Sports betting ban upheld by appeals panel, dealing setback to New Jersey effort to offer it

New Jersey has struck out again in its efforts to legally offer sports betting.

A federal appeals court panel in Philadelphia on Tuesday upheld the federal ban on sports betting in all but four states.

But the 2-to-1 ruling left the door open for New Jersey to further appeal the matter to the full Third Circuit appeals court. State Sen. Ray Lesniak predicted that will happen shortly.

New Jersey has been trying since 2009 to offer legal sports betting at its casinos and racetracks to help both struggling industries.

At issue in the appeal was whether a 2014 New Jersey law repealing prohibitions against sports gambling violates a 1992 federal ban in all states except Nevada, Oregon, Montana and Delaware.