Update: Appeal Court to Hear New Jersey Case against PASPA

Today's appeal court hearing staging New Jersey's case against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) attracts a lot of publicity as a panel of U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals judges considers a judgment by Judge Michael Shipp which did not go in favour of New Jersey governor Chris Christie earlier this year. New Jersey representatives argue that the 1992 federal PASPA unfairly allows sports betting in only four US states (including Nevada), while banning it everywhere else. Estimates show billions of dollars are wagered on games each year in Nevada alone. Christie appealed the Shipp decision, continuing the legal battle between the state and the national sports leagues backed by the federal Department of Justice. Both sides expressed their determination to fight the constitutionality of the PASPA all the way to the US Supreme Court. The appeal judges will hear oral arguments from both sides' legal teams today. Each side will have 30 minutes to present oral arguments. The leagues will have their 30 minutes divided into two 15 minute presentations by lawyers representing the leagues and the Department of Justice. New Jersey for its part will get 20 minutes, with another 10 minutes for the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and for state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver lawyers. Ted Olson, well-known as the winning attorney in the Bush v Gore U.S. Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 Presidential race, will argue for New Jersey. The leagues will be represented by Paul Clement who led the last year's unsuccessful effort to undo the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, at the Supreme Court. The publication North Jersey reports that Clement succeeded Olson as the federal government's chief legal representative in Supreme Court cases in 2004 and remained on the position till 2008.