive federal sports betting bills

A pair of New Jersey congressmen have revived their push to have the US federal government lift its longstanding ban on legal sports betting.

With the Super Bowl just days away, Representatives Frank LoBiondo and Frank Pallone Jr. have reintroduced legislation to overturn the federal PASPA sports betting prohibition, which for a quarter-century has restricted single-game sports betting to the state of Nevada.

The reps have introduced two separate bills, with Pallone’s NJ BET Act aimed at exempting New Jersey from the PASPA prohibition while LoBiondo’s Sports Gaming Opportunity Act would offer a four-year window in which all US states could choose for themselves whether they want legal sports betting within their borders.

For the record, LoBiondo and Pallone have been pitching versions of these bills for years but these efforts have yet to make any headway on Capitol Hill, and there’s no indication that this year will be any different.