For New Jersey and Monmouth Park, the battle to bring sports wagering to the state isn’t over quite yet.

Just two weeks after a three-judge panel from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia rejected the state’s latest bid to allow racetracks and casinos to offers betting on games, known as “Christie II,” motions were filed on Tuesday in an effort to get the full Third Circuit to hear the case.

Motions were filed by the Christie administration, the state legislature and the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which leases Monmouth Park.

And while getting a new hearing in front of the entire court is a longshot, gaming expert Daniel Wallach, who works for the South Florida law firm Becker & Poliakoff, feels there are legitimate grounds for rehearing.

Language from the state’s first trip to the Third Circuit in 2013 with “Christie I” brought a similar 2-to-1 rejection by a three-judge panel. But language in that decision allowed for a partial repeal of 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prohibits sports wagering in all but four states. 

“Christie II shuts the door on a partial repeal, so you have the two decisions that are in direct conflict with each other, which is one of the reasons a rehearing is available,” Wallach said.

As attorney Ron Riccio pointed out in the motion for rehearing filed on behalf of the NJTHA,  the decisions in Christie I and Christie II are exact opposites.

The state must convince seven of the Third Circuit’s 13 active judges that a rehearing by the full court is necessary.

In Christie I, it only took the court 15 days to deny the appeal. But as Wallach points out, if a rejection of the the appeal does not come quickly it could mean that the court is seriously considering a rehearing.

In a 2011 referendum on sports wagering, 64 percent of New Jersey voters were in favor of legalizing it, and Gov. Chris Christie signed it into law a year later.

Opposing New Jersey’s legal wranglings over the past three years has been ”the leagues,” made up of every major professional sports league and the NCAA. Federal courts have sided with the leagues each time.

“People are scratching their heads,” Wallach said. “Fans want to be able to bet on the games. Every other form of gambling is legal. You can bet on horse racing, you can bet on dog racing, and slots and casino games. Nothing’s off the table except this sacred cow of sports betting because the sports leagues 25 years ago persuade Congress to enact a law based on the notion that they needed it to protect the integrity of the games. Now NBA commissioner Adam Silver is saying we should legalize it to protect the integrity of the games.

“But despite this call to arms, four professional leagues, the NCAA and two judges are subverting the will of the people.”

If the Third Circuit decides not to rehear the case, the Hail Mary pass for the state and Monmouth Park will be getting the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. The Supreme Court opted not to hear Christie I last year.

Staff writer Stephen Edelson is an Asbury Park Press columnist: sedelson@gannettnj.com