The effort to legalize sports betting in New Jersey, which has been followed closely by http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/, has cleared one more hurdle. Legislation to legalize it in the state cleared a Senate committee on Thursday, with a full Senate vote to be held in the future.

Allowing sports betting in New Jersey would require amending the state constitution. The first step of that process was completed when New Jersey voters approved the referendum on November 8. Even if it passes the state legislature, sports betting cannot be legalized without an amendment to a federal law. A federal law bans sports betting throughout the nation, with only Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana exempt because they already had sports betting before the law was passed. The federal law would have to be amended to allow New Jersey to have sports betting.

Another option would be to sue the federal government and take the ban to court. If New Jersey keeps its sports betting within the confines of its state, the federal government has no constitutional authority to ban that activity. New Jersey could then challenge the law, saying it’s unconstitutional because the sports betting market doesn’t qualify as “interstate commerce.” Governor Chris Christie has said that he would sign the sports betting bill if it gets to him and that he is will team with lawyers to sue over the federal ban.

The sports betting bill would only allow betting on professional sports. Betting on college sports would still be illegal. The state’s voters approved the referendum by nearly a 2 to 1 margin.