Judge grants leagues temporary restraining order against NJ casino

U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Shipp granted the four major sports leagues as well as the NCAA a temporary restraining order that will prohibit a New Jersey casino from offering sports wagering this Sunday.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Shipp granted the four major sports leagues as well as the NCAA a temporary restraining order that will prohibit a New Jersey casino from offering sports wagering this Sunday.

Shipp acknowledged there was an extraordinary legal burden of proof for the leagues in order to win the order, but said that they satisfied it nonetheless, according to the The Record's John Brennan. 

BREAKING: NJ fed court Judge Shipp grants temporary restraining order to delay Monmouth Park NFL betting from occurring Sunday

— John Brennan (@BergenBrennan) October 24, 2014

Judge Shipp acknowledged "extraordinary " hurdle for TRO but says leagues met it. 3rd Circuit affirmation cited.

— John Brennan (@BergenBrennan) October 24, 2014

On Oct. 17, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed SB2460 into law. The legislation effectively allowed for sports gambling in New Jersey to take place by repealing all state prohibitions against the practice. Under a 1992 federal law, it is illegal for 46 states, including to New Jersey, to directly authorize sports wagering.

An appellate court ruled earlier this year that while a previous sports wagering law passed by New Jersey legislators could not legally be implemented, there was no explicit restriction on New Jersey from removing state regulations that outlawed gambling. 

SB2460 was the second such law passed by the New Jersey legislature this year. Gov. Christie vetoed an earlier sports wagering bill passed by the legislature this summer on the grounds it was unconstitutional.  

On Monday, the case's five plaintiffs -- the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB and the NCAA -- filed for injunctive relief against the 2014 Sports Wagering Law from being implemented, and thereby against Monmouth Park from offering sports wagering Sunday. On Tuesday, the plaintiffs filed for the temporary restraining order against Monmouth Park. The leagues argued allowing wagering would cause their sports "immediate and irreparable harm" and said wagering would hurt the integrity of their games.  

Monmouth Park was slated to open at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning to accept bets on NFL games, including this weekend's unusually early 9:30 a.m. EST start time for the Atlanta Falcons-Detroit Lions game being played in London. 

- Will Green