Pro leagues, NCAA file legal opposition to New Jersey's latest sports gambling effort

Four major professional U.S. sports leagues and the NCAA have filed a legal challenge to New Jersey's latest attempt to offer legal sports gambling.

The filing in federal court Monday calls the effort "astounding," ''specious" and a "blatant violation" of an earlier court order.

New Jersey suffered court defeats in its efforts to have a 1992 federal law against sports gambling ruled unconstitutional. But Republican Gov. Chris Christie this month issued a directive that would allow casinos and racetracks to offer sports wagering as long as it wasn't state-regulated.

The NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball sued the state in 2012 to stop it from going ahead with a sports wagering scheme approved by voters. They say the current effort violates federal law and a 2013 court injunction.