U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs N.J.’s effort on sports betting

The U.S. Supreme Court is leaving in place a ban on sports gambling in New Jersey, rebuffing an attempt to bring betting on professional and college sporting events to Atlantic City casinos and the state’s racetracks.

The justices did not comment Monday in letting stand lower court rulings that struck down New Jersey’s sports betting law because it conflicts with a federal law that allows state-sanctioned sports gambling only in Nevada and three other states.

The state’s appeal was led by Gov. Chris Christie and it argued that the state was trying to limit illegal sports wagering and capture some of that money for the state treasury. New Jersey says an estimated $500 billion is bet illegally on sporting events each year.

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