/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-wordpress-client-uploads/tbt/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/14161112/AP_NJSW115_SUPREME_COURT_SP.jpg "Signs for Monmouth Park are displayed in a bar at the racetrack in Oceanport, N.J., Monday, May 14, 2018. The Supreme Court on Monday gave its go-ahead for states to allow gambling on sports across the nation, striking down a federal law that barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) NJSW115")
With the Supreme Court's decision Monday striking down a federal ban on sports gambling, some states are poised to take bets in a matter of days.
One New Jersey venue — Monmouth Park — has plans to build a $5 million sports book on the property. That's a year and a half away, but in the meantime, it's preparing to convert a sports bar it built in 2013 into a temporary sports book.
What about Florida? Well, it's not New Jersey.
Almost 20 states have recently introduced or passed legislation that would legalize sports betting. Florida is not one of them.
One potential hurdle to legal sports gambling in Florida is a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. Amendment 3 would give voters the exclusive right to decide on gambling expansion. The measure doesn’t mention sports betting, so it’s unclear if it would apply.
Until lawmakers take up legislation or until voters pass a referendum on sports gambling, casinos and tracks in the state are in a holding pattern.
"If it was offered by the state of Florida, we would love to have it," said Alexis Winning, a spokeswoman for Derby Lane in St. Petersburg, "but if Amendment 3 were to pass in November, then it will require a statewide voter referendum and take it out of the hands of the legislature."
Tampa Bay Downs said it had no comment, and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa did not immediately return phone calls.
Contact Thomas Bassinger at tbassinger@tampabay.com. Follow @tometrics.
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