This State Might Allow Legal Sports Betting In Time For NBA Finals

Will New Jersey be a central part of NBA Finals action, despite not having a horse in the proverbial race?

The state might have legalized sports betting in place in time for the NBA Finals, according to ESPN’s David Purdum and Ryan Rodenberg. The United States Supreme Court on Monday struck down the federal sports gambling ban, allowing individual states to determine whether to allow betting on individual sports games. Purdum and Rodenberg believe New Jersey will start accepting wagers “within weeks.”

“You will be able to bet with a legal operator at Atlantic City casinos and the state’s racetracks as soon as they are ready to go,” they write. “Monmouth Park racetrack plans to be open for business within weeks of the Supreme Court ruling.”

Temple University’s Sport and Recreation Management department chair Joseph Maha believes other states, likely Pennsylvania and Delaware, soon will follow suit.

“I think this is the domino to fall, if you will,” Mahan told The Philly Voice. “I think the others will fall relatively quickly.”

The NBA Finals will begin May 31.

The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors will begin their Western Conference finals series Monday. The Boston Celtics currently lead the Cleveland Cavaliers 1-0 in the Eastern Conference finals.

New Jersey might be the center of a new sports gambling world when the conference winners meet later this month.