Pro leagues file to stop New Jersey sports betting

The four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA have filed a legal challenge to New Jersey's latest attempt to offer legal sports gambling.

The filing in federal court Monday calls the effort "astounding," "specious" and a "blatant violation" of an earlier court order.

New Jersey suffered court defeats in its efforts to have a 1992 federal law against sports gambling ruled unconstitutional. But Gov. Chris Christie issued a directive this month that would allow casinos and racetracks to offer sports wagering as long as it wasn't state-regulated.

The leagues had sued the state in 2012 to stop it from going ahead with a sports wagering scheme approved by voters. In Monday's filing, they said the current effort violates federal law and a 2013 court injunction.