New Jersey taking sports-betting applications

New Jersey began accepting applications for sports wagering licenses on Monday despite controversy over the legality of the practice.

The state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement announced that it would begin to accept the applications on Monday with the formal adoption of rules governing the practice. In a release, the division said that it will not approve any licenses before Jan. 9. Applicants will be required to pay $50,000 for a license.

Monmouth Park is expected to apply for a license despite a pending lawsuit filed by most of the country’s major professional sports leagues. In the suit, filed in August, the leagues said that New Jersey’s decision to allow sports betting violated a constitutional ban on the practice.