Regardless of whether the house wins or loses (and it usually wins), the fact that the house even exists in New Jersey represents a huge victory.
On Thursday, sports betting will commence at 10:30 a.m. ET at Monmouth Park. At 11:00 a.m. ET, the Borgata in Atlantic City will begin taking wagers. And off New Jersey will go, with other casinos and race tracks getting in on the action.
Eventually, the action surely will include making bets from cell phone devices located in New Jersey. Including the placement of bets during games played in the state, including Jets and Giants home games.
For now, any betting in New Jersey means that New Jersey took on the major sports leagues and, after losing at all lower levels of the legal system, finagled a knockout in the U.S. Supreme Court. With Delaware already accepting bets, New Jersey becomes the second state -- by the time the NFL regular season begins, a total of six to 10 states could be accepting bets.
New Jersey also won’t be backing down from another legal fight. A lawsuit already has been filed against the major sports leagues to recover the revenue that would have been earned, if the sports leagues hadn’t kept New Jersey from launching sports betting -- with an estimated price tag of $139 million.