In his ruling, Shipp said that although some of the questions raised in the case were novel, "judicial intervention is generally unwarranted no matter how unwise a court considers a policy decision of the legislative branch. As such, to the extent the people of New Jersey disagree with PASPA, their remedy is not through passage of a state law or through the judiciary, but through the repeal or amendment of PASPA in Congress."
New Jersey Reps. Frank Pallone, a Democrat, and Republican Frank LoBiondo have sponsored bills that would give New Jersey and other states the option to approve legal sports betting. Congress gave New Jersey a chance to approve sports gambling at its casinos in the early '90s, but the state didn't do so.
Pallone said Friday he was "surprised and frustrated" by the ruling.
"The prohibition in New Jersey while allowing it in other states is unconstitutional, and ultimately I thought the court would throw that prohibition out," he said. "But the fight is by no means over."
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