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WASHINGTON (AP) - The four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA plan to sue to block Delaware from implementing sports betting.
An official from one of the leagues told The Associated Press the suit will be filed in federal court in Delaware on Friday. The official requested anonymity because the filing was still pending.
Congress banned sports betting in 1992 but grandfathered four states — Delaware, Nevada, Montana and Oregon — that had already offered it. This week, a lawyer representing Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL and the NCAA wrote to Delaware Gov. Jack Markell's office challenging the state's plan for single-game betting.
In the letter, obtained by the AP, lawyer Kenneth Nachbar said Delaware's plan would violate the '92 law because such betting was never available before.
"As the leagues and the NCAA have stated on numerous occasions, single game wagering presents a direct threat to the integrity of their games," wrote Nachbar, who is based in Wilmington, Del. Given the state's plans to offer such betting, "our clients' only recourse will be to seek judicial relief."
Markell's office had no immediate comment on the lawsuit.
In May, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that the new state law allowing sports betting didn't conflict with the state constitution.
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