UPDATE: Did U.S. Supreme Court just boost hopes for N.J. sports betting?

Monmouth Park

A view of Monmouth Park in Oceanport during the Haskell Invitational in 2013.

(Saed Hindash | The Star-Ledger)

TRENTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday gave new hope to New Jersey's years-long effort to legalize sports betting -- and to the prospect that such wagering could soon be allowed throughout the country under incoming President Donald Trump.

In an unexpected move, the nation's highest court delayed issuing a decision on whether it will take up the Garden State's latest case to permit racetracks and casinos to offer wagering on sports games.

Instead, the court invited the next U.S. solicitor general to file a brief on behalf of the federal government -- which could tack several more months onto the wait for a ruling.

But experts said the court's move could bode well for New Jersey, which has been pushing for legal sports betting for more than half a decade to help revitalize the state's struggling horse-racing and gambling industries.

Until Tuesday, hopes were not high the Supreme Court would take up the matter. The court declined to consider an earlier version of the case, in 2014.

"Obviously, the justices are split and want to delve into this issue more deeply," said state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union), an attorney who has led New Jersey's fight. "That's a good sign."

"What's bad about this is it's going to delay any decision for six months, and maybe even more," added Lesniak, who is running for the Democratic nomination in this year's governor's race. "But it's worth the wait."

Daniel Wallach, a gaming and sports law attorney with Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., agreed that the decision "transforms" New Jersey's case -- but added that it goes beyond the state.

Currently, a federal law passed in 1992 bans sports betting everywhere except Nevada and three other states -- Delaware, Montana, and Oregon -- that have some form of the wagering.

But Trump, a Republican who will be sworn in Friday, will be the one to pick the next solicitor general, the title given to the federal government's top attorney.

Thus, Wallach said, this gives Trump the "ability to directly and immediately impact the future of sports betting in the United States in a way that was not fully contemplated a few days ago."

"He doesn't need Congress to do this now," Wallach said.

There have been reports that one favorite for the job is New York City lawyer George Conway, husband of Kellyanne Conway, the Camden County native who is Trump's former campaign manager and who will now serve as a counselor to the president. The Conways have lived in Alpine in Bergen County for years but are now moving to Washington D.C.

Trump will also get to nominate someone to fill the ninth seat on the Supreme Court, which was let vacant after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a Trenton native, last year.

Many proponents say they're hopeful Trump will support legal sports wagering. Not only will he be the first president to have owned casinos -- he operated up to four in Atlantic City between 1984 and 2009 -- but in 2015, Trump told Fox Sports that he's "OK" with legalizing such betting because "it's happening anyway."

It's estimated that tens of billions of dollars are bet illegally on sports each year in the U.S., with a sizable chunk handled by organized crime syndicates.

Wallach said if the Supreme Court ends up siding with New Jersey, that could "open up the floodgates" for other states to legalize sports betting.

New Jersey voters approved sports wagering at tracks and casinos in 2011, and Gov. Chris Christie has signed numerous laws to implement it.

But the NCAA and four professional sports leagues -- the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL -- have successfully sued to stop the league every step of the way, saying the moves violate the federal ban and threaten the integrity of their games. Federal courts have sided with the leagues each time.

In the state's latest attempt, Christie signed a law allowing racetracks and casinos to offer such betting by repealing state laws prohibiting the practice and permitting it to go on without regulation -- a move proponents say does not violate the ban.

But the U.S Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled against that move. The state is now asking the Supreme Court to overturn that ruling.

In recent briefs to the court, lawyers representing the state argued the federal ban violates the U.S. Constitution by preventing states from repealing their own laws. Several states -- including Mississippi, West Virginia, Arizona, Louisiana, and Wisconsin -- have joined New Jersey's effort.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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