A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has allowed the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association to recover some or all of a $3.4 million litigation bond put up by collegiate and professional sports leagues while the legality of sports betting in the state was being litigated.
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) on constitutional grounds in May 2018. But before that, the district court, based on PASPA, initially granted the injunction stopping Monmouth Park Racetrack, which is operated by the association, from opening its sports book. At the time, the NCAA, NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB posted the bond in 2014 to protect any party claiming it was wrongfully enjoined.
